"You know the route, yes?"
Winter's tone was stern; eyes sharp as they locked with my own. When I'd asked the general why the Ace Ops weren't doing the job, he said they were down in Mantle. Apparently though, I hadn't considered if Winter herself was truly one of them: she was not.
I nodded, but that wasn't good enough.
"Give me a brief rundown of the path." She was checking thoroughly, but that was fine. Whether she believed me or not, I knew the way. And so, I explained the basic room by room journey.
"I enter from the backyard ground level gardens. Most of the foliage is stylized and grand, making for good cover, and there are few guards patrolling. I'll approach the wall, leap up to the second window, at which point I'll be along the crux of the south-east back hallway. I move east, making my way to the upper floor by either the main stairwell if it is available, or I'll cut through the servants quarters and up the back hatch: nearly all of them will be serving at the gathering, leaving little chance of being spotted."
She nodded, rolling her hand to prompt me further, to which I continued.
"Should I take the stairs, I'll need to exit the first window I see and climb along the outside about three other windows ahead. The hallway will be active regardless of route, so I'll need to continue east along the outside. The fourth window will lead to the back end of the exhibit room; at this time of night, Jacques will have all of his guests in the ballroom, and so it should be clear. If I take the servants quarters though, I'll find myself in their own personal storage cubby. A door will immediately lead me into one of the kitchens. It will be empty, but there will be an almost guaranteed encounter with staff who are on break."
"And what do you do?"
"I subdue and restrain. My physical appearance will frighten them, so they'll either obey without a word, or scream: I am to restrain the screamers first if possible, and if not, I am to silence them by any non-lethal means, regardless of injury."
Winter flinched, but her voice was the same as before.
"Hopefully it won't come to that. If it does though..." She appeared to pause, wanting to say something, but refusing and hardening her look again. "Just try not to break too many bones; none at all if you can help it. The servants of the manor aren't paid enough already to be dealing with something like this. Should they see you, chances are they'll do what you say, so long as you're reasonable. They hate my father, and they're not exactly fond of the rest of us either. As long as you make it clear he's your only target, they'll most likely leave you be."
"Understood. Shall I continue?"
"No." She relaxed her stance a little, letting her crossed arms drop in an almost casual manner, while still retaining her expression. There was, however, a slight flinch across her lips. "That's enough: it's clear you know what to do."
I turned my head out, looking towards the manor off in the distance. Massive and imposing, it was almost a miniature stronghold in its own right, visible even from the rooftops so far away. Winter tore me away from the sight with a voice somewhat less stable than before, cracking a bit with each word.
"If you happen to see either Willow Schnee, my mother, inside… or even my brother Whitely: can you do your best not to harm them?"
That was... different, and I turned my head to see her less unbreakable mask, partially shattered with what I assumed was genuine worry. She'd never broken character for anything regarding missions before, but it appeared as though her family was the pillar holding up that façade. Her family was her weakness, meaning those seeking her unwilling cooperation would do well to make use of that select assortment of individuals.
Perhaps it was cruel to theorize such things, but I wasn't certain anyone would approve of my desire to see Salem, or of my real reason period. I would do no harm to RWBY, but everyone else was fair game. Winter was, ultimately, innocent in the grand scheme of things, but it never hurts to be prepared. These were internal wonderings after all, so they mattered little outside the time of their use, which was merely speculative at best.
Should I pull everything off right, I wouldn't need to endanger or threaten anyone.
"They're the most likely to make a racket, but should they see you, your mission will be considered a failure anyway. You know the drill for a failed mission?"
"I run."
"Yes."
Winter turned apprehensively back towards the manor, and with a silent sigh, faced me with her usual no-nonsense look.
"You're free to move in. Close the gap, and get this done."
Once more I nodded, and with that I took off, dropping down selectively between the alleyways to the grating between. While not an overly long dash, it took quite a bit of patience to take on a rhythm. Schnee manor wasn't exactly all that tucked away from public view, and with the head's apparent habit of overcompensation, there wasn't exactly a path of darkness to stick to. I'd spent a good bit of the way dashing in and between as many dark spots as possible, despite how slow it was to leap between streets.
Winter had met with me as close as we could get without raising suspicions: the closer we got to the manor, the more active the streets. But being a good several blocks away meant I still had a while to go. Fortunately enough, nobody paid me any mind, despite how strange my cloaked self compared to the average street walkers below. Although, I suppose they might have, had I clung to the ground for this trip.
I was a little ways above their eyes however, overlooking the simple streets and surprisingly clean alleyways from multiple platforms of steel. The cage walkways were obviously designed to allow easy traversal upwards into multiple levels between the interconnected floors - for some reason the inside wasn't vast enough for another flight of stairs or such. Multiple paths made for less crowded trips though, so I could understand the need.
Either way, it made sticking to the not-quite rooftops easy, even if it involved far too much jumping.
If by chance anyone at all saw me, then it was only for less than a fraction of a second; nothing but an odd sight at that point, and one that could reasonably be written off as a mental hiccup. Truthfully, the only people who had a chance of being real problems were those actively resting on the walkways, especially when they tried to speak with me. One such woman cast a side glance as I landed just before her, and while I believed the shadows obscured my face, and the cloak itself was ragged and flowing, the barely dressed woman seemed to have no trouble commenting.
"Huh?" She slipped on an amused smirk, twisting the bottle in her hand as she flipped around to lay her bare back against the railing. She eyed me up and down, taking a swig of whatever drink she had, tossing the fairly tiny cigar in her hand away. "Don't see that every night."
I said nothing, merely letting go of the grip on the walkway above us and bluntly falling in to stand there proper. I meant to brush past when she stopped me with an outstretched arm.
"Woah there sugar, where are you off to in such a hurry."
"Move." I had no time for this. "Or I'll move you myself."
"Ooh, scary." She scoffed, not showing a hint of fear. Rather, her eyes twinkled with what they saw, and while I had no clue what it was, her tone shifted as she poked my covered shoulder with a finger, walking both index and ring alongside its obscured armor. "Not many have the balls to put on a show like that, not even our local hunters, if you can even call 'em that."
She spat that last bit out, but I'd had enough of her voice. Attempting to push forward again, I was met with failure still. Grabbing forcefully onto my arm this time, she halted my progress once more, at which point I offered one last warning.
"Don't stop me."
"Sheesh, you're just as gruff as you look." She let go, backing away with a fake look of defeat. It didn't matter, and I made for the other side of the grating. Stepping up on the rail, I was about to jump again; that was, until she opened her slimy maw, and out slithered a phrase which locked me up. "What, got more important people to kill, Mr. Grimm?"
"That's not my name."
"It's what you are." Now I was turning back, and I could feel her eyes on me, but unlike before it was much less provocative as I came to face her. "Some say you're just a strange new type of Faunus, or maybe you have a semblance that makes you look a certain way. I'd be more inclined to believe the second if you didn't openly command the Grimm."
With the way her hands shot up at the grip of my hand around her throat, one could say she wasn't expecting that particular reaction.
"How do you know this?"
Her face skewed, and she let her arms drop, coughing out a name.
"Robyn mentioned you."
"She's here?"
"And thinking you're with Atlas." She tapped my arm, and I let go of her throat. Taking a deep breath, she sighed. "You really aren't one to mess around; I like that."
"What does she want with me?" I crossed my arms, but it seemed my posture meant little to her as she simply rolled her neck, checking her throat a bit.
"Plenty of things, but most of them aren't all that friendly."
"You're not telling her anything." It wasn't a question, it was a command. Killing her would raise suspicions in Atlas, but so long as I myself wasn't discovered, it didn't matter. The woman rolled her eyes at this.
"Wasn't planning on it."
"Then what do you want?"
"To the point eh? Fine." She crossed her arms, facing me with a serious eye. "You really hurt Atlas's reputation with that stunt you pulled in the Vytal Festival."
"That wasn't me."
"I'm talking about before, with the Grimm during the breach." She chuckled. "I know you weren't the one to release the Grimm at Beacon, and I know it wasn't you who invaded the tournament itself; even if Robyn can't be bothered to look straight enough to see that."
"How could you possibly know for sure?"
She sauntered up, laying a hand on my covered chest, and staring up from under my hood, straight into my eyes.
"Unlike most other idiots, I'm not blind." She backed away. "I know how to put two and two together. Last time you used your semblance, both you and the Grimm glowed red. Both other times however, you did not."
"That proves nothing."
"No..." She drew in again, licking her lips as a grin painted them. "But I saw your reaction to the killing in Beacon, and with how easily you gave up afterwards; I had little room for doubts at that point."
I could have objected, claiming I was outnumbered, and that was my reason for surrender. I, however, was more interested in why she stopped me now: what use was there in prolonging the counter? Letting her tell her tale would answer all budding questions, although with how things were going, I chose to speed up that process with a prompt.
"You've figured it out, fine: what do you want?"
She stepped away again, slipping her hands along the railing while still facing me.
"Still in a rush. Okay, I'll give: I was curious."
"You're wasting my time for questions?" Without giving her a chance, I was about to take off, but she stopped me again. I wasn't so much irritated, but I had no reason to indulge her further, and threw her aside.
"Enough."
"I want you to kill someone."
That redirected the flow of things, and I eyed her again.
"Why?"
She stood, brushing herself off and settling on the smirking face from before.
"Robyn's grown brazen with her fights recently, and at this rate she'll have herself kicked off the poll in no time. She doesn't listen to me when I tell her to calm down." Her form lost a bit of its stiffness. "And let's just say, she's made a powerful enemy. I-"
"Who is it, and why should I care?" I could just imagine the sight of her neck splitting if she didn't give me a good reason for all of this not to be a colossal waste of my time.
"He goes by the name Watts."
"I have not heard this name before."
"I wouldn't expect you to." Her face fell into an uncomfortable puddle of conflicted hesitation. "He..." She met my eyes, staring tensely. "You've seen how things are up here, yeah? How Faunus are nowhere around, other than in the military."
"What of it?" Atlas didn't care for Faunus, what else was new? She seemed to stall a bit this time, but opened up again.
"The academy and military are the only places where we're usually tolerated, but there are other careers for our kind as well up here." So she was a Faunus. That explained her allegiance to Robyn at least, but not her placement within Atlas itself.
Although, with her current state of dress, the 'career' she worked and reason for her inclusion on the streets was plainly obvious. Naturally, this left a few questions out in the open either way, and seeing as I was already deep into wasted time, I decided to pose them; being late wasn't the end of the mission - I had a couple hours to do it either way, and while it was limited, my curiosity beckoned me.
"Atlas barely tolerates your kind as is. I find it hard to believe they'd choose willingly to bed you."
"A whore's a whore." She relaxed again, although her volume dipped. "What they don't know won't hurt 'em. Some though, they like 'exotic' toys."
"Does being a toy have anything to do with Watts?"
"As a matter of fact, yes it does." Both voice and tone picked up, and with it a spark of electricity along every word. "First of all: Watts. You haven't heard of him; in fact, nobody has. I don't know what he did to incur Atlas's wrath, but nearly all information on the man has been erased. Thing is though, he's downright magical with computers, so there's a chance he's the reason for that little mystery himself."
"Hurry it up." She didn't appreciate that, but just ignored it.
"He's working with some dangerous people, and a key one of them is Jacques Schnee; I'm certain that's a name you have heard of." I nodded, and she sighed. "Good, at least you aren't as in the dark as Robyn told me. He runs all the dust mines in Atlas, but that isn't his only trade."
I watched her pull down the fluffy white collar around her neck, rubbing a finger over what seemed to be a scar.
"Those of us made to work in this job are implanted with trackers."
"Let me guess: Watts oversees them?"
She shook her head.
"No." Slipping the collar back up, her eyes focused on mine again. "He just produced them. The overlooker of these things was killed in a shootout back when the White Fang still launched attacks within the city."
"Then why suggest killing Watts?"
"He's the glue holding everything together. Not a single one of the overlooker's decisions went by without that man's involvement, and I'm sure there are other overlookers like him. You kill Watts, and not only do you cripple Jacques, but you also put a stop to any other organizations going on within the city."
"And Robyn put you here to ask this of me?" Taking a step closer, I leaned in, staring as a frown trickled down her lips. "She just so happened to know where I am, and what I'm doing?"
"No." The prostitute backed away, merely standing there almost partially. "I was out for a break between clients. You just so happened to show up."
"That doesn't explain how you knew who I was?" She was trying to tell me she wasn't a threat, but recognising me was troublesome itself. Still, she was just a whore; no one would care if she went missing.
"Leaping between buildings isn't exactly normal on your average night." She leaned against the railing as she turned away. "And only one person has eyes that glow in the dark; even on the news they burn bright under shadows. Once I saw your face though, I knew who you were." A sigh graced the quickly chilling air. "Can you just consider it, please? You'd be helping a lot of people, protecting them from... 'this'."
After a moment of consideration, I simply turned away, taking my place on the railing and leaping to the next across the street, getting ever closer to the manor. She wasn't worth my time, and I wasn't going to waste it anymore on her. I could see the place now, and the only thing keeping me out was a wall of pearly bricks. A bit more power and I was crouched above, crawling along the thin walkway and falling to the softly trimmed bushes below. I could see it then, the back wall and the two guards chatting beside it near a gate on the left. All I needed to do was get inside.
And, if by chance this 'Watts' individual was present along my path, a quick jab would do him in. He sounded like a man hated by many, and his death would surely distract Jacques from checking for tampering within his desk.
.
.
"Oooh!" Penny was leaping around, taking in the joy of what she perceived as a celebration. Clover didn't exactly see it that way, but at the very least she wasn't fighting with Robyn.
Speaking of the woman, he noted her odd expression, and the way her eyes darted around with Penny's every move made it obvious just what was so interesting.
"Not exactly your average soldier, is she?" He began, figuring it wouldn't hurt to chat with her a bit; they still had some time before she gave her speech. Robyn didn't outright turn him down, but her face wasn't all that welcoming either. Regardless, her tone sounded at least a little less irritated than he'd expected, so that had to count for something.
"I figured you Atlas types were more into formation and control." Her brows skewed as Penny shook hands with a few of the ordinary citizens. "But I'm starting to question if she's just uncontrollable by nature."
"Discipline is adapted by everyone in the academy." He smiled as Penny leaned down, shaking hands with a little girl who stared at the jumpy woman in awe. "But everyone is free to behave how they wish on their off time, so long as it doesn't cause trouble for people."
"You're bodyguards." She faced him flatly. "Redundant ones at that. Remind me again why you're here 'protecting' us?" Crossing her arms, she huffed. "We can defend ourselves well enough."
"And we believe that." Clover was crafty in his approach, letting his sight stick to Penny. Avoiding eye contact gave a more casual aura to the conversation, as if they were speaking after work hours. "But the general wants to make sure everything goes smoothly for the election."
"To what: make himself look better?" She hummed, twisting the edges of her frown into a smirk. "Is he really that scared of losing?"
"More like he doesn't want to deal with claims of sabotage." Penny finally seemed to calm down a little, now standing in the center of a crowd and answering their mostly innocent questions as best she could, all with a bubbly smile. "The election is more or less just another Tuesday for him; he'd rather work on dealing with more serious issues."
"So this is all just a game in his eyes?" Robyn's tone fell. "We're not even worth looking at?"
"He probably would take it a bit more seriously..." Clover allowed a cheeky grin to slip over his face, and he finally looked her in the eyes with an almost teasing expression. "If he wasn't dealing with all the paperwork and other fallout from having to keep track of, and deal with, the aftermath of all your thieving."
"Yeah?" Robyn wasn't the least bit phased, in fact, she seemed to add a bit of spice to her lip. "Thieving we wouldn't need to do if he stopped wheeling our resources away to who knows where. He ever going to come clean about that?"
"When the work is done, I'm certain he will."
"When it's done, huh?" Her irritation looked to spread into an almost fully fledged anger. "And this 'work' of his is worth more than the lives of everyone in Mantle?"
"It's a project for Mantle, and Atlas as well." Clover chuckled slightly, turning back to see Penny getting along with a group of three men who appeared to be drunk and jolly, one of which happened to be a Faunus. Oddly enough, Penny had somehow caught the eye of one of Robyn's own group, a small puffy haired girl; similar to sheep's wool, which was ironically fitting for her.
"Yeah, well, it sure doesn't feel like it."
"We're not your enemies, you know?" Clover felt that right now, just as Penny was making merry with those in Robyn's crew, was the perfect moment to try and somewhat patch up their rocky relationship with the 'freedom fighter'. "We don't like it either, but some compromises have to be made."
"Could have fooled me." She spat, breathing hard as her face turned away. "We should never have to compromise lives."
"No, we shouldn't." Clover ultimately agreed, but he couldn't exactly do anything about that; they didn't have a choice in the end - nobody did. "But what we should do, and what we need to do are both entirely different things."
"Keep telling yourself that." He could hear Robyn taking off, and saw her stop before one of her girls, who looked somewhat guiltily at her leader. Robyn just shook her head and seemed to take off for the back end of the room, most likely to prepare her speech. Penny didn't look bothered though, in fact, she didn't seem to notice.
That could have gone better.
He wasn't happy with the outcome, but it was the best he could do: Robyn needed to come to that understanding on her own. Ultimately there wasn't any more he could do, and so he chose instead to head over to Penny and see how she was holding up. If anything, she was probably itching to tell him of her experiences so far... despite the fact everyone could see how she was going on; she sometimes got excited like that.
Huh?
But there was something wrong with the scene, and his eyes picked up on the tiny red flicker of the lights above. Emergency lights were normal, and the quick spray of red might have just been a defect, but the moment it hit, Penny paused. It was here he knew something was wrong, and as he drew in close, he could hear a sort of buzzing coming from her.
"Penny?" He tried, reaching for her hand. "How are you holding up?"
She returned the grip, and it was hard; too hard.
Author's note
…
It's finally happened, the mythical shorter chapter - you knew it was coming.
Not a lot happened this time, mostly because I'm feeling burned out. Either way, we got to end off on a cliff-hanger anyway, meaning the next chapter will contain a good bit of excitement. Sorry there isn't more, but right now some things are going on, and they've somewhat drained my mood to write.
I leave you all off here. Until next time.
