It only took around half an hour to stow my ill-gotten gains in my home, and after a quick suit up and another forty-five minutes or so, I was walking into Gerard's office to fulfill my contract once more. There was a bullhead parked on the lawn which was a bit odd, but that likely had something to do with the reason he had called me in.

Given how important this would likely be, I was fully kitted in heist attire which I hadn't worn since I stole the original vial. My normal bright blue jacket had been swapped for one that was much more dark while my various accessories were in their normal places on my body, including Trick who occupied the holster on my thigh. My mask and goggles were on my head and neck respectively, ready to be used at a moment's notice.

And of course, the two recent additions to my roster were magnetically attached to the back of my jacket via a small harness that I wore over my shirt. It took more than a little while to get used to Hit and Run's combined weight when I was so used to traveling light, but the added protection was more than worth it.

As I entered Gerard's office, I was met with several gazes, including that of my boss himself. Misa was there, as well as the other bodyguard whose name I still hadn't gotten. Along with the familiar faces, was a man I was certain I hadn't seen around the manor. He had a very distinct appearance after all.

The man was giant and not just in height; he was extremely muscular, dark skin practically bulging out of the armor he was wearing. His warm amber eyes along with the large beard on his face gave me the impression of a somewhat jolly uncle, the type that was always the life of the party when he showed up to family gatherings.

He was wearing bronze colored lamellar armor with large pauldrons on either arm On his right arm only was a sleeve of similar armor, a manica I think it was called, likely made to protect the man's limb in place of the rectangular mechashift shield strapped to his back. If I looked closely, I was just barely able to see the edge of what looked like a trident poking out from behind said shield. Likely his main weapon.

His massive arms were crossed over his chest, as he turned to look at me upon my entrance. He gave me a warm smile as he noticed me, one I returned with a light smile of my own. Something about this man gave me the impression that he was trustworthy.

Not only that, but his semblance was open to me unlike the others in the room. I was too far away to get an exact read on it, but what I could feel was… warm. Like a cozy fire.

It certainly fit.

"Welcome back Rei." Misa gave me a nod of greeting as I walked up to the desk they were gathered around. She cast a glance behind me, taking in Hit and Run attached to my back. She scrutinized what she could see, before nodding in apparent acceptance, "You took my advice to heart I see. That's good, hookswords are a bit of an unorthodox weapon but they suit you. Give my compliments to your smith as well. I believe that even Hawkins would be hard pressed to find any imperfections."

I smiled at that, a not-so-small part of me was extremely happy that my combat tutor was happy with my choice of weapon, "I'll pass it along. I'm sure she'll be ecstatic."

I turned my gaze around, focusing on Gerard, and immediately my happy mood dipped a bit.

I wasn't sure what he had been doing while I wasn't able to get ahold of him but Gerard looked bad. His well groomed hair and beard were disheveled and there were large purple bags underneath his eyes. His skin was extremely pale, pale enough in fact, that my sharp eyes could make out dark purple veins underneath his skin, though that was likely the way the light of the room was causing them to appear.

"Are you alright Gerard? You look sick." I said in concern, more than a little worried for the man.

He waved me off with a wave of his hand, smiling tiredly, "It is simply a cold, you do not need to worry. It will pass."

I was sure that it was more than just a cold but didn't say anything. I was sure someone like Gerard had a doctor that was more than qualified to treat the man. If he said he would be fine, I would just have to believe him. It wasn't like there was anything I could do.

"Now that we are all present, let us get to the reason why we are here." He turned a soft smile to the bronze-clad man, "Arun, it is nice to have you back. Even if it is just for a small time."

"It's nice to be back, Gerard." The man laughed, the deep timbre of his voice ringing in my ears. He turned his head towards Misa, giving the woman a sly look, "It's especially nice to be back in such lovely company." He winked at her.

Misa just gave him an unimpressed look, apparently used to this. Despite that, the man didn't seem to take it to heart, merely laughing lightly, "Ha! Still as cold as always I see!"

Misa shook her head with a somewhat fond look on her face, "And I see you're still as incorrigible as ever, Arun."

The man barked another laugh, "You wouldn't have me any other way and you know it." Judging from the soft smile that had spread on Misa's face, I had a feeling that was true.

He then turned toe, giving me another warm smile, "And I don't believe we've met. It's nice to meet you miss…!" He held out a hand for me to shake.

I did so, smiling at the man's genial nature, "Rei Lynx, hired thief. It's nice to meet you as well."

He nodded, giving my hand a firm shake, "Oh? A thief are we? I sure hope those sticky fingers of yours don't find their way towards my belongings."

The sly smile on his face gave away his joking nature, and I just shrugged with a small smile on my own, "You know how it is, these bad boys sometimes just do what they want. That trident of yours is looking pretty shiny if I do say so myself." I grinned.

He laughed, shaking his head, "I would advise against that, Sidney may be a bit too much for you to handle little missy." He clapped his hands, slightly dispelling the joking mood, "Alright then, enough joking around, let's get down to business."

His face suddenly turned serious, and I was left a bit stunned at just how fast his emotions had shifted. He placed his hands on the table, looking around, "To get our new friend caught up, my name is Arun. I was a member of Gerard's little family for a little over twenty years before I retired back to my original home on the Valean/Vacuo border. Despite my retirement, I've been keeping an eye on anything that might interest Gerard as it came through the border as a bit of a favor to the man who gave me so much. I found something, though not exactly where I was looking."

"During my usual visit to the local bar to get some information," Here, Misa shot him a raised brow which he acted like he didn't see, "I caught wind that there had been an influx of Valean researchers into the region. I actually happened upon one of them in the bar itself, and after a few drinks I managed to loosen his lips enough for him to tell me what he and his friends were doing on the Vacuo border. It was more than a little enlightening."

"Turns out that he was sent to the area to help a nearby research facility that was being set up as we spoke and while he was a bit cagey about exactly what they were researching, it was enough to catch my interest."

He motioned to a paper on the desk that I noticed for the first time since I had entered the room. It was a map, and Arun pointed to a specific point near a small patch of forest, "I did some investigating and came across the facility they mentioned in one of the large cave systems nearby. They set up incredibly quickly, walls and guards patrolling said walls coming up in less than a week. It was all pretty suspicious so I did a bit more digging and made my way into the facility to see what I could find. I didn't get very far before I had to pull back, but I managed to grab some info on the way out."

He reached behind him, digging into a satchel attached to the back of his belt. He pulled out a scroll, sliding it on the table "This is what I found."

I peeked at the scroll curiously. It was displaying what looked like a research report, a bunch of scientific jargon that I couldn't make heads or tails of, other than a single line underneath the prominently displayed picture.

Readings of Subject 3-A indicate similar levels of energy output as former subjects. It is likely a similar manifestation of the same energies as the others. Further research required.

Subject 3-A was apparently a small chunk of magenta dust that glowed so brightly the camera used to take it was barely even able to capture the picture. Oddly enough, the little I could make out of the background was… scorched and slightly warped. Like something hot had been laid on it. Something really hot given that it looked to be stone.

"Ah, so you found another one! Fantastic work Arun." Gerard exclaimed happily, staring down at the picture with an expression I couldn't identify.

"Wait," I interrupted, bringing their eyes to me as I tilted my head in confusion, staring at the burning magenta crystal displayed on the scroll, "I thought we were looking for vials of dust, not whole crystals."

The other people in the room shared a look with one another, conveying thoughts between themselves that I wasn't privy to. After a moment, they turned back to me and Misa began speaking.

"While it is true that the researchers would put them in vials to better study them, the truth is that this 'experimental dust' is actually a naturally occurring, if extremely rare, type of dust. The empowered dust's natural form is rather small crystals akin to regular dust but much more powerful. The vials are simply there to contain their power so that they can research them without causing unneeded damage to their surroundings." The woman explained.

"Wait, so the dust is natural? Then how come people haven't heard of it before?" I asked in confusion.

Gerard was the one to answer this time, "This specific type of dust only emerges under very specific circumstances. Unlike regular dust which is at least somewhat abundant if nonrenewable, these crystals are the kind of stuff only seen once every generation if even that. The fact that so many of them have made an appearance so closely together is nothing more than a coincidence. A fortuitous one, but a coincidence nonetheless."

"And even if they were renewable or more common, they're powerful enough that there's no way the kingdoms of the world would ever let them get into the hands of anyone but the highest ranking military official." Arun added on.

"They're that powerful?"

"Moreso." Gerard spoke seriously, "Atlas for example, used to be powered by one such crystal all on its lonesome." Gerard revealed, shocking me. He shook his head disparagingly, "However, such a flagrant use of the crystal's power drained the energy far too quickly. Within a year, they were required to return to their original power source, leaving the crystal completely and utterly depleted in the process."

That was… something. Atlas was said to be powered by hundreds of tons of Gravity Dust. For just one of the crystals to be able to allow the entire city to float all by itself even for a short amount of time was absolutely insane. It made complete sense why they weren't known to the general public if they were that strong.

That knowledge did cause one very important question to ring out in my head though.

"So why do you want them? You're not making your own flying city are you?" I asked, only half joking.

"That's none of your concern." I nearly jumped at the new voice, and my head whirled over to find Gerard's other bodyguard staring at me with intense eyes. His face was set in a stony expression as he stared me down, "Our lord has employed you to obtain the dust for him. What he does with said dust is none of your concern."

I flinched slightly at his admonishing tone, "I-I didn't mean to… sorry."

Gerard held a hand up, giving his bodyguard a calming look, "It is fine, Mars. She is just curious, it is more than understandable."

He looked back towards me as his bodyguard resumed his neutral stance, "To answer your question Rei, I am afraid I cannot inform you of the exact details just yet, but rest assured that my intentions are in no way nefarious." He smirked lightly, "Nor do I have any plans to create a floating city. I have enough on my plate already at the moment, no need to give myself a headache with logistics of that sort."

That was a bit comforting, though I was still more than a little curious as to why he needed such powerful dust in the first place.

Still, I had already overstepped my boundaries, I wasn't going to do it again. I was sure that if Gerard wanted me to know he would tell me eventually.

Gerard motioned for Arun to continue his story and the man did so, "Now, I normally would have stolen the crystal already. There wasn't much security given how new the facility was so I likely would have had no trouble slipping in and grabbing the thing out from under their noses." Arun commented, grabbing his scroll from the table and swiping through it, "Unfortunately, this stopped me."

He placed the scroll back down, and the room was met with the image of a bunch of Grimm making their way into the cave that the facility was situated inside. There were several security guards trying to fight them off but even I could tell it was a losing battle. There were simply too many monsters for that many of them to take on alone.

"By my estimation, there were a little over two dozen of them, Grimm of various types. They came practically out of nowhere, overwhelming the security and trapping the researchers inside of the cave with the dust. I barely got out myself, and I immediately made my way back here with the information."

Arun grabbed his scroll from the table, powering it off and storing it back into his satchel, "I want to bring a small force, two or three of us at most, and eradicate those monsters. They are way too close to my hometown for comfort and I'm strong but I'll admit I probably won't be able to take care of that many on my own. My fighting style focuses on singling out my opponents, I'd be overwhelmed by that many Grimm pretty quickly." He looked to Gerard, "Preferably, I'd like to have a long range and midrange fighter to distract the Grimm, as well as someone with some stealth capabilities to sneak past them and grab the dust. Do you have anyone like that at the moment?"

Gerard hummed, stroking his beard, "Misa is our current midrange specialist, and I could certainly spare young Buck and his rifle. As for stealth… Rei?" He turned to me with a questioning look which I found slightly surprising considering that this was exactly what I had been hired to do. Maybe it was a test to see if I thought I was ready for something like this?

I thought for a moment. Sneaking past Grimm would certainly be much more difficult than doing it with humans like I normally did, but as long as the other three were distracting them, making noise and drawing them away from the cave, I was pretty sure it was doable. I'd just need to be careful.

If I was caught, I was pretty sure in my abilities to handle myself against two or three Grimm regardless of type, but after that it got a bit iffy.

Still, there was no way I was going to fail Gerard on something like this. I nodded firmly, "Yeah, I should be able to handle it. As long as there aren't too many Grimm on me at least, I'm not exactly an expert with my swords just yet."

"It will come with experience. You should be more than capable of handling yourself on a mission like this." Misa assured me and I smiled slightly at my teacher's reassuring words. Arun gave me a slightly analyzing glance, before apparently deciding that whatever he saw was good enough as he gave an approving nod. Seemed like I was up to snuff.

Gerard tapped his cane, "Then it is decided. Three of my personnel will join you on your own endeavor and acquire the crystal at the same time. Mars, inform Buck of his assignment to allow him to gather his things. You know the boy doesn't do well without the proper time to prepare himself."

The massive man gave a nod, turning to make his way out of the room, "Understood my lord, I'll get it done."

I didn't turn to look at him as he passed me, stoney expression never changing even a bit. That man was certainly intimidating and I had a feeling he didn't like me very much.

Arun gathered his things, making his way to the door as well, "I'll go ahead and prep the bullhead. The sooner we get this done the sooner I can go back to retirement." He joked before casting a glance back towards Misa, "Care to join me Misa?" He offered.

I thought the woman would simply wave him off, but was instead surprised as she gave a nod, gathering her things as well, "I suppose it couldn't hurt. Who knows what kind of damage you could cause if I let you prepare it by yourself."

Arun laughed, holding the door open for the woman as she passed him, "Hey! I'll have you know I managed to fly it here all on my own." He boasted.

Misa snorted, "Small miracles. We'll have to do an extremely extensive preflight check to make sure one of the engines isn't missing."

I just barely made out Arun's laughter as the two of them made their way down the hall, disappearing even from my sensitive hearing. Gerard gave a small sigh, bringing my attention back to him, "Ah, those two are the same as ever I see. Hopefully those two manage to stay focused on the mission instead of each other this time."

I tilted my head, "Do they fight alot or something."

Gerald chuckled, "Oh, quite the opposite. Misa may pretend she isn't fond of Arun, but I assure you it is all an act. The woman is smitten with him despite her cold continence and I suspect he feels much the same."

Ah, so that's what it was. I guess my cold instructor was the type to look for love in her apparent opposite. Good for her.

As the silence stretched, I couldn't help but notice that it was just Gerard and I left in the office. This was the perfect opportunity to deal with the problem that had been plaguing me for a while. Namely, having to lie to my girlfriend.

"Something the matter, Rei?" Gerard suddenly spoke up, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I turned to look at him, a slightly hesitant expression on my face as I made my way over to him, "Not exactly sir. I just… have a request."

Gerard looked slightly surprised, "Oh? Very well, what is it?"

I took a deep breath, steeling myself, "I-I would like permission to tell Ruby about our contract."

Gerard froze slightly, before quickly regaining his equilibrium. He leaned forward, steepling his hands in front of him as he stared at me seriously, "And who exactly is this Ruby that she would give you reason to ask to go against the explicitly stated terms of our contract?"

I licked my suddenly dry lips, "S-She's my weaponsmith and more recently, my girlfriend. We went on our first date last week."

He nodded slowly, "I see, and why do you want to tell her about the contract we specifically agreed should not be mentioned."

My ears flicked nervously on my head, "I-I don't like lying to her sir, not even a lie of omission, it just doesn't feel right. She's been more than fair with me and I hate having to be disingenuous with the girl who trusts me so much. So I would like your permission to tell her at least the broad aspects of our contract."

The room was completely silent. Even my breathing seemed quieter and a tense weight settled on my shoulders as I awaited his response.

Gerard's eyes stared into my soul, the dark circles underneath his eyes giving them even more depth than usual. I gulped at the intensity of the gaze, wondering if I had once again overstepped my boundaries despite my desire not to.

Finally, moments before an apology spilled from my mouth, he spoke, "Do you have any reason to believe she would ever betray your secrets?" Gerard's face was deadly serious, indicating to me that I had better tell the truth.

Luckily that wouldn't be hard at all. I shook my head vehemently, "Never. I have known and been best friends with Ruby for over ten years at this point. She's been with me at my lowest and never once has she shown anything but compassion and understanding."

Gerard hummed lightly as he continued to stare at me, completely inscrutable, "Describe this young lady to me."

I took a moment, thinking of how to explain the depth of my feelings for the girl I had fallen for. There were so many of them, from giddiness to admiration to infatuation, and putting all of them into words was much harder than I thought it would be.

I managed it though, and soon the words came to me, "She… she's the nicest, gentlest person I've ever met in my life. I'm pretty sure she isn't physically capable of hating another person or at least if she is, she's not met them yet. She's more than a bit dorky at times but endearing all the same and nearly everything she does makes me feel like butterflies are trying to crawl up my throat."

Now that I had begun, it was much easier to describe what I felt. It was like a dam had been opened, allowing all of the words to flow forth, "I've known her for the majority of my life and I feel lucky for every second of it. From the hard times where I thought I would lose my bakery or the times that everything was perfect, she was on my thoughts or by my side."

"I don't think I've ever smiled as much as I do when I'm with Ruby. Everything she does just makes me… happy. When I'm with her I feel content, like I could spend the rest of my life by her side. She's done so much for me, been there for me at my lowest. I want to do the same for her but it's hard when I can't even tell her what I do for a living."

"She's so sincere in everything she does, from the weapons she makes to the way she eats cookies like they'll cease to exist if she looks away from them for even a moment and she has the most beautiful silver eyes I've ever seen in my life, like pools of liquid mercury that mirror the world as she gazes at it with kindness that comes so naturally to her-

"Hold on a moment child," Gerard interrupted me, snapping me back to reality. I was somewhat shocked and more than a bit embarrassed at the tangent I had gone on and I looked back to him, blushing furiously as he stared at me with an intrigued gaze.

"You said she has silver eyes? Not simply grey or white, they are silver?" He asked. I nodded, my face cooling down slowly. He hummed, stroking his beard, "And praytell, what is her full name?.

"Uh…Ruby Rose." I said, slightly confused.

Gerard leaned back, his chair squeaking lightly as he shifted his weight. He looked off into space, clearly reminiscing about something that I wasn't privy to, "I see. Rose… now that's a name I haven't heard in years."

I quirked a brow, "Have you heard of her?" Did Torchwick talk about her when he recommended me to Gerard?

He shook his head, "Not her, no. her mother. Summer Rose was… she was a renowned huntress from well before your time. Her exploits were grand for someone of her age, and it seems that her legacy lives on. That is good. I thought it lost to the Grimm."

Wait, what?

"You knew Ruby's mom?" I asked in shock.

Gerard gave me a soft smile, "We were certainly acquainted. While I wouldn't have called us friends exactly, there were some times I found myself calling upon her expertise to deal with particularly nasty Grimm infestations I happened upon. Why, out of the entirety of team STRQ, she was the only one willing to actually share a cup of tea with me." He laughed lightly, before his expression soured, "At least before… hmm."

He went silent before he finished his sentence, leaving me wondering what he was about to say.

"I had debated hiring her like I had you, once upon a time, though for a much different position," He finally continued, shocking me in the process, "Though I had a feeling that she wasn't the type to accept such an offer. She seemed a tad too… gentle, in the way she went about things. Grimm were certainly not spared her wrath, make no mistake, but she had a tendency to think the best of people, often despite their being undeserving of her kindness."

"Ruby always said her mom was the kindest person she's ever known. And her dad often says the exact same." I commented quietly.

Gerard nodded solemnly, "Indeed she was. The few interactions we had with one another certainly left an impression. It was truly a shame when I was informed of her passing, the world is worse off for her loss."

He leaned back in his chair, seemingly making a decision as the air of the room returned to normal, "Still, if Ruby Rose is anything like her mother, then I see no reason to deny your request. And although I must ask you to keep the specifics a secret, there is no harm in telling her the broad aspects why you are in my employ."

I felt a massive weight lift from my shoulders at his words, and my ears flicked happily on top of my head as a large grin split my face, "Thank you so much sir!"

Gerard just nodded, "Of course Rei. You have earned a certain degree of trust in your time under my contract. I hope you continue to do so."

I gave him a serious nod, "I will do my best. You've done a lot for me Gerard, and I want to pay you back for that."

"I have no doubt you will." The man smiled gently at me, before waving a hand, "Now you had best get going. Who knows what those two might get up to if left by their lonesome for too long."

I giggled lightly before beginning to make my way to the lawn where the bullhead was parked. That was much easier than I had imagined it would be. Gerard really was a fantastic person to work for wasn't he?

Now all I had to do was finish this heist and get back to my girlfriend so I could tell her that I was a… criminal…

My girlfriend who was currently in school to become the nearest equivalent to the monster-fighting police…

…Maybe I would make some cookies to soften the blow.


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Next two chapters are posted there if you would like to read it early!