"He who becomes master of a city accustomed to freedom and does not destroy it, may expect to be destroyed by it."
-Nicollo Machiavelli, The Prince
"Are you sure father said this would be okay?"
Percy shot a raised eyebrow back at her. "Would you want to turn around if I answered no?"
"..."
Percy rolled his eyes, redirecting his attention to the doors in front of them. They were walking up on the entrance to the elevator station, the place completely abandoned. In truth, Alexander had given his permission for Percy to continue to take Pyrrha out of the villa for training. Percy had of course neglected to mention that this 'training session' would involve seeing the lower floors.
Percy had gotten Pyrrha some more common clothes to blend in, more or less, while Percy had gone with his normal attire of dark jeans and a black t-shirt. Some might give them an evil eye because they looked pretty clean, but it's not like they didn't have washing machines where they were going.
Once they were on the elevator, Percy debated which level to take her to. She needed to see some of the rougher places eventually, but it might help to see what she expected out of the rest of Mistral.
Finally deciding on his course of action, Percy pressed a button, and the elevator whirred downwards. It was just seconds later when it let out a 'ding!' and they both walked out into the station. This one was actually slightly populated, and a few people filtered past them to get on the elevator as they got off.
Percy led Pyrrha out onto the streets, and she desperately tried (and failed) to hide her wandering gaze.
"New, right?"
Pyrrha nodded, observing the houses around them. Most properties up here had a small, well maintained lawn and a small garden in front of a two story house. The sidewalks were freshly paved, and they even passed a local park or two. All in all it looked like suburbia, USA. The perfect image of upper middle class.
"Yeah. I always thought most levels looked like this. It's new and interesting, but mostly what I expected."
Percy nodded. "And you know how the levels work in Mistral?"
Pyrrha looked at him like he was the biggest idiot in the world, but as polite as she was responded perfectly kindly. "Yes, there are 47 levels, with increasing populations and land mass as you go lower down the mountain." she said, as if reciting from a textbook.
Percy nodded. "That's correct. Neighborhoods and populations generally get poorer as you go down the mountain, as well. Do you know why that is?"
Pyrrha shrugged. "I remember hearing something about that, but no, not really."
Percy nodded. "It's really just basic real estate — land ownership and stuff. Higher up areas are not only more beautiful, they're safer from the grimm, bound to be less populated, and closer to the center of government on level one. There are a few other reasons, but really land higher up just tends to be more expensive, so the richer buy up top. You said you figured most people live like this, do you know what level we're on, Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha tried wracking her brain, trying to remember what button he had pushed in the elevator. It really hadn't seemed as important as looking out the window at the time.
"Thirty, maybe? My guess is this is about average, right? That'd make this one of the lower floors, because most people live on the lower levels. Somewhere around thirty or thirty five."
Percy nodded, letting them walk in silence for a few moments.
"This is level six, Pyrrha."
Pyrrha stopped in her tracks, staring directly at him.
Percy let himself casually come to a stop as well, looking right back at her.
"Will you take me lower?"
"Which level is this?"
"Thirty. I figured I might as well take you where you thought level six was."
Boarded up buildings filled to the brim with renters filled the streets around them, factories hammering away in the distance. Food stands littered the bustling streets, everyone just trying their best to survive.
"About two thirds of the people of Mistral actually live below this level. It's hardly a mid-point, but it's how these people live." Percy had grabbed onto Pyrrha's hand to make sure he didn't lose her in the crowd.
Percy wasn't a complete idiot, meaning he wouldn't take her any lower. Hell, the 47th level was just a den of crime so bad not even the great families would get involved. He was not showing that to a twelve year old. He was just trying to let her experience the world a bit, not scar her.
They walked around for almost fifteen minutes, going from the residential to industrial to commercial districts, all of which looked like a particularly poor East Asian slum. But soon enough Percy started leading her back to the elevator. Pyrrha was silent the whole way.
It was only once they were in the elevator itself that the silence really began to get awkward.
"Do you know why I showed you this, Pyrrha?"
Pyrrha looked down. "To… to show me how fortunate I am. That I should help people, that-"
"No."
"No?"
"No." Percy nodded. "I didn't take you down here to guilt trip you, Pyrrha. None of this is in any way your fault, and really it's not even your father's fault. It's the result of a country in decline, one that's been in decline for decades, really." that was another thing that was remarkably similar to ancient Rome. Mistral was Rome, and it was collapsing. "I took you down here because if you haven't seen what the world looks like by the time you're a woman, it'll be too late. Just… keep your eyes open, Pyr." Percy tousled her hair.
He hid a smile when it garnered the expected reaction, Pyrrha dodging out of the way and batting aside his hand, hiding her own smile.
A few seconds later, the elevator opened up on the second floor with a ding.
"Now, don't think you've gotten out of training for today just because of this little field trip. You need to change, and then you and I are gonna be spending the rest of the day in the ring."
Pyrrha groaned, and Percy had to hide another smile. While it was important she see everything that happened to the rest of the world, that hardly meant he wanted her to be sad. She could mope all she wanted in Argus, but he wouldn't let that happen on his watch.
"Is this the last time you train me?"
Percy blinked, surprised at the blunt question.
"No, probably not. I'm sure I'll manage to come to Argus to kick your little butt at some point in the next few years."
They were both relaxing on the bench after a rather long spar, Pyrrha recovering her stamina.
"But… you're not gonna train me anymore, right? It'll be the teachers at Sanctum?"
Percy sighed, looking away. "No, I won't be your teacher anymore. I'll try and teach you what I can when I stop by, but I can't keep training you my way, not for any amount of time."
Pyrrha shook her head and pouted. "But I want you to train me. If the instructors at Sanctum are anything like my old instructors, I won't learn anything!"
Percy turned to make eye contact with Pyrrha, leaning forward just a bit. "Pyrrha, it's been great taking these last few months to dedicate to train you, but this isn't what I do. I'm not a teacher. I can't stay and train you in place of a combat school, I have things I need to do. We'll keep in touch, alright Pyr?"
Pyrrha nodded sadly. "I just… I think it'll be a waste of time with them, you know?"
Percy nodded. "I know. You've made good progress in the few months I've been training you, very good progress, and you'll be years ahead of your peers. I'll see if I can find a recommendation for an instructor up there, to help you outside of classes."
"I don't want another instructor, I want you!"
"And I've told you that's not possible, Pyrrha. I'm sorry." Percy wrapped an arm around the girl, pulling her into his side.
A few minutes of silence later Percy was about to call the break over when Pyrrha spoke again.
"I think I know what I want to name my spear and shield."
Percy's interest piqued. "And what's that."
Pyrrha bit her lip. "Well, I was thinking about naming them Milo and Akuouo."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"
"Speak and listen, in modern Graeci. But… what is it in Greek? The language our ancestors spoke, that you speak. I want to name them in Greek."
Percy thought for a moment. "The closest translations would be Anth and Plat. Speak and listen respectively. Anth would be your spear, I'm assuming?"
Pyrrha nodded. "And Plat the shield."
Percy smiled. "I like it. They're good names. Good job Pyrrha, I'm sure they'll continue to serve you well."
Standing up, Percy offered her a hand and jerked his head towards the arena. "Let's see if they like those names, eh?"
Percy felt strangely melancholic as he watched the bullhead disappear into the distance. He'd taught kids how to fight before, but for some reason Pyrrha was a first for him. She was different, that was for sure.
Alexander clapped a hand on his shoulder. "We should head back to get ready for your meeting with the other families. We can't be late."
Percy nodded, turning back to the limo they had arrived in.
What surrounded them was a 'going away' assembly. Almost every servant in the house was present to wish the mother and two daughters farewell for however long they would be gone.
While some had gone with them, the majority of servants stayed in Mistral with Alexander, to continue running the villa.
Percy ducked into the limo after Alexander, trying to get comfortable. He was just going to see a council of incredibly influential individuals who could change the course of human history if they felt like it. No biggy, really. He had spoken to the Olympian council on a number of occasions. Relatively speaking, this was a walk in the park.
Or at least, that's what he tried to tell himself.
"You may enter."
Percy stood up, nodding at the servant holding open the door for him. The first thing Percy noticed about the council is that it looked like a senate committee, or a panel of judges. They were elevated, their seats hidden behind desks. It really did feel like he was going before congress.
"You may take a seat."
Percy glanced at the one who had spoken, a graying old man who looked as though he would fall the next time he tried going down the stairs. He was in the middle of the panel, and Percy took a cursory glance at the rest of them. Most of the family heads were a bit older than Alexander — late middle ages, just barely crossing the line into elderly. Alexander was on the far left of the panel of twenty or so nobles, in the periphery. They shared a nod when he walked in.
He decided to take the man's advice and sat in the lone chair at the center of the room. There was a desk in front of him, but otherwise the entire rest of the room was empty. The carpet and dimly lit decor didn't help the whole 'ominous' vibe.
"This is him?" The man in the middle raised an eyebrow, turning towards Alexandros. "He's barely old enough to be considered a man, and you want us to allow him to form his own family?"
Percy raised an eyebrow. Well, that was a little blatant. Apparently, the head of this council really couldn't care less about offending him.
Next, the one on the old man's right spoke up. "I agree. Why should we permission this boy to join us? He's just turned 18 but a few months ago."
Percy raised an eyebrow. 'Why should we permission this boy to join us?' did they not know how to speak English?
Oh.
Oh.
They weren't speaking English. They were speaking Latin.
"Permit."
The man who had spoken last turned to shoot him a harsh look. "Excuse me?
"You were trying to say permit, which is 'permisso', but you said permission, which is 'permissio'."
The head of the council narrowed his eyes at Percy, before turning an accusing gaze on Alexandros. "Did you teach him the ancient tongue? This is beyond forbidden, and unacceptable, Alexandros."
"He didn't teach me anything, I've yet to know him for a year. I learned as a child, my whole village did."
One of the members further to Percy's right looked intrigued, pushing past the objections of those towards the center. "You said an entire village knows the ancient tongue? What village is this, surely we would have heard of it?"
Percy shook his head. "We don't like to be found. We have ancient roots, but sadly the village was destroyed by a grimm migration recently. It was just west of Windpath."
The man on the right leaned backwards in his chair frowning, seemingly satisfied if a bit dissapointed.
The head of the council was not as amicable. "Assuming this is true, you are still barely a man. Why are you deserve of the title of minor house? What do you hope to accomplish?"
Percy decided not to correct the man's grammar, but did wince at the broken Latin. Now that he knew it was Latin, it was hard not to notice how slow and awkwardly they fumbled through their sentences, at least compared to those at camp Jupiter. Even in his very limited time there his Latin-Greek hardwired brain allowed him to pick up on it far faster than any mortal.
"Because, in case you haven't noticed, your city is dying." Silence met Percy's words, the whole council of major families staring back at him. "Your empire is crumbling, and it has been for decades. If there is to be any hope of Mistral surviving, things need to change, and they need to change now. That's why I want to be in the position to make that change."
The head of the council narrowed his eyes "And what makes you think you know how to fix everything, wave a hand and fix society? Why are your ideas better than those which have been in practice for millennia?"
"Look at Windpath. Hades, look at Vale, or at Atlas! They figured it out, why haven't we? What I propose clearly works, even in somewhere like Windpath, just a stone's throw from Mistral itself."
Percy stared each of them in the eye, challenging them to tell him he was wrong.
"I think we have hear enough. The council will reach their decision now, you may leave."
Percy stood, turning out of the room.
"Heard. Not hear."
Percy knew what their decision would be before he made it out of the room.
"Where are you going?"
Percy stuffed another fistful of shirts into his duffel bag. "Windpath."
Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Running away? I figured that the kid who had managed to take Windpath by himself had to be persistent. Maybe the rumors that a huntsman did it all for you aren't so far off the mark."
Percy didn't even bother glancing at him. "If you're trying to goad me into staying, it won't work. I'm not running, I have a plan. I didn't realize until meeting the council of great families, but you guys are even more incompetent than I thought."
Alexander smiled slightly. "I haven't told you if they decided to accept your request or not."
Percy stopped for a moment to raise an eyebrow at him before continuing to pack his belongings. "No offense, but it doesn't seem like you have nearly enough clout to get me accepted after that. With the way they talked to you, I wouldn't be surprised if they demoted you."
Alexander bristled. "While I must admit the Nikkos family is far from the most influential family, we are secure in our position, and have been for thousands of years."
Percy shrugged, "Either way, unless you have some serious dirt on them, I think I know which way it went. I have an idea on where to go from here, and it doesn't require me to be in Mistral."
Alexander's face went blank. "It was actually closer than you might think."
Percy was actually surprised at that. "Yeah? How close?"
Alexander shook his head. "I'm not allowed to say, but many of the younger lords like myself voted to instate you. I suspect even more would have joined in if the older generation and their political pressures weren't present."
Percy paused his packing for a moment. "That's… interesting. That gives me more to work off of, thank you Alexander. I'll keep up my business in Mistral, and make sure to send you some payment for your services. But I'll be out of the city for a while. You might hear of me, but we likely won't see each other for some time."
Alexander nodded and extended a hand. "Goodbye, then."
Percy stared at the hand for a moment before taking it. "Goodbye for now."
Percy went back to packing while Alexander made his way out of the building. Having the clear path, the one without too much violence, closed before him had left him with a new drive. Sitting in a comfortable villa and training Pyrrha was no longer the best use of his time.
What he had to do now was a lot dirtier, a lot harder, and would probably take a lot longer than it would to convince the old men in the council to change their views (with some proper encouragement). But for some reason, Percy felt a weight had been lifted from his chest.
It felt good to be back on the warpath.
Shiro looked up, startled by the knocking at his door. He didn't have any meetings right now, did he? Shifting his sword slightly closer from where it leaned against his desk, Shiro bid the guest to enter.
"Come in— Percy?"
Sure enough, Percy opened the door and walked into his office, promptly sitting himself in the guest chair.
"Shiro," Percy nodded, quickly inviting himself to pour himself a drink of the saki resting on his desk.
Shiro blinked. "I… didn't know you would be back."
Percy downed the glass, shrugging. "Because I didn't tell you. Do me a favor, call Malachite for me, and track the call."
Shiro stared at him for a moment, before pulling out his scroll. "O...kay?" Shiro pressed the name in his contact list, passing the scroll to his boss as it began ringing.
A moment later Lil' Miss Malachite's face appeared on his screen.
"Mr. Wan— Oh, Perseus, how have you been?" Her voice was wickedly sweet, a weird perversion of those sweet old ladies from the south in the US.
"I want to buy you out." Percy cut to the chase.
"Excuse me?" Pretense dropped, Malachite scowled back through the scroll.
Percy rested the scroll on the table, reaching over to pour himself another glass.
"I want to buy you out. I'm tired of hiring you, I need an information network of my own. Name a price and I'll pay it."
Malachite narrowed her eyes. "That ain't happenin'. I'm not just an information network, I'm the information network. I control the flow of info everywhere in these kingdoms, and I'm not bought out."
Percy shrugged, picking up the scroll again. "Last chance. Name a price and I guarantee I can pay it."
He wasn't bluffing either. While he wasn't Schnee level rich, he was just about the next best thing. He owned a city, which alone would make him rich enough to compete with all but the largest companies in Vale. Add his growing dust sales on top of that as well as a slowly growing demand for small arms from the SDC and he could stand with the richest of them. Sitting in a villa for months without spending any money on anything significant (aside from the few things he had Shiro working on) had been good for his bank account, so all together he was probably willing to pay more than any other individual on Remnant for what Malachite had to offer.
"No."
Malachite hung up, and Percy sat his glass down, standing up.
"You have that location for me?"
Shiro frowned, writing something down on a sheet of paper and passing it to him. "I don't want to know what you're about to do, do I?"
Percy shrugged. "Probably not as gruesome as you might think. Unlike the crime lords of Windpath, they don't need to be completely cut down, just removed from the picture. I'll be taking a lot of our police force with me for some help cleaning up, and probably all of the bullheads. Just make sure some cells are available in our pris— do we have a prison?"
Shiro rested his head in his hands. "No. We do not have a prison. We offload what very few criminals we arrest to the main city. I'll make sure the main municipal police station has some cells ready."
Percy nodded. "Remind me to fund a prison one of these days, and I want triple security on those cells for the foreseeable future."
Shiro let his head hit his desk. "Will do."
Percy shook his head, hiding a smile at Shiro's dramatics.
"You're a lifesaver, Shiro."
Percy glanced around as the bullhead sat down. Quickly hopping off, he waved the pilot off. He'd be back in a few minutes with the rest of them.
This was the first time he'd been in the home of the 'Graeci', which was rather funny considering he technically was one.
The small town didn't so much as have a landing pad, forcing Percy to land just outside the city and make his way inside.
"Hey kid, what's your busine—" Percy socked the guard in the mouth, then just for good measure sent a haymaker at the other guard. They both fell, limp, and Percy continued on. Someone would drag them back inside the walls — he couldn't afford to delay. Malachite would be aware of his arrival before he'd even left. He had no time to waste.
Percy didn't stop his determined stride even as those around him spoke in hushed whispers, police beginning to notice him. Luckily, where he was going was not far from where he had been sat down by the bullhead, and within seconds he was where he wanted to be.
Percy slammed through the front door, knocking it off of its hinges and letting him inside to a particularly unassuming diner.
Or at least, normally it was unassuming.
No customers sat at the tables today. Nobody sat at all, except for one woman at the end of the hall.
Miss Malachite was flanked by two of her presumably best henchmen, dozens of her goons having taken positions around the restaurant, behind the bar, behind barricaded tables, and even above him on the upper floor. Every one had a gun of some kind pointed at him.
"Perseus." Malachite drawled. "We'd had such a good thing going. I figured you had come here to take me by force, but imagine my surprise when I heard you'd decided to come here alone."
Percy shrugged, tilting his neck to either side and hearing a 'pop!'
"I am strong. You knew that."
Malachite shrugged herself. "I know you're strong compared to us normal folk, but you don't know who you're dealing with. I got me a couple aura unlocked helpers, too."
Percy glanced at either of the two on her sides, a guy and girl, and decided she wasn't bluffing. They looked like they could take a punch, but that's about it.
"I don't think that'll be enough, Malachite."
Malachite let out a long, ugly laugh. "You may be hot stuff, but you spent maybe two weeks training with that Branwen. That ain't enough to match up with one of my boys, much less my whole organization."
Percy shrugged, shaking out a kink in his wrist. "If that's what you think. Good luck."
Percy pulled Riptide out of his pocket, the unassuming pen doing nothing to intimidate the few dozen odd hardened criminals before him. These weren't amateurs — these were the best Miss Malachite had to offer, the most powerful information broker in Remnant.
Maybe it would actually be a challenge.
Percy launched himself forward, uncapping Riptide and bringing it to shoulder level, poised for a stab in one fluid motion.
Malachite's goons flipped the table over in front of her to protect her, but it was useless. Grunting at the few bullets that landed, he stepped with all his weight on the top edge of the table, sending it tumbling back over.
Now directly in front of the information broker, he slashed to his right, absolutely shattering the girl's aura with one blow from Riptide. Pathetically low aura, that one.
The next moment he launched a kick to his left, solidly knocking the guy with aura back. This one didn't have quite as low aura, and just grunted as he was knocked onto his back.
Dashing the foot or so it took to reach the downed man, Percy pulled him up by the shirt and used the agent's back to tank a few bullets for him before stabbing his opponent in the sternum with Riptide, tanking his aura. Deciding it was good enough, Percy dropped Riptide to the floor, slugging the man in the face over and over until he hung limp.
Percy ignored the pattering of bullets, not bothering to pick up Riptide. Most of her men didn't have a good view of him anymore, and the rest had sporadic accuracy due to his movement.
Malachite was running, now — or whatever you could classify what she was doing as. Really a half run, half crawl, all scramble to the nearest exit. Two of her goons tried to get in his way, raising pistols to try to dissuade him from following.
Percy lunged towards them, taking a neck in each hand and tossing them to the side. Malachite made it out the nearest door and Percy felt like smiling. Great.
Going full tilt for a few seconds, he slammed through the door she had passed through, blowing it off its hinges and splintering the wood everywhere.
Malachite was less than a meter to his right and Percy caught up in a fraction of a second, reaching out to grab her arm.
Malachite glanced backwards, and Percy saw true horror in her eyes. He yanked her arm, subsequently catching the wrist of the arm that came up to stab him in the torso.
"It's over, Malachite. Thanks for running out of the building, by the way. Makes it easier to catch you when I'm not being shot in the back by half a dozen fanatically loyal thugs."
Malachite didn't respond, struggling, desperately trying to rip herself out of Percy's grasp, but he didn't let go. Transferring both wrists to one hand, Percy tugged her around the side of the building.
Malachite kept writhing in his grip, and Percy grunted. "Stop struggling, or I'll just deal with you now."
If anything she struggled harder at that, pulling away as hard as she could. Percy turned on his heel, socking her in the side of the head and causing her to go limp.
Percy shook his head in exasperation. "You didn't have to make this difficult."
Three of her agents ran into the alleyway behind him, and Percy turned on a dime to charge them.
Tanking a bullet, he moved within the guard of the one in the middle, taking hold of their extended arm and swinging them into the one on the right. Turning the full 180, he kicked the last one in the chest, making sure not to collapse his lungs and sending him sprawling into the doorway behind him, back into the building.
Percy cracked his knuckles, stretched, and yawned, moving back into the building. This was going to be a long day.
Percy rifled around the shelf, pouring himself a glass of whatever looked like the fanciest bottle and taking a sip.
Gagging, a moment later he spit it out. It tasted like cough syrup.
Still coughing, he glanced at the bottle. Gin. Avoid at all costs, got it.
His mood ruined, Percy walked around the other side of the bar, taking care to step over the unconscious form of an agent.
All of her most loyal agents were gathered in one place, where Percy could take care of them. It was almost too convenient. All around the tavern Windpath police were securing unconscious agents, flipping them over, pulling their hands behind their back, and cuffing them. The agents outnumbered the police almost three to one, but Percy had done all the fighting. They just needed to secure them and bring them back to Windpath.
Percy stepped over part of a shattered chair. The Hellenika Sive police force had shown up after a little, and it got even uglier than before. Making his way to the main door (which had had its door blown off the hinges.) Percy stepped out onto the open street. The city was hardly populated, even far less so than Windpath, but there was still a sizable crowd gathered outside. He couldn't afford more than one officer to hold the door, so the poor man was desperately trying to hold everyone back. Not that many were trying to get in in the first place — most just stayed on the other side of the street to watch.
Percy stepped around him, coming face to face with the people trying to get in.
"How can I help you?"
A man — boy, really — who had been harassing the officer to let him in looked at Percy. His eyes widened almost comically, and he took a step back.
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Not super eager when you're not just dealing with some cop?"
He shook his head vehemently. "N-no. That's not it at all. I was sent to come ask you to meet with my boss."
Percy glanced around, eyeing the still occupied Windpath police. He shook his head. "Sorry, no can do man. I'm the only real protection my men have here, I'm not leaving while they can be attacked."
He nodded. "Got it. I'll get the bossman to come here, it's no problem. Would you meet with him? If he comes here, I mean."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Sure, I'll be inside." Percy turned around, going back to the bar to find something better to drink.
"You must be…"
The man surprised Percy by bowing. "I am Irving Malachite, my lord. A… distant relative of Lady Malachite. She ran the family, and I managed more mundane, city-wide affairs."
Percy's hand tightened around the glass in his hand, but otherwise he remained relaxed. "And you're talking to me instead of running because…?"
Irving rose from his bow, wincing. "Lady Malachite was in charge here. I know it would be fruitless to attempt to combat you, so I just wanted to promise our cooperation. I'll make sure the city council knows it's yours by the end of the night."
Percy blinked. "Cooperation?"
Irving stared at him blankly. "Cooperation would make your occupation easier, my lord. I wish for our city to go back to business as usual. Under new management, of course. I can forward the money to you personally or if you'd like I can have an assistant of yours collect it themselves."
Oh. He thought Percy was pulling a hostile takeover of the city. He hummed for a moment, considering that. "How much do you know about Miss Malachite's spy network?"
Irving pursed his lips. "I have a manageable knowledge of it, my lord. All Malachites are trained at bi—"
"Good, then you're coming back with me to Windpath. You're going to give my assistant everything he needs to run your family's little network, and if you do a good job I'll let you be the governer of… what's this city called again?"
"Hellinke Sive, my lord."
"Yeah, that. We can talk about everything afterwards, but we're almost done here. Make what calls you have to and hop on the next bullhead back."
Irving nodded and walked off, pulling out his scroll to follow Percy's advice. Percy was about to head to one of those bullheads to get back to Windpath himself when an officer walked up to him. This was one without a gas mask with a relatively distinctive uniform, so Percy assumed it was a higher ranking one.
"Sir, we have a small problem. We don't have enough bullheads to escort all the prisoners back. Either some of the prisoners have to stay or some of us do."
Percy nodded. "Simple enough. Apparently I'm taking over this city anyway. What's your name."
He straightened. "Lieutenant Speirs, sir."
Percy nodded again. "Alright Captain Speirs, take some men and head to the local police headquarters. Take over operations, make sure everything goes smoothly, and keep the remaining prisoners secure. Bullheads will be back soon enough with some reinforcements and a ride out. Oh, and call me Percy."
Speirs' eyes widened, and he saluted. "Understood... Percy. I'll be right on it."
Percy waved him off, turning back to his drink.
Shiro was gonna love him when he got back.
"You what?!"
"I… took over another city. I think."
"You think?"
Percy shrugged, leaning up against Shiro's desk and crossing his arms. "What can I say, it sounded tempting."
"What about having to deal with an entire new city sounded tempting?"
"The part where I don't have to deal with it, and I'll just shirk it off to you. I'm sure we can do the same thing there as we did here."
Shiro shook his head. "I'll need another group of people I trust there to run things, which isn't possible. I'll have to move there and sort things out, which would take—"
"I have a guy."
Shiro blinked. "You do?"
Percy nodded. "Malachite's cousin… or something. I have him just outside the office, actually. He's gonna spill the beans about the spy network to you, help you control it, and then he can go back to… Hellas something to be the governor there, under your oversight."
Shiro massaged his temples. "You want me to manage a spy network on top of all this?"
Percy's face lost all signs of mirth, turning serious for a moment. "Getting another city wasn't a part of the plan, but it's hardly off course for what I'm going to be doing soon anyways. Find someone to run affairs in Windpath for you, we need to start moving internationally, and I still need you as my right hand man. Find governors or mayors or whatever for these cities, and start running things internationally. The spy network will be a start, but soon we'll be dealing with a lot more."
Shiro looked up, his face similarly serious. "What are you planning, Percy?"
Percy glanced away. "I'll tell you later. For now, we shouldn't keep Mr. Malachite waiting. Or Miss Malachite, for that matter." Percy walked out with a nod, and Irving walked in.
Shiro sighed, shuffling some papers. "So, Mr. Malachite. About this spy network…"
"I won't be in here for more than a day, you know."
Percy snorted. "I somehow doubt that."
Percy sat his glass down. Miss Malachite had been escorted to an interrogation room so Percy could speak with her. He was leaning back in his chair, nursing a glass of whatever the police commissioner had had in his office.
Malachite narrowed her eyes, shifting in her chains. "If you believe for one moment I don't have people embedded in your police force, or elsewhere in this city… You're dumber than I thought."
"It's true. I'm sure you do have people in the city, and in the police force. In fact, I don't have a clue who they are. But that won't change anything."
Malachite snorted. "And why's that?"
Percy shrugged. "Because assuming there is a daring rescue, and assuming you do escape, I have your information network now. This is, of course, assuming you're smart enough to wait until I'm outside the city, but do it quick enough that Shiro hasn't completely usurped your people's loyalty yet.
"Assuming all that, it won't take me all that long to find you, and when I do you and everyone that helped break you out is dying. Painfully." Percy stood up, stretched, and then slid the glass across the table to rest in front of Malachite. "If you value your life, I would recommend signalling your people not to break you out. I'm doing the courtesy of letting you live, and not torturing you to find the name of every last agent you have within my ranks. Please do me the courtesy of not making me regret making the morally right decision."
Malachite scowled, downing the glass. "Morals will get you killed, boy. You'll learn that today."
Percy shrugged. "A lot of things have tried to kill me, chief among them my morals. I'm still around, though. I'll see you later, Miss Malachite."
She eyed him. "I wouldn't be all that sure about that."
"Whatever you say." Percy stood up, walking out of the door. He turned to the sergeant to the right of the door. "Make sure she's under triple guard, alone. Nobody but Shiro or myself is to be allowed to move her or see her. Verify that personally, even if the commissioner himself orders it."
"Got it, boss. We'll keep her in this room until the sun stops rising."
Percy smiled. "Glad to hear it. Don't hesitate to send it up immediately if there are any problems."
Percy patted the guard's shoulder, moving down the hallway and leaving. He hadn't so much as left the building before his scroll started ringing.
Percy glanced at the caller ID, not recognizing the number. He considered the pros and cons of answering for a moment, before deciding that if they had his number, they might be able to guess that he was in Windpath.
Percy answered the call. "How can I help you?"
"This is your one chance to release her unharmed, Graeci. After that, you will know pain."
Percy rolled his eyes, but wished he had Shiro around to help him track the call. That being said, he had a pretty good idea of where it was coming from anyway considering they were speaking Latin.
"I'm honored, I didn't expect a call back from the council so soon. Tell me, did I get in?" Percy asked sarcastically.
"Funny. You had your chance. This won't end well for you." The mysterious noble hung up, and Percy sighed. This would be… more trouble than he had anticipated. Quickly navigating through his scroll, he called another number he didn't think he'd be calling back so soon.
"Percy?"
"Alexander." Percy greeted, finally leaving the police station and hopping in his car. "I just got a nice call from a gentleman on that panel I was just in front of."
"Really? Who? And why?"
Percy snorted. "You think I know that? You're the only one whose name I know. I know they were speaking latin, and sounded pretty old. They also didn't react to my quip about the council of nobles calling me back so yeah, I'd guess they're on the council."
"What did they want?"
"Just my head on a plate." The car backed up, Percy's driver pulling out of the parking lot. "Oh, and Miss Malachite, who I happen to have in my custody. I just need you to let the council know that anyone who fucks with me will have their hand bitten. At this point it's self defence."
"You have Miss Malachite? What in the name of the gods could have convinced you to do that?"
Percy waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I have my plans. Just know that they're coming for me, and when they do I will retaliate. They won't be around for council meetings anymore."
Alexander frowned through the scroll call. "I'll… inform them of your message. The other houses are fine with other families taking care of their own business, but anything they get themselves into is their own to deal with. Just… be careful. A great house is not something to be trifled with lightly, even for someone like you."
Percy nodded. "I got it. I just need them to know this isn't some sort of revenge for voting no on my entry." Percy's scroll started buzzing in his hand, and he cursed. "Thank you for delivering my message, I'll have to call you back at some point, I need to take this."
"Just keep your guard about you, and let me know if you need any help. I can't directly intervene against another family, but I can offer some indirect assistance."
"I appreciate it Alexander. Goodbye." Percy slid the 'accept call' button on his scroll, accepting another call, watching another face pop up.
"What in the name of the brothers were you thinking, kidnapping Malachite!?"
"Evening, Qrow." Percy greeted. "I see word spreads quickly."
"Damn right it spreads quickly. We're hardly without crime here in Vale, and Malachite's absence is making waves. Why would you go after her? You have no idea what you're messing with here, kid."
Percy frowned. "I think I'm capable of defending myself against her moves against me."
"She alone is more of a threat than you can handle, and she has friends in high places. A lot of them. They'll keep coming."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Higher places than my friends? Besides, I'll just make an example out of the first one, the rest won't bother honoring obligations to an imprisoned woman after that."
"Are you expecting Oz to have your back on this one? Because he doesn't. I know you two made bedroom eyes at each other and have an agreement of some sort, but he's not going to back your every stupid decision. And they're not just obligations. People trust the Malachites — they've been around for a while. You shaking it up changes things. People don't like that. Powerful people don't like that."
Percy rolled his eyes. "No, I'm not expecting Ozpin to have my back on this one. I have a plan, Qrow. I wouldn't have made my move if I didn't. When will you learn that I don't lose?"
"That's a lot of confidence for someone that has such a short track record. Don't get cocky, kid."
"I have a longer track record than you know, Qrow. I have more than one trick up my sleeve if things really turn south. I'll be fine."
Qrow dragged a hand down his face. "Alright, alright. Just… let me know if you need my help. I won't make a habit out of pulling your ass out of the fire, but you're a good kid. I'm not trying to attend a funeral this soon."
Percy smiled, genuinely glad at the offer. "Thank you, Qrow. I appreciate it. Now get some sleep, it's the middle of the night there and you look like a walking corpse."
Qrow glared at him. "Gee, thanks." his face softened, his voice taking a different tone. "If you make it out of this whole debacle alright, let me know when you're not busy. We should meet some time. You know, catch up."
Percy raised an eyebrow, surprised at the offer. "Sure, Qrow. I'll let you know. Now get some sleep."
Qrow saluted mockingly "Aye aye, bossman."
The scroll snapped shut, and Percy sighed. Maybe… maybe he had judged the man a bit harshly. His heart was definitely in the right place.
Shaking his head, Percy pulled up a contact and made one last call.
"Hey. We need to meet. Now."
Pat-reon and discord are on my profile.
A lot of you seemed concerned about my wellbeing due to gamestop — thank you, your concern is touching, but I day traded as a job even before the whole gamestop nonsense. I know what a diversification is. The foodstamp thing was mostly a meme, though I am down a good 10k or so in the last few days. It's back to rallying tho and short interest is higher than ever. If you dont know what that means, basically its a really good sign as long as we dont all pussy out.
Anyway, I've been really busy recently so imma need to sweat to get these next couple chapters out on a weekly basis. But I will. I'll see you all next Saturday.
Next Chapter February 13
