The fun never stops around here. Had a dental appointment this week and there's a filling on one of my teeth that has some decay underneath. Looks like a cavity or maybe something they missed when they put the filling in. Either way, it's gotten deep enough that they have to do a root canal and a crown, so I'll be going in on Tuesday to have the first part done. Expecting a pretty miserable week as a result, but it shouldn't be as bad as when I got all four wisdom teeth pulled. That was awful.
Not sure if I'll feel up to writing as a result, so may not be a chapter next week. Or I might find myself extremely bored and have nothing to do but write. Could go either way, really. So if there's nothing posted next Friday, just assume I'm still on the mend and not dead.
Unrelated to that, if you haven't watched the Season 3 finale of Bluey, it's a masterclass in good writing. The subtle tie-ins to a bunch of past episodes. The way they wove the story of the farmer early on throughout the entire episode. And that ending! My eyes may have sweated a little during the song. Might even rewatch it tonight just to get those chills again. As someone who is extremely critical of writing in shows, I can honestly say this ranks right up there for me with the Season 7 finale of Futurama, Camp Camp's The Forest, or even the Season 10 finale of RvB. Man, I really need to compile all my favorite TV episodes and just binge them until they break me.
"Mistral Eight Seven Seven Zero, this is Vale Tower. You all doing alright out there?"
"Told you they'd notice," the pilot whispered, giving his best told-you-so grin before unmuting his headset mic. "Vale Tower, we're all good up here. Got a pesky error light that keeps poppin' up. Just slowin' down to make sure we're still airborne."
A staticky laugh preceded, "Roger that, Seven Zero. Let us know if you need an escort."
"Will do. Everything looks good so far. Should be back on course shortly."
"I'll keep landing pad three open for you. Welcome to Vale, Seven Zero."
"Thanks for that, Tower. See you soon." The pilot's mic clicked off a second later. "This is as low as I can get you. It's now or never."
Easy for him to say. Low and slow sounded a lot nicer than the canopy of trees still flashing by a hundred feet below. Vale would notice if an aircraft landed in the middle of nowhere, though. Any further out, and he'd have a long walk ahead of him. That only left one option.
"You sure this is safe?" Marcus shouted as Adam leaned out the side of the airship.
Safer than alerting Vale to their presence. "It's just like practice. You'll be fine." Or he'd die on impact and splatter across the forest floor. Huntsmen did hot drops like this all the time, and at much higher altitudes and speed. They'd run some drills beforehand, though they weren't quite as dangerous as the drop below him. Nor had they done much practice with trees in the way.
In hindsight, they really should've prepared more.
"Keep your eyes open and try to let the branches bleed your momentum," Adam instructed. "And don't tense up! Try to roll with the landing. Once you're down, wait for me to come find you, then we'll make our way closer to the city."
Not too close, of course. He, Marcus, and Nag would be setting up camp a ways off the beaten path. They didn't need some patrol or locals stumbling across them. The Emerald Forest, with its consistent Grimm population, would've been tempting if it wasn't the stomping grounds of every student in Beacon. That would certainly be an awkward introduction to Vale.
Blake and Ilia watched apprehensively from their seats, along with a handful of Sienna's men. Why were they on edge? Unlike Adam, they got to stay on the airship 'til it landed and then spend some time in the city making contacts and setting up a preliminary HQ. He was the one hurling himself into a forest and doomed to a long wait without so much as a fire. Camping outside the walls wasn't unheard of, but the less attention they drew, the better.
Knowing he couldn't wait forever, Adam took a deep breath and threw himself out the door.
Landing strategies, as Huntsmen liked to call them, sounded great in theory, but with the ground rushing toward him armed with an array of unforgiving trees, Adam just did his best not to die. His sword clenched tightly in one hand, Adam crossed his arms in front of him as he hit the canopy, smashing through branches like a human wrecking ball. He swung, blade biting briefly into a thick trunk and turning him before momentum ripped it free. His shoulder struck another painfully, spinning him back in time to brace his feet against a large branch and kick. Instead of springboarding off it, an ominous snap had his platform drooping low.
Bit by bit, in what looked more crash than landing, Adam slowed his descent enough to hit the ground with a roll and not lose a leg. Aura still flared a little, but he was in one piece.
"Ahhh!" Marcus sailed by overhead, disappearing from view as he passed. Adam dusted himself off and sprinted in the direction of something tearing through the forest. The airship was already well beyond them, and he trusted Nag had already jumped as well. They all had locator beacons on their scrolls, but given the sounds of cursing, leaves rustling, and branches snapping - hopefully, just branches - Adam figured he knew where to go.
Sure enough, Marcus was sprawled in a heap up ahead. The mutters and groans assured Adam he wasn't already down a member.
"You okay?"
"Ugh." Marcus accepted Adam's help and stumbled to his feet. Even then, he reached out to a tree for support, nearly headbutting the thing as it treacherously swayed before him. He caught himself at the last second, panting for breath as he summed up the situation with a single word. "Ouch."
Good enough. Anyone who could complain was still good enough to press on. Pulling out his scroll, he located Nag's ping not far ahead. "This way," he rendered, not waiting for a response. Marcus stumbled after him.
Unlike Marcus, Nag looked to have fared well enough. He could see some cuts and bruises, but that was about it. More than that, she was actually standing when they found her. "Boss."
All business, as usual. If only the rest of Alpha Squad could act like her. "You ready to move?"
"I am." She glanced past him to the winded form that stumbled to catch up.
He got the hint. "Alright, we'll rest here for now." He tried his best to ignore the thud behind him. "Blake should make contact once they land. After that, we'll head for the rendezvous spot and make camp."
Then would come three boring days of nothingness for them. Sienna's men would be heading to their new warehouse, doing all the boring initial work of inspecting the property, signing forms, ordering furniture, and whatever else a new business property required. It didn't sound much more exciting than Adam's job of sitting in the woods.
Meanwhile, Blake and Ilia were to make contact with a small group of supporters in Vale that Sienna had been in contact with and help them get started. Mostly, they'd be passing on information from Sienna in person and arranging a meet with Sienna's men. From there, they'd discuss recruitment operations, organization, supplies, and even business fronts to be established in the city. By that point, Blake and Ilia would pull out and join Adam to head east to carry out the less boring part of the mission.
All in all, it should be the easiest mission ever. Vale didn't have a White Fang presence yet, so they weren't exactly on the lookout for anything. As far as the world knew, the White Fang was Mistral's problem that Atlas couldn't help but stick their pompous noses in. For now, that wouldn't change, but he and Sienna both knew they needed to expand if they wanted to survive. They'd need to split attention and have extra bases in case one of their locations fell. A good foothold needed time to develop, so while they didn't have anything planned for Vale right now, they couldn't wait until they needed it. Better to work on it now rather than later.
"They'll be fine," Nag assured him.
"I know that." As if he had any doubt. This was about as non-combat as missions got. Even if something went wrong, they both had aura and training, even if he had their weapons. Armed teenagers weren't exactly unusual in Vale, but the less attention they got, the better. And if anything happened, he'd get them out, even if he had to charge the walls himself. No way could Vale ignore him if he attacked like that. A quick chase into the forest and they'd forget all about two suspicious teenage girls in the city.
The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow. Shouldn't they have landed by now? Where was Blake's call? Did something happen? No. They couldn't have been blown already…unless Vale knew they were coming. How could they…that was crazy talk. Barely anyone in the White Fang knew about the mission, and he doubted any of them would turn just to rat out Blake and Ilia. If anything, they'd let the city know Adam's location for an ambush. He would be the real target.
Then again, they had to know he wouldn't go down without a fight. But what if they thought a fight was too dangerous and tried to lure him out instead? Capturing Blake and Ilia might work. Kidnapping teens, though? Had the humans really sunk that low? Would they really risk an international incident by arresting the daughter of the leader of Menagerie? That kind of thing would just stir the faunus up even more. They might as well kick off the next Faunus Revolution right now. How could they be sure he wouldn't-
Adam's scroll beeped.
"Blake!"
"Hi, Dad." Adam breathed a sigh of relief at her voice. Calling him Adam over her scroll probably wouldn't give them away, but better safe than sorry. If anyone was listening to Blake's conversation, they'd just assume she was calling home after landing in Vale. "We landed safely. Took a little longer than expected to get through customs."
Of course. An airship lands full of faunus, and the authorities just happen to do a random search of everyone on board. Typical human scum. "Good. Is your sister with you?"
"She's here," Blake assured him. "We should be good to go in a few minutes. After that, we'll go see Aunt Kelly and get settled in."
Their contact. Her actual name, too. No reason to make someone up. If anyone checked in on things, they'd find two presumably related faunus girls visiting a faunus widow who worked and lived in Vale. Both she and the girls had been briefed on their cover. Blake and Ilia were the daughters of Kelly's brother-in-law who lived in Mistral. He'd sent them to Vale to visit but couldn't come himself due to work.
"How's Vale?"
"A little cold, but not as bad as back home." Another code. Blake had actually come up with everything, from their cover to secret phrases to fill Adam in. Cold meant she thought someone was watching or listening in. Possibly a customs official. The last part assured him it wasn't anything to worry about.
"How was your flight?" Any problem with the mission?
"The food was awful, but I wasn't very hungry." Cargo was being searched, but it didn't look like there were any problems.
"Hope the landing wasn't too rough." Is the mission still on track?
"Barely even felt it." Everything looked good. No complications expected.
"Good." That part wasn't code. There really wasn't any reason things should've gone wrong, but there was always that niggling doubt to deal with. Hearing that they were off to a good start relaxed him more than he expected. "Call me if you need anything."
"We will," Blake promised. She hesitated for a moment before quietly adding, "Love you."
He could practically feel the embarrassment in her voice, even if it didn't make any sense. She'd been the one to come up with their cover, including the sign off. As weird as it was, it was just part of their cover. A loving dad and his daughter. It would almost sound weirder if they didn't say it at the end, especially when he'd apparently paid to send his two, loving daughters all the way to another Kingdom like this. Flights like that weren't cheap. It was all part of their cover, so why did she sound so embarrassed?
Duh! That was part of her cover, too! He didn't know much about being a happy, normal teen, but he had to imagine a teenage girl would feel embarrassed saying that to her dad. She was playing the part to perfection. Of course, no loving father would end the call there.
"Love you, too," Adam responded, smirking as he hung up. It felt really weird, but he'd never really tried acting like that. Trying to be two people at once sounded exhausting, always having to remember little behaviors and mannerisms foreign to your own. Still, if Blake could pull it off, then so could he.
Now if only Nag would stop laughing at him.
"What?" he demanded, though his snarl only made her laugh more.
"Nothing." Sure. Nothing. As if any woman in history had ever meant those words. "Are those wedding bells I hear?"
Such children.
"Oh, do you think you'll get to be Maid of Honor?"
"Pretty sure Ilia will beat me to it," Nag joked, happy to have lured Marcus into her foolishness. Adam took back all the nice things he'd ever said about her.
"Good thing Indie's not here." Really? They were going to joke about someone's feelings like that? Adam felt like he should intervene, but doing so would just feed their amusement.
"Ilia won't be happy, either," Nag added, much to Adam's confusion. Bad enough they wanted to pretend Blake liked him. Now Ilia too? Did they think he was starting a harem or something?
Engaging with them would only feed the fire. Better to ignore their stupidity and stay focused on what mattered. "Mission's a go. Next check-in is in six hours. Plenty of time for you two to set up camp."
"Us?" Marcus complained. "What about you?"
"I'm going to scout the perimeter." Not for Grimm. There wasn't much chance of them this close to the city. No, he intended to check for humans - people that might notice a trio of strange, armed faunus lurking outside Vale for no apparent reason. Attacking them would be out of the question. Strange disappearances would have law enforcement or even Huntsmen out on the prowl. Instead, they'd just move their own camp if he spotted anyone too close. "Besides, it sounds like the two of you have more than enough energy to spare."
Not that there was much to do. They couldn't build a fire, so no firewood. They hadn't brought any camping gear, either. Just a bag of dry food that Adam threw at Marcus. To Marcus. Definitely one of those. He'd scout out a water source while he was out for them to fill their canteens. Not exactly glamorous work, but it was all part of the plan.
A really boring plan. He had yet to set foot in Vale, but he already hated it. Hard not to when he had to sit around staring at the walls all day, waiting for Blake to report in. When she finally did, he dragged out the conversation, bored out of his skull before parting with the same sign off as before. Anyone could be listening, either hovering somewhere near Blake or even monitoring their calls. He couldn't risk slipping up and exposing them all.
Adam sat around waiting for the sky to darken, only for the bright lights of the city to take over for the sun, shining brighter than even the shattered moon above. They were far enough away that he could only faintly hear the hum of the city's nightlife, wondering how anyone could live like that. Sleep did not come easy, with him waking up somewhere in the middle of the night to distant gunshots and sirens.
And they called the faunus animals.
Just a few days, Adam reminded himself as he rolled over and tried to block out the horrid sounds of so-called civilization. Just a few days, and they'd be away from this gods-forsaken city. As sleep danced away from him once more, Adam cursed the horrid place and silently wished he could burn the whole city down.
/- - - - - - - - - -/
Three days sounded so short in his head. Seventy two hours. Four thousand three hundred twenty minutes. Two hundred fifty nine thousand two hundred seconds. He knew it had gotten bad when he'd resorted to math for entertainment. Math! The numbers he'd drawn in the dirt mocked him, jeering at how just how far he'd fallen.
He knew three days wasn't actually that long, but time had a nasty habit of playing tricks on him. Three days of training would've flown by in the blink of an eye. Three days of meetings? Torture. But three days of sitting around with nothing to break up the monotony except the rare call from Blake on progress felt like a death sentence. He'd reached the point of wishing something would go wrong, just so he'd have something to do.
Alas, everything went according to plan, leaving him nothing to do but wait. When Blake finally reported they were leaving the city, Adam nearly cheered. Nag and Marcus, equally bored but without even the reports to look forward to, brightened at the news, eager to be away from the vile city of Vale at last.
When Blake and Ilia finally arrived, they dared to look bored, complaining about the long meetings and wasted time between. Nag had to hold Marcus back while Adam felt the itch to slap her. They knew nothing of boredom. Next time, she could sit outside and do nothing while he went sightseeing all day. So what if everyone would recognize and attack him? Better an impossible fight than death by nothingness. At least let him have some fun in his final moments.
Blake's report proved just as boring as the rest of the mission so far, but Adam refused to skip it, forcing her to go into detail on everything that happened before they could leave for the coast. Not every mission would be so simple and she needed practice sharing information afterwards. He definitely didn't just want to put her through the wringer after her three-day vacation in Vale.
That would be petty.
The short version was that Kelly had a few like minded friends that supported the White Fang and wanted to do more. A little too much more in some cases. Blake had talked them down on anything too visible, instead convincing them that they should prepare and build up first. Busywork, even if it would pay off in the long run. Sienna had a long list of ideas to keep them busy and lay a solid foundation for the future. Protests. Recruitment. Pushing for faunus unions in their workplaces. Setting up small businesses as fronts.
"She wanted to start a clothing store. Somewhere they could handle uniforms without raising too much suspicion."
Not bad, but Adam could see an obvious problem there. "That'll be the first place they check if they capture anyone in uniform." Distribution would always be a vulnerability.
"Why would they need uniforms? I thought the whole idea was to keep them covert." Point for Nag.
"That's what I said." Looked like Ilia was thinking straight, too.
"Uniforms will help the new recruits feel like they belong," Adam pointed out, even if he hoped they wouldn't be dumb enough to wear it out in the open. "Something less obvious would be better, like a costume shop. Or a dry cleaner." Somewhere that could handle clothing without being responsible for where they came from. With garment bags, they could even have pickups without risking exposure. If anyone caught on, the store could just claim they only cleaned it. Or they were threatened. Much easier to write off than selling.
Blake grinned smugly. "I suggested a dry cleaner."
Great. Now he had to one up her or risk dealing with her pride for the rest of the trip. "But they need more than just functionality. Information drops could be just as useful. Places no one would expect of being involved with us, preferably with less foot traffic."
"Like a bookstore?"
Of course her mind would go straight to books. They'd have to have a legitimate stock to keep up appearances. It would be awfully convenient for the next time they sent Blake to Vale. She'd have to check in on their businesses, after all, and it might look suspicious if she spent time there without buying anything. Safer if she walked out with a few new novels for her collection. And since the White Fang would be funding the whole thing, there really wasn't a need for her to pay anything.
The worst part was, it was actually a good idea. Customers spending a long time wouldn't look too odd and he could easily imagine someone chatting up the owner about recent releases or their favorite series - a perfect opportunity for passing on intel or instructions. Reluctantly, Adam admitted, "Good idea. I'll talk to Sienna and see what we can arrange."
They wouldn't do just one, though. Diversification would be key, both for redundancy and to spread out activity. If a handful of faunus visited the same location constantly, someone might become suspicious, especially for something as specific as books. Better to have a rotation with a few places that would expect repeat customers, like a grocery store. Or a market. Maybe he could see if Kelly had any interest in setting one up.
The five of them waited until nightfall before setting out, just to be safe. The journey east wasn't a short one, especially on foot. They were basically crossing an entire continent. While aura didn't exactly make the trip any easier, it did let them travel longer each day and recover faster during breaks. The few villages they passed allowed them to stock up on supplies. While Adam couldn't risk being seen, sending Blake and Ilia in alone would look weird. Teenage girls traveling alone this far out raised too many questions. A family, though?
Adam made sure to snap a few pictures of the "loving family" each time Marcus and Nag took their so-called daughters into town. Marcus didn't seem to mind, but Nag threatened to hurt him if anyone else on the team saw those pictures. Especially the one with Marcus' arm around her waist. About time someone else had to deal with that crap, and having blackmail on her might come in handy someday. Meanwhile, Blake and Ilia seemed to handle their adoption well enough.
And much like a family, the four of them bickered and argued. The long trip took its toll on them all. Nerves were frayed with each passing day. Little arguments festered and combined into bigger ones until Adam found himself tempted to charge ahead and finish the mission solo, if only so he didn't have to listen to them anymore. Traveling through the infamous Forever Fall forest hardly helped. They couldn't afford to take any time to enjoy the striking scenery of a land locked in the best season of them all. Instead, they charged through the picturesque setting, stopping only when necessary to keep up their grueling pace eastward despite the constant complaints.
By the time the port town of Ostia finally came into view, Adam could've run into town to kiss its cobbled streets.
Instead, he needlessly announced, "We're here."
While nowhere near as big as Vale, Ostia covered a sizable chunk of land. The core of the city sat surrounded by a thick, aged wall that had stood longer than most settlements in Sanus. The buildings inside were solid but looked almost ancient in design. It was like the inner city had been plucked out of time and transported to the modern day.
Beyond the inner wall, the rest of the city had sprung up in the present, nestled against the sea beyond and spreading out to a much thicker wall dotted with men and fixed weaponry to ward off attack. While the original dock of the inner city still stood, a much larger one had taken form in the outer city, better suited for the sizable cargo ships and cruise lines that provided the lifeblood of Ostia. Several ships had been moored there, some already in the process of being unloaded.
Their target wasn't among them.
As expected. According to Sienna's intel, they still had five days until the ship reached port, which would give them plenty of time to rest and prepare. Showing up when the ship had already arrived would only put more pressure on the operation.
"We'll camp here for the night. I want rotating watches. Six hour shifts." That would keep them covered throughout their stay, as short as it might be.
Marcus shot his hand up, only to slowly lower it under the unimpressed glare from Adam. "There's five of us. Why six hours each?"
Because he said so. "The four of you will be rotating."
That answer went down about as well as an Atlas Day celebration in Menagerie. "Hey! What about you?"
Really? Did he really think he had any right to complain about Adam's level of work? After everything he'd done? "I'll be patrolling throughout." Particularly at night with only short breaks throughout the day for rest. That he was only giving them six hour shifts was a mercy when he refused to take any more time off himself than strictly necessary. "You've got first watch."
"What? Why?" They all knew why. Speaking up wasn't always the best idea, especially if it was just to complain. Plus, as the lone male of his four underlings, it was the gentlemanly thing to do. The women definitely thought so, already rolling out the sleeping bags they'd gotten at their first stop and settling in.
Even if they had almost nothing to do, the wait proved a lot more bearable than outside Vale. For one thing, they actually had something to look forward to. The promise of action reinvigorated them all. On top of that, Ostia's lower elevation meant they could see the entire city from their perch higher earned his keep with the pair of binoculars he'd picked up at one stop, giving them the chance to people watch. Not the greatest entertainment ever, but way better than nothing.
"Looks like Mrs. Maple has a visitor," Blake commented, watching a man enter the house quickly. "Wonder if Mr. Maple knows what she's getting up to."
Nag shook her head, down on her stomach beside Blake with a matching pair of binoculars. "Nah. He's too busy with his secretary. Bet he works late again tonight."
This again? "What on Remnant are you two talking about?"
"The Maples." Oh, right. The Maples. Of course. "They're both cheating on each other."
"And who, exactly, are the Maples?"
"Just a couple we've been watching," Nag hummed. "They live next to Elm." It was official. They'd spent way too much time in the forest. "She's off trying to flirt with Mr. Pine at the market, but he thinks she's just being nice."
"Idiot," Blake said, shaking her head.
Who the what? "And how do you know so much about some random people you've never met?"
Nag rolled her eyes. "Men." Blake laughed along, eyes still fixed on Ostia. Nag passed her binoculars to Adam and helped him find the market in question, describing who he was looking for. As Adam scanned the small gathering, finally locating the pair, Nag explained, "See how she's throwing herself at him?"
Adam saw them, but nothing stood out. "All I see is two people talking while they shop."
Apparently, that wasn't the right answer. "Idiot. She's obviously more interested in him."
"How can you tell?"
"She's been following him around the displays the entire time. Not to mention she hasn't bought anything. Doesn't even have a basket in her hand." So? Maybe she didn't need one. "She keeps laughing at his jokes. Touching him. Leaning closer to hear. She couldn't be any more obvious without striping down and jumping him."
"She's holding up the cantaloupe again," Blake shared since Nag couldn't see.
"Really?"
Call him stupid, but he didn't exactly see the connection. "And that means…"
Nag stared blankly at him. "This explains so much." Before he could ask what she meant by that, she explained, "She's holding them up right in front of her." Still nothing. "In front of her melons." Her…what? "Wow. How thick is that head of yours?"
Pretty thick, apparently. Even as the dots connected, he didn't understand. Did she really think that would work? Wait, no! He wouldn't get sucked into their delusions. Even if they were right, what did it matter? These were just random nobodies that didn't affect the mission. "You two spot anything useful?"
"You mean other than the most pathetically thirsty woman in town chasing after one of the two most clueless morons in history?" Adam didn't bother asking who the other one was, knowing an insult when he heard one. With a sigh, Nag reported, "Lots of movement near the docks. Looks like they're getting equipment ready for something. Something big."
About time. He didn't doubt for a second that meant their target was coming in soon. A little late, but only by a few hours. They were already well into the afternoon, but that suited Adam just fine. He didn't dare infiltrate the city during the day, so the later the ship docked, the less time they'd have to unload cargo before Adam struck. "Good. Let me know the moment you see the target. I'll tell the others."
Marcus was on watch. That was to say, he was sat against a tree with a bored expression, waiting for anything to happen. He perked up at Adam's approach. "Is it time?"
"Soon," Adam promised. "Anything interesting?"
"Haven't seen anything move except the leaves." Adam ignored how exasperated Marcus sounded. Boring, in this case, was good. Besides, this would likely be the last watch before they attacked. They'd stop being bored soon enough.
Ilia was out cold nearby, having taken the previous shift. He let her sleep until Nag whistled, pointing out to sea where Adam could just see a small shape in the distance. Nothing more than a grayish blip on the water. Testing Nag had gotten a better view, he waved Marcus, nudging Ilia awake before joining the other two.
The plan was simple, at least in theory. Sneak to the docks, infiltrate the ship, incapacitate the crew, and sail away. Getting on the ship would probably be the riskiest bit. The gangway would be too exposed for them to just stroll onboard. Thankfully, a large crane was already in position to unload the shipping crates, which would be perfect for their purposes. Once they secured the crane, Nag would stay back, using the elevated platform to provide overwatch while he and the others neutralized the crew. The priority would be taking the bridge before anyone spotted them and locked down the ship.
As the five of them watched their quarry slowly drift into position, anchoring alongside the dock with practiced ease, Adam prepared himself for the first real action he'd had in months.
/- - - - - - - - - -/
Disappointing.
That was really the best way to describe the whole thing as Adam knocked out the ship's captain with a well-placed blow to the back of his head courtesy of his sword's hilt. He hadn't even needed to break into the bridge. They'd just left the door wide open! He'd caught the captain listening to music on his scroll, completely oblivious to anything or anyone around him until a blade tickled his throat.
This was the mission he'd waited months for? Taking down an unarmed skeleton crew? He'd only run into a few people before the bridge, and one of them was the crane operator, who he'd left tied up in the control box with Nag. From there, he, Blake, Ilia, and Marcus slid down the line to the deck and spread out to take the ship.
What a joke. The unloading crew proved nothing more than a couple workers attaching the lowered hook to shipping containers, then lounging around waiting for the next hook-up. They didn't even notice four armed, masked faunus dropping in from a container that had yet to move. He'd left Marcus and Blake behind to guard the new prisoners and unload one of the containers while he tackled the most important task - taking the bridge.
Well, mission accomplished.
"Not even a single fight," Adam grumbled. He should've been grateful for such a smooth operation, but would it kill them to have a few guards on hand? Or maybe some of those robotic Knights for him to take down? Anything that would make this worth his time. At this rate, the only danger he'd face would be that hatch he'd almost tripped over.
Setting up the jammer took less than two minutes. The controls weren't even locked. They could pull out anytime they want without a problem and be on their way out to sea before anyone even noticed. Were their enemies hoping to kill him with boredom? Because it was working.
"What a waste of time." If he'd known it would be this easy, Adam would've stayed back in Mistral. At least they got warm food and regular Grimm fights. Crap. He wouldn't even have Grimm to keep him busy once they set sail. Most aquatic Grimm would be focused near the shores and posed almost no threat to a vessel this big. It would just be a long, slow slog all the way back with nothing to do.
The next time Sienna told him to take a boat, he'd tell her right where she could shove it.
He tried to hide his boredom as he tossed the captain over his shoulder and headed outside. A few flights of stairs down, and then he could dump this moron with the others on deck and wrap things up. The sooner they got away from Sanus, the better. When he got home, he planned to leave camp and not come back until he'd taken out his frustration on every Grimm he could find. Maybe if he was lucky, he could find some bandits that could give him a good fight.
A man could hope.
He'd nearly made it to the main deck when he saw a shadow move. "Hold it right there!"
"Thank the gods."
"Drop him," his would-be captor ordered, missing just how relieved Adam felt to finally have something happen, even if that something came in the form of some young guy with a voice that trembled as bad as his hands.
He'd have to take what he could get. "Very well." Adam dropped the captain like a sack of yesterday's turds, turning to face his attacker at last. Sure enough, while he pointed a gun in Adam's direction, it shook like a leaf. Adam doubted he'd ever aimed at a person before, much less fired at one. "Do you have any idea who I am?"
"A-Adam T-T-Taurus," the boy somehow managed. "You're with the White Fang."
"I am the White Fang," Adam replied with a grin, hand slowly inching closer to his weapon as he spoke.. "And I'm taking your ship."
"I said don't move!"
Adam cocked his head to the side. "No you didn't."
"Well I am now!"
He could've ended this charade in a heartbeat, but Adam intended to milk this insignificant bit of action for all it was worth. "So what now? You take me hostage and become the hero?" Fat chance of that happening, but Adam wanted to see where this went. "You realize there's more than just me aboard, right?"
He hadn't. The way his eyes widened said as much. "They'll surrender once I've captured their leader."
"Is that how you think it works?" The whole cutting off the snake's head thing didn't really work when there were things like King Taijitu out there. "They have orders. Orders that don't involve surrendering at the first sight of trouble. Even if you killed me, they'd just kill you and everyone else on board in return. Hardly a win for Team Human."
The boy gulped as reality set in. As far as he knew, he was face to face with the most dangerous man alive and a body count that would make a sorority girl blush. Even if he won, there was little chance he lived to tell about it. "A-at least I'll take you down with me."
Such a noble hero, sacrificing himself for the good of humanity - if such a thing even existed. Funnily enough, the idiot actually thought he could still take Adam by himself. Had he never heard of aura? He'd be lucky to get a shot off before Adam took him out. The only reason he still stood was Adam's desperate attempt to escape boredom.
And he'd already grown bored with his new toy.
Time to wrap things up. "I think I'll be just fine."
"I said don't move!" This again. At least he actually had said it before this go around.
"Your finger's not even on the trigger." Pathetic. This was really the best he had to work with. His adversary glanced down for the briefest moment, committing the cardinal sin of combat - taking his eyes off his opponent. The moment he did, Adam lunged forward to end it.
The boy tensed suddenly, twitching before collapsing to the floor in a heap.
The shadows behind the boy receded to reveal Ilia, her weapon still extended and glowing yellow. "I got him, Adam."
"No!" It wouldn't've been much, but even taking down that imbecile would've been the single bright point of the mission. Other than, you know, successfully completing it. "But…but why!"
"You're welcome?"
"I had him!" Somehow, this felt even worse than his prior boredom. Fate had dangled a tiny morsel of fun in front of his face, only to snatch it away from him at the last.
"I was just trying to help."
"The safety was still on!" Which was the only reason he let it drag on so long. A single gunshot would've raised the alarm, but he'd spotted the rookie mistake a mile away. "He was mine."
Confused, the best Ilia could offer was, "I'm sorry?"
"You stoles it from us!"
"I'm…gonna go back to the others." Ilia slowly backed away, fading into the darkness unnaturally while keeping her weapon handy.
Adam banged his head against the metal wall of the ship. Why? Why hadn't he struck sooner? Maybe he was overreacting, but he didn't care. The crushing weight of inactivity bore down on him once more, threatening to smother him in its cruel embrace.
After a sufficient amount of self-pity, Adam looked down to see the two unconscious forms before him that still needed carried. Ilia had long since vanished, leaving him alone with them.
"Son of a-"
/- - - - - - - - - -/
There was a commotion at the docks as a cargo ship that had arrived only a few hours ago lurched forward in the night, clipping the edge of the wooden pier and crushing it as it left. They'd only unloaded a few of the several hundred shipping containers they'd brought. Workers scrambled to the water's edge, unable to do anything but watch as the massive vessel departed and slowly disappeared into the night. Radio calls went unheeded, and soon the thing disappeared entirely, both from view and their own tracking displays.
While the men stood around exchanging confused glances, a loud banging echoed from the last container to be unloaded, which had been unceremoniously dumped away from the others at a weird angle. No one knew what to make of it until a muffled voice rang out.
Rushing over, they yanked the door open to find the crew of the vanished vessel inside, some still passed out in the metal box as their fellows tried to wake them. The dock manager shoved through the dumbfounded gathering to demand to know what happened. The closest captive - a boy no older than twenty five with a dark stain on his khaki pants - answered by handing him a mask.
A White Fang mask.
Not all missions are flashy, Adam. Sometimes, things actually go according to plan and stuff gets boring. Funnily enough, this is how I feel about my system testing job sometimes. Some tests go perfectly and you end up just trying to stay awake the whole time. Others, everything goes wrong and you wind up shoulder-deep in the internals of a computer tracing hundreds of connections to compare to a schematic until you realize they have an array of five tiny wires connected in the wrong order (true story).
The Vale Branch is set up, and the White Fang is an entire cargo ship of loot richer at the end. No fighting. No bodies. Just a well-executed plan against an unprepared Kingdom. To the point that Adam is going full Gollum from boredom. At least he wasn't referring to Blake as his Precious.
As a fun little Easter egg (because I can never help myself), the callsign for their airship (8-7-7-0) is ASCII code for WF (White Fang). Also changed the name of their contact to Kelly halfway through writing just so I could make a reference to Kelly's Market, which appears in my first fic In RWBY's Shadow. Makes me laugh to retcon Sun stealing produce from a White Fang front before meeting up with Blake at the docks.
Next chapter: A bored Adam returns to Anima.