A/N: For people who have read any of my previous fics: hello again! I am happy to announce that I am alive.
For the rest: the story is chronologically set after First Years, but there is no need to have read the former. I will add notes if I am referencing something from there.
The fic will start properly updating in summer (probably end of June/beginning of July). This is a preview.
XXX
Roman's steps echoed across the large room as he approached the elevated platform at the middle. The room was illuminated only by sconces across its walls, creating an ominous interplay of shadow and light. On top of the platform, a woman was sitting on a throne-like chair, surrounded by armed guards.
It was a bit overdramatic compared to what Roman was used to. He mentally compared it to Lil' Miss Malachite's offices, which were spacious and highly secured, but simple and business-like in appearance.
However, he was not there to discuss décor.
The woman gestured for him to come forward. Roman took the last remaining steps in increasing trepidation. Perhaps he had underestimated the psychological power of the setup. He was clearly meant to feel like a subject approaching a monarch: leaning comfortably on her imposing chair, the woman was looking at him as if he was a curious insect and she was considering whether he was worth crushing. Her guards flanked her silently, keeping a respectful distance behind her. The tips of their spears were glistening under the wall lights.
Roman pulled out a handkerchief and discreetly wiped the sweat off his temples. Then, he climbed the platform and stood in front of the woman, stealing a glance at his partner on the side. She met his eyes and quirked an eyebrow, the picture of bored superiority. Roman cracked a smile. Good old Neo. Unimpressed as usual.
"You had a proposal for me", Sienna Khan said.
"Yes, ma'am." He was not supposed to address her as "High Leader": this much had been explained to him. He was not a White Fang member, merely a potential collaborator. Emphasis on "potential".
Sienna shifted in her chair. Her panther ears twitched slightly. "Your boss mentioned something about stealing Dust."
"Cinder Fall is not my boss", Roman said, a little rankled. At the same time, a part of him inwardly acknowledged that he would not have been bold enough to make the same statement in Cinder's presence.
Sienna frowned, tapping three fingers on the armrest of her chair. "Whether she's your boss or not, this was her idea. If she wants my help, she must show me the respect of meeting with me directly."
Not a very promising start. "Cinder is… preoccupied at the moment. She's on the hunt for useful talent, and she likes to do her own recruiting."
Sienna waved a hand dismissively. "You should know, Mr Torchwick, that the White Fang is not interested in petty crime for its own sake."
Roman smiled. "Respecfully, there is nothing petty about the operation I have in mind. I'm talking Dust robberies on a massive scale, targeting multiple locations across Vale and Atlas."
"Massive scale meaning?"
"Every central point of manufacturing and distribution", Roman said. "Every warehouse. Every shipment. Every shop."
She raised an eyebrow. "That's ambitious."
"But doable." Roman licked his dry lips. "I know you follow certain standards", he said carefully. "You are selective about which businesses you… target. I respect that." In truth, he had his private opinions about the supposed nobleness of Sienna's motives, but this wasn't the time or the place to share them. "My operation is consistent with your ideology. The Schnee Dust company is notorious for Faunus exploitation, and it holds almost a monopoly at this point. The few other names on the market have adopted similar practices, perhaps to a lesser extent."
"I fail to see how any of that relates to targeting small shops."
Roman was surprised: he had not expected her to actually point out moral quandaries in his reasoning. "We can perhaps exclude such targets from our list", he said diplomatically. In truth, he had no intention of excluding anything. But perhaps he could convince her on details later, after she agreed to work with him; or he could use different associates for specific smaller scale operations. The Xiong syndicate was always willing to take up that kind of work. "Warehouses and shipments are more important anyway. And trust me, they're easier targets than you might think. I have people aiding me, people with valuable skills and experience. Lil' Miss Malachite and I may have taken our separate roads, but I remain on good professional terms with many of my former colleagues… and with the Xiaong family in Vale as well. And as it happens, I have a few special cards up my sleeve when it comes to stealth and infiltration."
"Oh? Enlighten me."
Roman smirked. "Neo, if you would."
He kept a close eye on Sienna's reactions as her doppelganger materialized in front of her, replacing Neo's silent figure. There was the smallest involunrary gasp, a momentary loss of composure, even a hint of fear. Roman suppressed a smile. It was an illusion, of course, but a thoroughly convincing one. It had substance and life, and he knew that Neo could keep it up for a considerable amount of time if she wished.
Sienna saw her own features morph into a smile. It was the polite smile of a perfectly well-mannered, properly brought up young lady. But underneath, there was the subtlest hint of mockery and challenge. For Sienna, it was unsettling to see that in her own face, directed at her.
But the High Leader of the White Fang regained her composure quickly. "I see what you mean", she said in a nonchalahant tone. "Your henchwoman's abilities could certainly come in handy."
Neo broke the illusion and scowled.
"Neo is my partner", Roman corrected.
Sienna gave a curt nod of acknowledgement. "And you want the might of the White Fang to back up this operation of yours, in exchange for a cut of the Dust… or the profits from selling it."
"I think Cinder plans to keep her share of the Dust for her own use. But otherwise yes, that is essentially correct."
It was, in fact, a partial lie. None of the Dust was to be sold immediately: that was one of the few explicit instructions Cinder had given. The White Fang would be given their expected share of the money, but it would be provided by other means. What those means were, Roman didn't know and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He actually believed Cinder was planning to stick to the deal: somehow, she seemed to be supported by an endless supply of money and resources.
He'd seen Cinder do some scary things. He was not in a position to say no to her. But he did not understand her, either. It was almost as if she was more interested in causing a genuine market shortage than in the monetary profit she would gain by selling the Dust.
Sienna regarded him thoughtfully. "What does Cinder need such quantities of Dust for?"
"That's her own business."
She frowned. "Mr Torchwick, I do not enjoy being trifled with. You came to me, wanting the manpower I can provide. If I'm going to risk the livelihood of my brothers and sisters to aid humans in their schemes, I'm going to need more straightforward answers than that."
Shit.
In truth, Roman was not privy to the entirety of the plan. Like an average manager, Cinder had given him impossible goals with rudimentary instructions and basically told him to deal with it.
"I should have thought profit is always a sufficient reason", he tried.
"But you just said Cinder doesn't plan on selling her cut."
Shit.
"I…"
"So, which is it? Are you hiding something from me? Or are you ignorant yourself?"
When she put it that way… "I am not familiar with all the details of the plan", Roman admitted. It was a humiliating confession, but ignorance was better than deliberate deceit.
She regarded him coldly. "In the future, I suggest familiarizing yourself with the plans you intend to propose to me… or letting someone who knows the details do the talking. As things stand, my answer is no. I will not get my people involved in an alliance where I don't even know the motives of my supposed allies and the specifics of what I am agreeing to."
After a short pause, Roman nodded and turned to leave, motioning for Neo to follow him. On the bright side, it sounded like Sienna wasn't planning on having him executed. He wasn't sure if that was something she would actually do, but it was better not to take chances with that sort of thing.
Once they were out, he relaxed somewhat, releasing the breath he had not realized he'd been holding. He looked at his partner. She was holding her composure a lot better than he did.
"Curse Cinder and her cryptic nonsense", he grumbled. "She will not be happy about this."
Neo made a sympathetic face, then typed something on her scroll.
"There might be someone we could talk to instead", he read aloud. "Someone in Vale. You might be on to something. Sienna is the High Leader, and doesn't usually stay in Vale. She must have some sort of second-in-command there that we can talk to." He corrected himself. "That Cinder can talk to. She can handle it herself… when she comes back from whatever the hell she's doing right now."
XXX
Emerald examined the measly contents of the wallet in disappointment.
All this trouble for a few lien?
Her stomach growled in protest. Her nostrils flared up, assaulted by the smell of street food. She sighed and put the wallet in her pocket. At least no one had noticed her taking it. But that was just par of the course, Emerald thought. Most people are naturally unobservant, especially about things that do not directly affect them.
She'd just have to try again and hope she'd get luckier.
She scanned the busy street carefully. Cheerful groups of young people chatting... they usually didn't have much to steal. Then you had your standard distracted idiots on their scrolls. These were more promising, especially the ones in business suits. The disadvantage was that they usually carried their money in either their chest pockets or in locked briefcases, both of which were harder to access than something like a backpack.
Emerald settled on a young woman with long black hair. She was wearing an elegant red dress and high heels, both of which limited her mobility: she wouldn't be able to chase after Emerald if it came down to that. Something about her made her look like a tourist: she was currently asking a street food vendor about his produce, showing a rather disproportionate enthusiasm for the local specialties. To Emerald's slight amusement, the woman ended up just buying a sandwich: she paid for it with money taken from a handbag hanging loosely on her shoulder. She didn't even bother to zip it close after finishing her transaction.
This would be a cakewalk.
Emerald concentrated on her Semblance, letting it work its wonders. The black-haired woman smiled and turned towards an empty spot on the street, focusing her attention on someone who wasn't there.
"Excuse me, dear", the elderly lady said apologetically. "Could you be so kind as to help me? You see, I was supposed to meet my grandson somewhere close by. I've been here before, but my memory isn't what it used to be. I'm looking for a little café at the end of Cobblestone Street."
"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the area", the woman said. "But perhaps I could help you look for it." She put the still-wrapped sandwich in the still-open handbag and pulled out a scroll, where she quickly looked something up. "Cobblestone Street, you said? It doesn't appear to be on the map."
"Oh, dear, my mind is all jumbled up, isn't it? Perhaps it was a similar name… Could I bother you to search for nearby streets, dear? Perhaps one of their names will be familiar… Oh, thank you so much, you are too kind. Wonderful devices, scrolls, but I could never quite understand how they work… It was a very nice little café, or perhaps an ice-cream parlor. I'm not quite sure. Oh, I'm sorry to be such a bother, dear."
"No trouble at all", the woman said, smiling politely in the way people usually did for Emerald's charming, helpless old lady.
Emerald approached her target from the side closest to the handbag. She could only manipulate one person's perception at a time: she was not invisible to the crowd, only to the woman. But years of petty theft had taught Emerald that most people didn't pay much attention to their surroundings. Crowded streets, full of distractions and stimuli, were an especially good environment for passing unnoticed.
You just had to strike at the right moment, Emerald thought. Lighter than a summer breeze, her hand slid into the open handbag.
Fingers snapped around her wrist in a vice-like grip. At the point of contact, scorching hot skin burned Emerald's own.
Emerald yelped and writhed. The effects of her Semblance shattered, dropping the illusion of the old lady and leaving Emerald alone and unconcealed in front of her would-be victim. To her surprise, the woman released her. Emerald stood there in shock for a moment, staring first at her scalded flesh, then at the one who'd burned it. The woman met her eyes, smiled affably, and winked.
"Boo", she said.
Emerald ran.
XXX
"I just want to talk to you". The voice was soothing, almost maternal.
Emerald took a step back, only to hit a wall. Her hands reached for the twin pistols strapped at the back of her waist.
"Don't."
More commanding now, albeit still calm. Emerald hesitated, her hands still on the handles of her guns. Under her feet, the ground heated up in warning: not unbearable, but not pleasant either. The pain from the burn in her right wrist had not subsided yet. Her eyes fell on the black-haired woman, blocking the only escape route from the dead end she'd cornered Emerald into.
"Do be careful with those toys of yours", the woman said with open amusement. "They can backfire on you if you don't know how to use them properly. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself now, would we?"
"I know how to use them", Emerald replied sharply. She brought her hands forward, however, palms facing outward to show that they were empty. The heat from the ground dissipated.
"Who are you?" Emerald asked.
"My name is Cinder."
"That's not what I meant. What's your deal? How did you…" She hesitated.
"How did I see through your little attempt to rob me? It was quite simple, actually. Most people miss the obvious signs, but I've known my fair share of thieves... including sweet little street urchins such as yourself. I saw your shabby appearance and the angry resentment in your expression. I saw you looking hungrily at the food counters and then stopping yourself, as if you had something more important to do. I saw the calculating way you were scanning the crowd, as if you were appraising them for a purpose. I saw your eyes settling on that man. And then I saw him turning to talk to thin air, while you opened his backpack from behind. Oh, it was masterful. You picked a moment of particular commotion, and it was over in seconds. Nobody noticed... well, almost nobody."
Emerald bit her lip, her mind racing. Was it worth it to try and bluff? The woman didn't seem interested in involving authorities – but then, what was she keeping Emerald for?
"As for your attempt on me", Cinder continued, "that was simple to figure out once I'd witnessed your first try. I was keeping an eye on you, and you disappeared just at the moment a sweet old lady approached me asking for directions. Some kind of hallucination-inducing Semblance, I'm guessing?"
Emerald stayed silent. Cinder seemed to take it as confirmation.
"Your old lady was pretty convincing. Her shadow wasn't quite right: it should have been longer. You also need some work on deceiving senses other than sight and sound. I could sense you coming closer. And I'm guessing you can't affect many targets at once, otherwise you would have masked yourself from the entire crowd the first time I saw you."
Emerald decided to give up on the idea of bluffing. "Why did you let me go if you were going to chase me anyway?" she asked instead.
"I like games", Cinder replied sweetly. "I also like testing the abilities of my potential allies. I wanted to see if you'd give me a decent chase. Which you did, by the way. Not bad."
Emerald frowned. "Potential allies?"
Cinder took the sandwich from her bag and offered it to Emerald. Emerald looked at it suspiciously.
"Don't be ridiculous, girl", Cinder scoffed. "If I wanted to harm you, I wouldn't need poison to do it."
Emerald's eyes involuntarily turned to the burn on her wrist. It was a deep pink-red, shiny and blistered.
Cinder frowned, then answered the unspoken thought. "Well, you did try to rob me."
That was fair, Emerald supposed. It wasn't like her mother hadn't given Emerald a few permanent scars before she left. This was no harsher than what she was used to, and arguably fairer.
In the end, hunger won. Emerald bit into the bread, relishing the richness of the combined flavors filling it. It was the best thing she'd tasted in days.
"You know, I could really use someone like you", Cinder told her.
"You're looking for a thief to work for you?" Emerald asked between mouthfuls.
"Well, truth be told, I'm on a search for someone specific. You were happy happenstance. Still, you have valuable abilities that, with some training, could prove very helpful. Follow me, and you'll never have to go hungry again."
Emerald knew that a lot of refined, high-class people hired others to do their thieving for them. That was normal, although she had never personally received such a long-term offer before. Cinder's final promise sounded… wonderful. And yet, what struck Emerald most was something else.
"Valuable?"
"Of course", Cinder said softly. Was that kindness in her voice? Emerald didn't have much of a reference, but it was the same tone she'd heard loving parents use to talk to their children, on the street, or in shops, while they were hugging or playing with them or asking them if they wanted anything. "And with a little polishing, they can be even better. I can train you out of your sloppy touches, make you truly useful."
Her skills her valuable. Not perfect, but valuable. And she was valuable because of them.
That was a first.
As if she had somehow heard Emerald's thoughts, Cinder smiled. "What's your name, girl?"
"Emerald."
"Emerald", Cinder repeated. "I think you and I can accomplish great things together."
