"Well well." Qrow tossed on his cheeky voice for this, and seeing Winter scowl was a nice little reminder of the good old days. "Figures you'd be here."

"And for some reason, so are you." She never moved away from the desk, but then again, who'd want to pass up on an opportunity to snoop on good old Mr. Schnee?

"Jimmy thought you could use an extra hand, what with the party later tonight. He wants us back ASAP." Qrow kept it casual as he approached. Strolling on up, he added, "so what'cha got so far?"

"Mostly nothing, but there is a slight issue." She leaned over, making room and inviting him to look. Qrow did so, and the second he read the first line, he realized just what had Winter caught in a scuffle.

"No offense, but this feels like a load of bull."

"What gave it away? The fact it was just sitting in an unsecured folder, which is something my father would never allow regarding evidence that was this damning, or maybe the fact the location for said drop off wasn't even listed anywhere?" She scowled, humming as she admitted, "I've checked everywhere for that little tip, but I've come up short every single time."

"I was thinking more along the lines of how our little troublemaker would never consider working with your old man. No offense." Qrow may not have known her father as intimately as she did, but he knew Robyn well enough; she was more than a little loud with her demands almost every time her voice propped up in protest videos, most of which were dated back before she started roughing it as a criminal.

Winter scoffed, and he could almost hear a little sass in her voice. "None taken; there's nothing you can say about him that I haven't already thrown in his face a hundred times over."

"Sounds like someone needs therapy." Qrow jabbed half-heartedly, earning an eye roll from the woman. He knew she wasn't all that fond of her father, and he was certain his offhand comments weren't warranted for this situation, but the little poke had eased off the pressure in her voice somewhat, so he counted it as a necessity. With all the chaos sure to come later, none of them could afford being caught up in excess stress.

Now if only James was so simple to handle.

"I've made peace with that sorry excuse of a man already... but your concern is appreciated, although shadowed as it is."

Qrow let a gentle smile twist the corner of his cheek. "You've changed."

"And so have you, and shockingly, I believe it's for the better." She eyed him quickly, tauntingly, but ultimately returned her focus to the document on display. "We'll need to report this to the general."

"Maybe..." Qrow wasn't so sure, and she noticed immediately, shooting a curious glance.

"Maybe?"

"It's clear our little intruder put this here, but we haven't figured out why." There was that, along with the fact this, to Qrow, seemed a little too simple. Clicking his tongue, he spit out a breath and asked, "how hard was this to find?"

"On a scale of one to ten: your ability to convince me you haven't been drinking."

Yep, she'd changed, and Qrow wanted to ask about it. However that conversation would need to happen later, because right now she'd basically told him this fake letter here possessed the subtlety of a blue strawberry. He was sure Winter knew of this: the whole thing was just too easy.

"So basically, you're telling me even Jacques would find this odd?"

"My father is no fool when it comes to his business dealings. He'd sniff this out in a heartbeat, as would pretty much anyone with a functioning brain, and most likely have the culprit arrested by sunset." Grumbling, she shrunk the document, and began clicking through several more files. "However, it's not that one which I worry for."

"Well don't keep me waiting." Qrow saw her slow down the search, leaving him looking at a series of strangely numbered files. Winter clicked one, prompting a password box. She typed quickly, and it opened up, displaying a strange schematic. Glaring, Qrow began to read, and asked aloud right as the thought came to mind and he realized what he was looking at. "This... can't be what it looks like... can it?"

"It is." Winter tightened her free hand into a fist, shaking slightly, but also looking ashamed.

"Okay, I get your pops' is kind of a jerk, but this seems a leap above his usual methods." The type of collar he was looking at here had been outlawed for years now, decades even. And yet, here it was, sitting deep in the spider's web of Jacques Schnee's personal files. "You think this was planted here as well?"

"I... I don't know." Winter's voice nearly cracked, but she caught it, and it was through that tiny action that most others would miss where Qrow saw how unsure she was. While being unsure was normal for most, Winter had always been the type to accept and deal with issues that stumped her, never once wavering in the face of uncertainty. Normally, she'd make a guess, and if she was wrong, she'd deal with the aftermath later.

But she wasn't, not here, and that spelled trouble.

"Okay, hit me with the issue. What's wrong with this scene?" Qrow crossed his arms, eyeing the blueprints over again, looking for any signs of it being a forgery, or other evidence that it was just a lie.

"It's surely the device talked about in the letter, but the password used... it was theirs."

"Theirs?" He scowled at the plans now. "You're talking about Robyn's crew, aren't you?"

Winter merely nodded from the corner of his eye, and began with, "naturally, the first thought I had in mind was the letter. If it's fake, then the password I used wouldn't work... but it did."

"And what about this specific password makes it all so damning? Actually, how did you even know it?" He figured it may have been mentioned somewhere in the fake document, but the way Winter's voice hardened made it clear she was certain about every word.

"A while back, before you and the others arrived, we'd come into possession of one of the Happy Huntresses' code words. Originally, we thought it was just something they'd use to cover their digital operations, and we were right. With it, we're able to jump into their systems whenever we wish, but Robyn and her ilk aren't like everyone else in Mantle: their systems are all offline, and only connect to one another."

"Meaning you can only get in if you're down there yourselves." She nodded, and Qrow had to give it to them: the rebels at least had the common sense to disconnect from the mainframe. Inconvenient, yes, but safe from most information leaks such as the one Winter spoke of.

"Exactly." She bit down a little on her lip. "And that's the issue. This file here, as well as a few others: they all use the same code as their password."

"So what?" Qrow shrugged, nodding to the screen. "That just means our intruder has their fingers in Robyn's pie, or maybe they stole her stuff like you had."

"I would think so too, but that isn't it either."

"Okay, you've lost me again." With that, Winter closed up the entire program, folders and all, and reopened it again, handing the reins to him.

"You saw the path I took. Take a go yourself and get back to that directory."

"Ooookay?" Qrow did so, or, at least he tried to. Right as he was about to enter the folder containing the damning evidence - the files needing Robyn's special passcode - he was prompted with another password box. That hadn't happened with Winter, and he let his befuddlement be known. "What's happening? Why is it asking this? It never asked you for one."

"That's because I filled it in before you arrived." She took over again, typing in another series of letters and numbers, which the program accepted, and yet again the files were made available. "It's an extra security measure my father had implemented long ago, back before I left to join the military. Every time you open up the directory from a complete close, it'll prompt you for a password."

"It didn't ask you for one though."

"That's because I'd already been inside." Winter backed out and went back in. The password prompt never showed up. She closed the program entirely, again opened it up, and upon trying to get back in the prompt displayed itself as it had with him. Quickly, they were back in, and Winter continued on. "After seeing it all myself, I backed out and tried snooping around for other evidence, but kept the program open for ease of access."

"Uh huh." Qrow wondered why it didn't just prompt every time, but then again, this was probably just a convenience thing, like Winter mentioned. Instead of dwelling on the CEO's inconsistent paranoia precautions, he chose to ask, "so why is the password prompt important? Assuming that's what you're highlighting."

"The password for this one isn't the one used by Robyn... It's my father's personal pass."

"What does that mean this time?" Qrow kind of had a tickle of an idea, but he let Winter break it down.

"It means the only person who'd be able to get into that folder, and place those files within, is my father himself." Winter was scowling as she hissed, irritated. "Not even my mother knows about this one."

"And yet, you do?" Qrow would admit, he was curious about how she got a hold of something supposedly as secret as she was making it out to be. Winter wore a cheeky grin, which kind of looked odd on the woman, who was more known for being the local 'ice-queen' when it came to emotional range.

"He used it a fair bit when I was growing up, right in front of me at points. I don't think he ever considered the idea that I might remember it, let alone use it against him." A tiny chuckle slipped from her lips, which strangely made the hairs on Qrow's neck stand straight. "He's nothing if not complacent. Unless he has a direct belief he's in danger, he'll almost never make changes to his habits. And, as you can see, convenience is one of his higher priorities."

"Right." Qrow could see the issue now, even though a giggling Winter was still painted exquisitely in his mind. "So your dad has the password only he knows keeping a folder of 'fake' evidence against him safe." Sighing, he hummed with irritation cutting through. "Meaning either our intruder cracked the code, or Jacques himself is doing dangerous deals now, implying our little birdie below isn't as innocent as she seems."

"Unfortunately, I'm leaning more on the latter." Winter closed everything out, but not before snapping a few pics with her scroll. "We were called almost immediately when she started making a mess, to the point we believed V himself was compromised. Obviously, I was here quickly, and had my soldiers breach and spread out."

"So what you're saying is, our little hacker didn't have time to somehow crack the password."

Winter nodded, and he deflated. She continued on with, "there is the possibility that an intruder with some intimate expertise in tech could find another way in, but with how brazen the assault itself supposedly was, I doubt they were that clever."

"Maybe..." It still didn't sit right with Qrow. "But that message... Why was it placed so openly? It somewhat feels like a rush job."

"That... may be what it was." Winter seemed to clue into something, and looked his way with a less serious expression. "What if, and this may sound bold, but what if the message was initially meant to be hidden, but our intruder ignored that necessity?"

Qrow wriggled a brow up, almost casually, as he took on the idea. "You mean... our invader couldn't be bothered to do their job right, and just said "screw it," placing the message in an easy to spot place for Jacques to bitch about later?"

"Yes."

"..." The worst part of this was that he couldn't exactly discount the idea. "I guess. But... doesn't that seem a little, how do I put this? Stupid?"

"Well... do you have any better ideas?" Winter crossed her arms, somewhat pink in the cheeks. Although it was cute to see a Schnee looking flustered at anything, Qrow was being called out on his ass.

"Nope. I do, however, think this seems a little too convenient. If our invader was trusted with something this important, and this whole thing is real, then wouldn't Robyn and Jacques make sure they'd only hired the best of the best to get the job done?" Qrow let his arms fall, relaxing at his side. "And remember: your old man was just as shocked as everyone else about the attack, wasn't he?"

"That is true, but there's the chance he was simply uninformed about who would carry out the task between them."

"Yeah..." Qrow rolled his eyes, sighing. "You sure this isn't just the urge to get back at your old man speaking?"

Winter, to her credit, appeared both reserved, and aghast at the same time. Gritting through her teeth, she spoke. "If I was so petty, I wouldn't be where I am today."

Qrow, in response, raised his hands defensively. "Easy. I'm not implying you are." She was, but he wouldn't say it to her face. "I'm just saying that maybe we might be missing a few things: too many things to be jumping to conclusions."

"Then what would you suggest?"

Way to make this harder on me. Qrow didn't mind too much; he could tell she was genuinely open to whatever ideas he may have had. Luckily for her, he did have one, although it wasn't perfect.

"As far as I see it, there are two possibilities. One, your dad and Hill are collaborating on some pretty heinous stuff. Or two, somebody has access to your dad's private info, and is looking to take him down."

"Yes, as we've already deduced." Ah Winter, as impatient as he remembered; at least that remained the same. "So how are you suggesting we handle this?"

"Well, I implied holding off on immediately informing Jimmy earlier. Right now, I'm pretty sure it's obvious how stressed he is over everything, and if we tell him your dad might be plotting behind his back, there's a chance he'll jump the gun."

"But we can't just leave him in the dark." Winter had a fair point, which Qrow was quick to jump on.

"I never said we would be, so let me finish." Shutting her trap, she nodded for him to continue, which he did. "Now, if we tell him about your dad, as I said, he might flip. But, if we just told him we found a suspicious file on Mr. Schnee's system instead, and that we think somebody may be trying to set your old man up, he'll most likely keep an eye out around Jacques instead, leaving the man himself alone for the most part. I mean, he'll still keep an eye on him, he trusts your dad about as much as Robyn, but at the very least his focus will be less on exposing the man and more on catching any potential outside interferences; AKA, he'll be snooping for troublemakers in the crowd."

"And if we're wrong?" Winter challenged, to which Qrow addressed.

"That's where we come in. As Jimmy's keeping an eye on everyone else, we will be shadowing your pops and Robyn, up close and personal. You know your old man better than anyone, and even if they're in cahoots they'll still need to ham it up with one another. You think you're capable of catching Jacques out on some fake greetings and animosity."

"Perfectly." Winter said exactly what he wanted to hear, adding, "one of the first things he taught me when growing up was both how to lie, and how to spot a liar. Normally, it takes intimate knowledge of the individual, so naturally, my siblings and I are the best bet when dealing with him."

"Are you thinking of getting them involved?"

"I may very well need to. It's been years since I've dealt with him personally, and our more modern interactions are sparse at best. I don't like it, but I might have to make use of my sister to properly scrutinize him."

Qrow could accept that. "Good. I'm not all that friendly with Robyn, but I'll make sure she doesn't go messing with any tech around him, or anywhere really. I'll be relying on you to out your old man if push comes to shove."

"Right." Winter said, and a short silence permeated for a few seconds before she relaxed a tad. "Then I suppose that's the plan?"

"Yeah." Qrow said, pulling out his scroll. "Hold on while I get Raven to pick us up."

"Very well."

An uneasy, and dangerous idea to be sure, but it was all they had. With any luck though, it wasn't as bad as it looked. Unsurprisingly, this didn't quell the sour pit swelling in his stomach, and nor did it provide any real comfort, to either of them.

.

.

"I see..."

Honestly, he'd half expected this. James, doing his best not to show it, buried his fatigue as best he could. Qrow could obviously cut a path through this ruse, and perhaps Winter as well, but it would do no good to let his lacking energy show. With Salem's agents on the horizon, he couldn't afford to let any weaknesses show. He'd already dismissed Raven, who took it as him saying he wanted to speak with the pair she evacuated alone well enough, and had excused herself almost too easily.

Either way, they'd explained the situation, and now had moved onto the discussion.

"Any ideas on how you'll be handling it?" Qrow asked, speaking with a tone not so different from the one Ozpin used to carry. Unfortunately, there were little signs of the man hidden in the boy, as of yet at least, and he hadn't the faintest idea of how to potentially help coax him out of Oscar. Really, James wasn't even sure he properly had a handle on what happened to cause his old friend's sudden disappearance, but that was a problem for later.

"I'll see to them as I usually do with the council."

"So basically, you're going to let them tire themselves out arguing, and try to sneak in with the K.O.?" Hearing it like that, Ironwood let himself smile, just a little.

"You make it sound dirty."

"Ha!" Qrow chuckled a little after. "Yeah, I guess it is a bit sly." Stretching a bit after, he added, "but what can you do when dealing with people like them, eh?"

"Very true." At least Qrow was in a better mood. Although, upon taking a closer look, he too seemed to have been through his fair share of... troubles, as he himself often put it. Back in the day, James himself would have lambasted the man for his apparent lack of effort or care towards things, but with so much terror sneaking up on them, he chose to look at it differently.

Qrow's half-hearted jabs and jokes were one of the few consistencies to remain from the peace they once held, and a reminder that even with their world falling apart at the seams, there were still some things strong enough to stick in place.

Strangely, it was made clear over the short time since their arrival that this had been going on for quite a while. Just within his upper pocket, right next to his personal scroll, sat another: a journal of a man carrying with him his family's history. James made a note to return the recorded relic to Miss Rose once he finished up, but in his spare time he'd been reading the legacy of her family. It, of course, came with a few mysteries and such, especially with how things supposedly turned out and what it meant for the modern day, but strangely enough, it appeared every era had that pseudo unpredictable 'hero' to go along with it.

Honestly, the whole event in regards to a potential overthrowing of a whole kingdom seemed awfully similar to what his beloved Atlas was going through now. James could only hope this wasn't a repeat of the past.

"Well..." Qrow began, taking a second to break out his trusty flask and sip, before settling it away again and thumbing to the door. "I'll be taking off; I want to get a bit of time in with the kids before everything gets tense." James nodded, understanding the pressure to enjoy what free time they had. Qrow waved as he turned, and started off. "Later."

This left him alone with Winter, who looked at him with a steadfast focus. He was about to excuse her, but then he noticed how... off putting her eyes were. It wasn't specifically them alone, or the fact they were wider than usual by only a twitch, but her poker-face looked to be struggling for some reason. Soft flickers tickled the corners of her cheeks, and he did his best to offer a concerned look. Something was eating at her, and he curiously inquired about it.

"Specialist Schnee... is something the matter?"

"No sir. Nothing in particular..." She still wanted to say something, but was very clearly struggling to decide whether to mention it. Regardless of how easily he could spot her restraints, he chose to remain quiet: if she wished to speak, she would. And, as he partially expected, she carried on with, "however, I do have something I wish to know. Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted." He leaned back, again hoping his appearance wasn't all too intimidating. Winter was loyal on a level some would say was to a fault, but that's what made her so easy to address. She'd only ever speak honestly with regards to events, and if there was anyone both willing and capable of pointing out a flaw in his plans, then it was her.

"If I may, would you be willing to disclose how... overtly your handling of our information will be?"

"You're referring to the idea of Jacques' framing, yes?" She nodded... and so did he. "If your concerned I'll be making a show of it, then you shouldn't be." She wasn't implying that, but he wanted to cover all bases, if only to show how serious he'd be taking everything. "If he really has been framed for connections with Robyn, then there's a high likelihood the perpetrator of the break-in at your family home will be watching our meeting unfold; they may even be present within the academy itself."

"Are you sure? I don't mean to question it, but Atlas Academy is essentially the heart of our military operations. Would said individual not have trouble getting inside unnoticed?"

"They would." He confirmed, but then went on with, "however, we've been dealing with the idea of a potential traitor for some time now anyways. Recall the Vytal Festival and Beacon. The commandeering of our airships are borderline impossible without intimate extensive knowledge of the systems, and the extent of that knowledge can only possibly be learnt by those already deep within our fold."

"I'm aware, sir." Winter then went on to explain, "it's the reason we'd issued the embargo and lockdown of the kingdom since. But that's not my largest concern. I'm... I suppose it's best to call it 'cautious' of how 'silent' this criminal has been since."

"Criminal and traitor." He threw out there, indirectly telling her not to forget that second part. He knew she hadn't, but it was crucial that everyone involved recognise that this agent of Salem had betrayed all of Humanity that day; a healthy dose of emotional warfare was needed to take down the snake in their midst, and there could be no mercy directed their way.

"Of course: and traitor." Winter tacked on. Her face seemed to twist uncertainty as she kept going. "However, with them being so distant since the embargo, I'm beginning to wonder why they've chosen now to act."

He could understand that. "Perhaps they're leaching onto the uncertainty of everyone's heightened emotions in regards to the election, or maybe they've caught wind of V's presence. Perhaps we're all wrong, and it's purely chance they've decided to strike now. Whatever the case, all that matters now is that we use this opportunity they've given us to put an end to their scheming."

"Right." Winter's expression changed again, although it appeared to twitch somewhat worse. "If I might question it: what will you do if they try to act within the meeting itself?"

Ah... so that's it. Really, James knew he should have seen that coming. It looked as though the truth had slipped his mind and he'd forgotten that, even with her loyalty firm, Winter would naturally worry over how his reactions to things might make him appear to the abundance of local broadcasters in the area, who he'd known would be present - at least partially.

"You're concerned they may try something while I'm in the public's eye?"

"I am." Her expression finally felt genuine. "I'm worried their silent scheming will come into play. If the idea is to have my father and Hill supposedly involved in a scheme, then they may try to influence the event. Somebody may be directed to spread word to both parties of the other's involvement in the scheme, and if they're as crafty as they've been so far, then I have no doubts they'll try to raise a scandal on the air."

Well then, if such a thing were to occur, then he had the perfect solution.

"Very well: should they make that play, we'll just turn it right back around on them." He could sense the incoming question, and snipped it in the bud right there. "Naturally, the best way to hatch that scheme would be to incriminate both parties while feeding them lies of the other. Both Jacques and Robyn will no doubt prod at each other in the meeting, and should one of them try to turn the tables on one another, I myself will shut it all down, revealing that we have proof of a conspiracy."

"And if that proof is requested?"

"We'll give it to them." He was content in this at least. "Making any claims on air is risky, because any attempts to hide requested information will be seen as a guilty plea. And so, I'll simply produce a trimmed down record of your investigation so far, showing them exactly the proof they need. In a way, your quick return with Qrow is quite the lifesaver."

In a court of law, no such thing would pass, but this wasn't about law: the whole debacle would just be for show, and that's all the citizens would care for. With tensions so high it wouldn't matter what an actual ruling would say or claim, only what their local broadcasters claimed to be true. This whole event itself was mostly for show: merely an excuse to get both Jacques and Robyn into a room and discover once and for all if they were pawns of Salem. He had his methods for doing so, some of which even Qrow and Ozpin were unaware of.

"Respectfully, sir: this idea appears a little... lacking, in many areas."

"I know." He stood, walking around his desk and making his way over. "But right now, we're short on time. The Amity Project is nearly complete; we only need to buy just a little more time until it's finished. I appreciate your honesty with this, but I have to ask you to trust me, as I do you. Keep an eye out with Qrow for any outside factors, and I'll handle the inside ones."

"I understand, sir." And still, even after that, there was still worry within her. James internally sighed; sometimes fear took its hold. He could only do so much to reassure her. The rest would come in time. Winter took a firm stand. "Permission to leave, sir?"

"Granted." He let out a steady breath and rested his form. "You are dismissed."

Watching Winter leave so quickly made the passing seconds afterwards zoom. He had nothing to really take care of before the meeting itself. The arrangements were handled, and his own preparations were already complete - featuring a list of questions he had written up long before the meeting itself was put into action. Really, for the first time in a while, he'd had a bit of free time.

James considered delving back into the journal again, but he'd need to ready his own notes again. However, with the meeting firmly taking up space in his head, he figured it would be difficult to remain vigilant enough to find any extra details in the current state. While the idea of the journal was shot down, the thought of stories did remind him he still hadn't finished his talk with Vermillion. Maybe, if he was quick, he'd have just enough time to wrap it up before everything went down.

After all, it would be good to finally get that little itch taken care of, and V - while still a little hazy with things even now - might gain something from the tale. It wasn't a perfect story, nor was the 'message' he was trying to instill all that special, but to James, this was finally a chance to admit to his own failings.

Truthfully, he was doing this more for himself than V.

Author's note

…

A little hazy this time, but now there's nothing left but the group confrontation. Qrow and Winter are putting their own plan into place, trying to cut off all potential corners of what they found, whereas Ironwood himself is doing his best to remain at the ready.

This is a little off topic now, but it's finally happened, and I feel the need to address it: RT has shut down. Sure, I feel sad for the countless animators and other people who've lost their jobs, but I can't exactly say I didn't see this coming; everything had been on a decline for a while now. With any luck, those who lost their jobs will get new ones quickly, and someone will pick up the IP and hopefully give it a decent reboot, because I doubt they'd continue it as is, especially with its current reputation; which sadly, I can't say it doesn't deserve. From all the course correcting, to the constant retcons, it feels like the whole idea that they had a plan in mind for the story was... a bit of a lie.

Coming from me that sounds a bit weird - let's be real, I doubt any of you've reread this monster of a story to see the bits of foreshadowing in place, and that's wholly my fault for trashy pacing and poor structure and wording from the start upwards to the midpoint, however it is there. But based on their own statements and such over the years, I can't exactly claim they had anything major in mind for the plot.

Oh well, this cuts it short for now; I don't want to rant about an - as of this point - dead story, so I'll end it here.

Well wishes, and see you next time.