Chapter 25
Finally reaching her destination felt like hours. She was dizzy, her head hurt, and every now and then she was almost blacking out. But as she laid eyes on the door to the right level, her body almost moved on its own, suddenly reinvigorated.
"Come on, move your ass," she mumbled under hear breath. Reaching the door, she took a few calculated and careful breaths through the subsiding pain, and pushed the door open.
She was in the hallway on the opposite side of the reception room in front of Weiss' office. Bingo.
When she approached the room, she found the door closed, of course. After a quick sigh, she took a few steps back, and ran shoulder first into it with as much speed as she could muster.
The way she bounced off of it looked almost comical.
Her ribs protested against the sudden impact, and Ruby stayed on the floor for a good minute, trying to get oxygen back into her lungs. She forced herself back up. The door looked like it was wooden, but apparently was a fire door. Which means there is a thick steel core inside it. Damn. Those doors usually had a panic lock, which did mean they were easy to open. From the inside. Damn.
Okay, now what?
She honestly didn't consider a plan B for when she wasn't able to get in through the window. Her mind twisted and turned thinking of a solution, when her scroll buzzed. A call from her sister.
"Ruby, there are soldiers in front of the building."
She sighed. "I guess I must have set off the silent alarm. Get out of here. Can't risk you getting caught."
"I already drove off when I heard them coming down the road. I don't think they saw me. Did you find what you're looking for?"
"I'm in front of the door to Aki's reception. Can't get in."
"You mean it's locked?"
"Obviously. It didn't move an inch when I tried busting it open."
"You ran into the door?" Yang sounded positively flabbergasted.
"What else was I supposed to do?"
"Have you tried pulling?"
Ruby was stunned. She didn't know what to say. "I'll call you back." She quickly ended the call before Yang was able to get another word in. She rested her hand on the handle, pushed it down, and pulled.
The door opened without any resistance. Ruby would have cursed herself then and there, if the alarm of the building didn't go off. The other one. The loud one. The VERY loud one.
"Well, shit."
Ruby dashed into the room as quickly as she could and approached Aki's desk. She hastily pulled open drawer after drawer, throwing their contents all over the room. In here had to be something, anything, with Aki's address on it!
Her scroll was buzzing again. Not now, Yang! She was looking for… Found something! It was a pay slip, and right there, at the top, was her address. She got it!
Having found what she was looking for, she picked up the call.
"Ruby, get the fuck out of there, now!" Her voice was low. A little bit more than a whisper.
"Are they coming in?" It was an educated guess.
"Full force, from what I can tell. People are gathering on the road as we speak!"
Ruby took a deep breath. She needed to think of a plan. She just got a few minutes, tops, she reckoned. Getting caught was not an option, but she also didn't feel like fighting other people. She didn't need that on her conscience, or her criminal record.
Her eyes darted around the office. Only now did she notice that there were no windows here. In the walls were come grates, most likely from the air conditioning, and obviously way too small for her to crawl through.
The only way out she was sure of was the same she came in.
She stuffed the pay slip into her pocket and made a dash out back into the stairway, disregarding stealth, not that her entry into the building was particularly sneaky, anyway.
On her way down, her foot missed a step. She caught herself before falling, but the impact took her breath as she again felt a sharp pain coming from her rib.
"Fuck," she muttered under her breath.
She heard a commotion coming from below her. One good thing about emergency staircases: Very bad noise isolation. Willing the pain away, forcing one foot in front of the other, she closed in on her target: The floor she entered the building on.
Floor fifteen. Almost there. Just a few more!
Ruby stopped like a deer in the headlights as three men came up from the other direction. They, too, needed a second to process what happened, before they raised their pistols in her direction and demanded her to stop moving.
Ruby looked directly into the barrels of the guns, steeled herself for the upcoming pain in her chest, mobilized her remaining energy, and activated her semblance, quickly dashing past the men down the stairs, before they had time to pull the triggers.
There was more yelling, this time more demanding. It got muffled by the walls she left between her and her assailants. No shots rang out behind her, which was at least something. She didn't believe she could take a stray bullet in her state.
Closing in on the room she entered the building from, she felt her body slowly giving out. Her lungs were burning more and more, and sometimes she could feel herself stumble a bit. She almost fell into the room. It was incredibly cold now, the wind rushing into it through the broken window. The entire room was a mess. Gods, her entry was way more impactful than she previously realized.
But no time for that now! She approached the window and risked a look outside. The flashing of sirens could be seen bleeding over from the side of building, and under her were rows of military vehicles. Shit. She took mental note of her state to weigh her options. Could she just jump down? No way. Either her ribs will dislocate on impact and take her breathing and consciousness with them, or her aura will entirely deplete. Which would basically incapacitate her, anyway. Could she rely on her semblance to dash out of the window, towards one of the other buildings in the vicinity? Fuck, she hoped. That was the only option coming to mind right now.
She took a breath and focused on the roof of the building opposite the street. It was quite the distance, as the property the office building was on was massive. But she had to risk it. Her eyes focused on her destination, she wetted her lips as she steeled her body again, gathering every remaining resource she had left in her body. She took a few steps away from the window, tensed her legs, bounced a bit on her feet, and ran.
The night sky seemed to be rushing into her as she jumped out the window. Her semblance kicked into gear as the adrenaline hit, propelling her forwards. The wind zoomed past her ears with a high whistle which sounded all too familiar, and in this situation, very relaxing. She loved this feeling. At this moment, she felt free, relieved, with not a care in the world.
But alas, no moment could last forever. The flat roofs of the buildings were approaching fast. And then they were under her. And then behind her.
Oh, fuck.
She overshot by a lot. Her eyes scanned over the area in front of her. A road. Asphalt. Rough landing incoming. She steeled herself for the impact, letting out a quiet scream between gritted teeth.
And then she made contact. Her boots scraped over the asphalt, robbing her of her balance and sending her rolling. Her aura gave out again, causing the small rocks to cut the skin of her arms, hands and knees and ripping holes into her clothes. She didn't know how far she rolled, but it felt like the road was a hundred miles long.
When she finally came to a stop, she was overwhelmed by pain. Everything seemed to hurt with every breath she took. The sky filled her vision as she stayed on the ground, trying to gather the strength to lift herself up again.
The pain in her hands seemed to increase, as if aflame. She raised her right up to her face. It was covered in blood. She was sure the other hand faired no better. She sighed and cursed under her breath.
After a while, she forced herself up. Her body protested with every inch she moved. The road was empty, luckily, not a soul in sight. She never thought she'd be thankful for the fact that the rich and famous only really care for themselves. Not even a woman falling from the sky apparently merits at least a look out the windows.
She reached her shaking hand into her pocket to fetch her scroll. A quick glance indicated it to be intact. In fact, it looked pristine, almost. What ever it is made of, she hoped she could get armor made out of it. Would make crash landing a lot less scary.
She dialed Yang's number and waited impatiently for her to pick up.
"Ruby? Are you okay?"
She lifted herself off the ground, her voice strained. "Yeah, just took a tumble. Can you pick me up? I'll send you my location."
"Of course."
A quick push of a button on her display, and a minute later, her car came around the corner. Yang stepped out of it, and regarded her sister with wide-eyed concern. "What the fuck happened to you?"
During the short wait for the car, Ruby looked herself over. Her pants were torn on the knees and sides, her shirt was stained with dried blood, and her expensive jacket had holes in it and pieces like the zipper missing. Her left leg was covered in cuts, as were both her hands. Her right elbow was scraped, and her forehead was starting to swell, a nasty bump forming on the right. She could taste a bit of blood, as well. Probably broke a tooth. She was guessing she didn't give the best reasons to not be concerned.
"I tripped", she replied.
Yang croaked out in shock before replying: "How often?"
Ruby didn't bother to reply. Drawing the pay slip out of her pocket, she smiled widely. "Time to pay Aki a visit."
Yang decided to drive them there. Ruby didn't protest. Being the passenger allowed her to get some rest, at least.
"How are you doing?"
She threw her vision over to Yang, not lifting her forehead off the cool window. "I'll live. Weiss is going to kill me, though." Her voice was almost a whisper. Exhaustion hit her like a truck.
"What?"
"This jacket was a birthday gift from her."
"I think she'll forgive you", Yang sighed out.
They reached their target. It was a house, small and cozy, in the middle of the city. The neighborhood it was in was not the most luxurious, but Yang has definitely seen worse places. Ruby was sound asleep. Yang regarded her with a concerned look as she turned off the car. Her sister was a mess. Her breathing was shallow and her skin pale. Yang stroke her knuckles gently over Ruby's cheek.
Quietly, she left the car and approached the house. There was still light in one of the rooms, so hopefully, she would not ring anyone out of bed. She didn't even know how late it was.
The shrill sound of the doorbell broke through the silence, and after a few breaths, the door opened a bit. Uncertain eyes regarded her through the tiny gap, the door chain firmly locked in place. The light spilling out from the gap blinded Yang.
"I am very sorry for disturbing you so late, but I do have some urgent questions", Yang began. "My name is Yang Xiao Long. You work for Weiss Rose, right?"
The shadow stepped away from the door, and Yang could make out some whispers. Another shadow appeared in the frame, smaller in build. "I do work for her."
"Oh, excuse me", Yang said. "Listen, this is hard to explain, so I will be blunt: Weiss Rose was kidnapped, and we believe you might know something about her disappearance."
Almost lightning fast, Yang jammed her prosthetic arm into the gap, preventing Aki from slamming the door shut in shock.
"Listen!" Yang urged, "you are not in trouble! Please! I just want to ask you some questions!"
"I don't know anything", Aki pleaded. "Please! You have to leave!"
Another slam against the door, and the pressure on her arm increased. "Leave, now!" a masculine voice yelled.
And then she heard something which made her freeze: An infant cry. She heard a curse and steps moving away from the door.
"You have a child?"
"Please, leave us alone!" Aki answered, her voice growing even more concerned.
This may be her chance. Yang produced her scroll with her other hand, and went through her gallery. She held it towards Aki, and said: "I have a daughter. That's her."
The image showed Türkis in the arms of Blake, Yang's arm around both of them, the other taking the picture. The image was taken outside, on a sunny, clear day. Yang's face carried a big, bright smile, while Blake's was a gentle, more subdued one, but with equal warmth. Türkis was occupied with some half-eaten ice cream.
"Who is the other one", Aki asked carefully.
"That's Blake, my girlfriend. We live together and raise our little ball of sunshine."
"She is a faunus."
Yang nodded. "Yeah, she has cat ears. They are really cute. Our daughter is a faunus, too."
Aki sighed. She relaxed and stepped away from the door, allowing Yang to get her arm back. The door chain was unlocked, and Aki opened the door for Yang.
"Thank you very much", she said. At this moment, a man joined them, a sleepy baby in his arms. Aki's husband, she assumed. And, judging by the eyes and tail, a faunus.
"Honey, do you really think it's a good idea to let a stranger in?" His voice was deep, but gentle.
"I just want to ask questions, please. Say the word, and I will leave. But please, hear me out first!"
Aki regarded her with arms crossed, and motioned her to speak.
"Weiss Rose was assaulted and kidnapped. And we don't know where she is. We thought you might know something, after all…" She hesitated. Aki's eyes went wide.
"Mrs. Rose was kidnapped?" Her voice was shaking slightly. "Oh, gods."
Yang nodded. "And…" She swallowed. "And my girlfriend was with her. We fear she got dragged into it." Her voice cracked a bit. "Please, if you know something, anything, tell me."
"I am so sorry", Aki whispered. She let her arms hang, head low. "I didn't know they would do any of that. I was just supposed to tell them what Mrs. Rose was doing."
Yang rested a comforting hand on Aki's shoulder. "Who are they?"
"I was doing phone calls and writing e-mails to mister Vermilion."
Yang never heard the name before, but she could put two and two together. "I am guessing he is a member of the SDC's board."
"Please don't tell anyone I said anything", Aki pleaded.
Yang's vision wandered over to the concerned man and the baby. "You have my word. I just want Blake and Weiss back."
Aki didn't seem entirely convinced, but she thanked her nonetheless.
"It is a shot in the dark, but do you have any idea where they might have taken them?"
Yang got a headshake from both.
"Okay. Thank you, anyway. You already helped me a lot." She made her way to the door. "I will leave you be now. Have a good night. And sorry for waking up the baby."
Ruby jumped awake as the car door was slammed shut. With hazy eyes, she took in her surroundings. "Are we there already?"
Her sister couldn't hold back a smile. "You slept through all of it."
And honestly, Yang was glad she did. She felt pride in how she handled the situation, she had to admit, and Ruby can be a bit impulsive, especially when it came to Weiss. Yang was already mentally prepared to pull an enraged Ruby off Aki.
Ruby listened intently to the info her sister had gathered. It wasn't much, but at least they had a name now. She rested her head back against the window.
"You know you need to see a doctor", Yang said, taking in the state her sister was in again.
Ruby nodded. "After we found Weiss."
Yang didn't press the issue further. She knew what Ruby's response would be, but she needed to say it regardless. So, she shook her head in resignation, and started the car back up.
The gentle rhythm of the car caressed Ruby back to sleep.