The Vale PD Fifth Precinct had suddenly become one of the most secure Precincts on the planet of Remnant, with a 24/7 posting of military personnel from the new Private Military Contractor, the Misfits. The newly-arrived squad of green-clad soldiers, approximately twenty in number, kept the most busy Precinct safe and secure.
It uneased the cops a little, watching armed men and women patrolling their little building with rifles on their backs, but the tension faded from them the moment they began interacting properly with them, each trooper a smile as they walked around. Word of mouth is the team had had their Aura unlocked like much of the rest of the Misfits.
According to information, these men and women were from a land called 'Russia', far in the East, past even Mistral maybe. Which was surprising for the Police, considering the fact Remnant was mostly explored. Or they thought anyway. Nobody bothered to dive to the Ocean Floor of the Great Planetary Ocean to see what the hell was going on down there. Too many Grimm.
The Russians themselves, however, were friendly as stated, talking to the police like old friends and even maintaining a respectful tone with their superiors, like the Sergeant. One Policeman tapped his foot, watching a pair of Russians and a pair of his own buddies sat by the water cooler, having a chat. The Ruskies were women, one with black hair, one with blonde. The black-haired one was a Faunus, though a real weird one with two traits, a wagging tail and wolf ears.
Speaking of that, though, the man heard the door open and saw another pair of soldiers approach. One of them was Lieutenant Samantha Lee. The girl who had been in full control of the PMC before the arrival of the Russians. She tipped her officer's cap with the strange red symbol on the forehead to the man, then looked at the woman beside her, who was also clad in the same uniform as the Russians.
Presumably their officer…
"Sergeant Holt," The Lieutenant nodded to him, cradling her rifle, "This is Major Deriabin."
"Major," Holt replied, extending his hand. The woman smiled and nodded to him, shaking his hand, before being told by him, "We weren't expecting you guys so soon. Here to see our Basement Dweller?" which got the two women to let out short, but mirthful laughs. He tilted his head, showing them to follow.
The Russian troops snapped salutes as they saw the Lieutenant and Major following the Sergeant, while the Police and staff simply gave polite greetings to them all. Descending down the stairwell and into the basement, where the interrogation room was, the Sergeant propped open the door and said, "Just so you know, he's staying quiet… We tried to get him to talk, but nothin'."
"We'll deal with it," The Major spoke, her face calm, impassive. The man nodded, letting the door gently open. It revealed a battered and bruised ginger with green eyes staring at them, a grin on his face despite the orange overalls and the cuffs connected to the table. The Major whistled as they entered, stating, "So, this is the mighty Criminal, Roman Torchwick. Not much to look at when he's in a jumpsuit."
She saw a twitch in his brow and grinned back. He replied, "If only I had my suit," in a sarcastic tone, before stating, "Not like it'd help me much."
"You look mighty bruised there, Roman," Sammy spoke with a teasing tone, baring her fangs in a dangerous and hostile grin, "Did Rob really rough you up that hard?" as she leaned against the table. She was on one side of it while the Major was on the other, staring the ginger-haired petty criminal down.
He replied, "Your busboy really didn't do a lot," with a smug grin, "Honestly, send someone tougher next ti-" only to immediately choke on his own words as the Major slammed his head against the table hard, a metallic clang filling the room as head met and dented stainless steel. He looked up at her, eyes wide, as the concussion fully set in, demanding, "What the FUCK are you doing!?" as his voice cracked.
She leaned toward him until only an inch separated their faces, then replied, "Showing you that Robert was going easy on you, suka," without ever changing her expression. Fire burned behind her dark eyes, however. She continued, "Now, little boy, we can play this with only Good Cops present, or I and the Lieutenant can show you the true meaning of pain, to the point I'm sure you'll be begging we let Robert have a crack at you instead."
"You don't scare me," He replied in a low growl, "And aren't there laws you people must follow? I'm in Police custody, after all…" then he looked at the cop still waiting at the door and said, "Hey, Sarge, ain't you gonna do something? Ain't mistreatment of prisoners some sort of crime that these two can join me in here for?!"
The two women looked toward Sergeant Holt. The man smirked at Torchwick, flashed him a small smirk, then bowed out, shutting the door and taking Torchwick's last few hopes of this not going any further with him. The Major sat down in front of him, staring him down as she said, "We're the new face of Security in Vale, Roman. Police don't trample our jurisdiction."
"You're a PRIVATE contractor," He answered smarmily, "You don't get to overwrite laws…"
"Sure, we can," Sam replied, putting a hand on his shoulder, her voice filled with a hint of malicious joy. She grabbed him by the hair and forced him to look her in the eye as she told him, "We have a Councilman vouching for us. And it'd be your word against the entire Vale PD and the Council if you try to go to court over this."
"We have all the cards," The Major spoke, then chuckled, "Cooperate and you won't hurt anymore. Don't and, well…" she pat the knife on her vest, a hint at much worse. As the color slowly drained from his face, the Major told him, "So, be a good boy and cooperate with us, would you?" only to see him visibly pause.
All that cockiness had gone out of him as he gave a very strained nod. With a smirk, the Major said, "Good boy…" before leaning back into her seat and asking, "Why the Dust Robberies? What do you need so much of it for? Bombs? Weapons? And who the hell hired you to grab so much gear all at once?"
… While that was going on, the French Foreign Legionnaires had taken to patrolling the streets of Vale specifically at the request of Ozpin and the others. More dust Robberies were occurring, but they were also certainly far more sloppy than previous. To that extend, having troops and Police on patrol across Vale helped ease tensions.
Paul and Paula led the group through, the former speaking to them in clear-cut French while Paula cradled her own rifle, a smile on her face. Katja had also joined them as the only GROM representative of the team and the Nemeths' childhood friend. She scratched her cheek, eyes scanning the road, only to pause as local Civvies stopped and took selfies with the squad.
She chuckled a little, giving a peace sign as a pair of girls ran up to her and chose to take a photo. Giggling, they thanked the Pole, who watched them walk away. She murmured, "Weird," before looking over at Paul, who was grinning. She shrugged, "What?" as they walked. She told them, "Seriously, guys, it's just a photo."
Paula chuckled, then told Paul, "Mindig is leszbikus mágnes volt…" which got her brother laughing loudly. Katja, however, ever the connoisseur of the Maghiar language, got rosy in the cheeks and angry in the face while the French were laughing their asses off. Some of them were Hungarian-born, too, in this unit, but others were from varying nationalities, but got taught some Hungarian by Paul.
"Idź się pierdolić, Kurwa!" She snapped back, but she was grinning, obviously. "At least I can say I attract someone!" before she frowned and, while looking upon Paul, started grumbling. Paula giggled again, shaking her head, then kept on walking, keeping her own assault rifle close, but slung over her shoulder.
"Was he genuinely always this dense?" A tan girl beside Paula asked, pulling down on the straps of her vest to tighten them. The Hungarian sister gave a nod to her, which caused her to sigh deeply, "Incroyable… And I thought it was just me," in a mumble. Annette Lavigne was a Moroccan-born young woman who'd joined the FFL specifically to get French citizenship way back. It had been grueling, but she'd made it through and she was a beauty with relatively lighter skin compared to other Moroccan compatriots of hers, dark-brown eyes and short, black hair.
Paula chuckled, "You've only suffered him for a couple of years, Annette. Katja has been suffering his stellar density since they were children," which caused the girl to cast an apologetic glance Katja's way. The Polak nodded in understanding to Annette, face red and formed into a pout. Paul, meanwhile, was concerned with all the whispering, but chose to just let it be.
A woman's scream caused the group to pause, followed by a thief turning the corner with a stolen purse. Paul was quick on the draw, the butt of his Minimi immediately meeting the man's face and breaking several teeth, all while sending him stumbling to the floor. Paula caught the purse as it flew from the man's arms and Katja immediately put zip-cuffs on the bastard, tightening them.
The elderly lady slowly approached the group, with Paula meeting her halfway and offering her the purse while saying, "Here you go, madam," with a smile. The elderly woman beamed, tears welling in her eyes while Paula immediately noticed the animal traits:Two large deer antlers. She spoke, "I hope he wasn't too much trouble."
"Oh, just the average bad apple thief, dearie. Thank ya for takin' him out," The woman smiled. One FFL man audibly snorted behind Paula, but stopped as the Hungarian glared at him. The elderly woman continued, "My, my, you must be Vale's new protectors! Oh, I always knew they'd get my letters about reinstating the Army! Them Hunter kids need some backup!"
"Of course," Paula replied, "What's your name, madam?"
"I'm Noko," The woman bowed, "You, young lady?"
"Paula. Nice to meet you, miss Noko," The girl replied as she looked into the woman's green eyes. She hummed, then looked past the old lady and into the town square, where a gathered group of humans raised high banners and placards, each with a paw symbol in a crossed-over circle. The FFL troops joined her, with Paula asking, "And those guys are, ma'am?"
"Oh, just your average Human supremacists, dear. Call'emselves 'The Natural Order'," The woman replied, "Same people I and my husband had to fight hand-to-hand in the Revolution… Damn shame we're back to this stuff, no thanks to the darn White Fang foregoing peaceful protests for looting and hurtin' anyone who opposes them. The Police here in Vale are overwhelmed as is…"
"Was he one of'em?" Paula asked Annette as she was searching the thief's person for Identification.
She pulled out an ID card and a badge with the same symbol as the placards, then nodded, lifting it and the man's card and stating, "Gale Goldfoot, aged 24, seemingly a representative member of these 'Natural Order' dickheads. Police better take 'im away soon," before hearing him protest. She slammed her elbow into his jaw, breaking a few more teeth and causing blood to spurt out.
Paul sighed and asked, "Should we disperse them?" as he looked at the group. Katja pat her grenade launcher, feeling a 40mm tear gas grenade she had stowed specifically for this, but Paula shook her head. She and miss Noko shook hands and exchanged support numbers before the old lady walked away… Not before whacking the Thief with her cane, too.
Two of the FFL members hefted the dickhead to his feet and let the Police take him away, while Paula said, "No. Sadly, they're peacefully protesting for now. We can keep tabs on them, same as the Police," and tilted her head toward the three squad cars present with cops and Private Eyes, "But nothing more…"
"Great," Katja scoffed, "So, these assholes get to walk free," remembering the children they found back before the Reunion, all taken by SDC representatives as presumed slaves, trafficked to other factories only to serve the White Fang in the end. Far as she knew, they were in the hospital right now, but she couldn't keep tabs on them. Family had come from Atlas, so…
Paula shrugged, "They'll get their comeuppance, too… What are they even protesting?" and she looked. A store that served Faunus and Humans alike, it seemed, square in the middle of the Residential District of Vale. She sighed deeply, rubbed her eyes and mumbled, "Bassza meg, at least the people are safe inside…"
A cordon of policemen was right there, listening to the espoused bullshit of the man in charge that just about every member had tuned out. Katja lifted her grenade from her belt and said, "Just one CS gas round, boss, as a treat," while looking at Paula. She shook her head, glaring at the bastards, but well aware they couldn't do shit.
"Let's go," Paula sighed, "We can at least help the Cordon. Maybe they'll disperse if they see armed personnel coming in," and she waved the team forward. They had a few of their own crew turned into Faunus or whatever copies there were with multiple traits. The team nodded in approval, shifting their weapons to a ready low position with the safeties still on before they marched to join the Police.
The Natural Order members seemed to double over, with their leader calling out over the megaphone, "What the hell is this!? Are the Faunus so vile and desperate as to call in some of their human buddies as executioners?!" while glaring at Paula. The Hungarian woman stared back up at him with an impassive face, tapping her rifle rhythmically as the troops lined up.
He demanded again, "Are ya gonna shoot us for exercising our right to protest!?"
"No," Paula replied, staring up at him, "But we are going to ensure this doesn't devolve into anything worth that intervention," as she kept tapping her rifle. The man scoffed, glaring down at her from his high perch. She said, "By all means, continue your protest, sir. We'll just be here keeping it peaceful for both you and the patrons inside that building, eating their lunches."
It took a moment for the man to falter, but falter he did, barking something to his comrades and jumping down from the perch to join his comrades in chanting whatever racially-charged slogans their tiny brains could think of, like, 'Humanity First' and 'Abominations like Faunus are against the Natural Order!'
It was really all so fucking tiresome… But, at least, after a minute more of a loud group proselytizing about how bad the Faunus were, the crowd, seemingly made up of every walk of life from businessmen to farmers, began to scatter while the troops remained. People on the sidelines, seemingly Faunus and normal Humans alike, cheered the troops and Police for keeping it. Paula's stomach grumbled and she was about to say they should head on in, only to see the Patrons walking out with food for them, smiles on their faces.
Human and Faunus couples frequented the place. Guess that explained it… And, hey, free food from a fancy place.
Beacon
"Davai, Davai, Davai, Suka! KEEP CRAWLING YOU SCRAWNY FUCKERS!" Lita's voice echoed across the inner courtyard. Vesna, Ayesha, Vera and Lita were training the first batch of new recruits to the Misfits and the Vale Self-Defense Force. Approximately 400 Recruits made up the first batch, with over a quarter being trained to also act as Drill Instructors so that this whole process could be streamlined.
Lita was the roughest on the lot, following them along the makeshift mud trench with barbed wire as they crawled on their stomachs. She told them, "MY FUCKING GRANDMA CAN CRAWL FASTER THAN THAT AND SHE'S BEEN BEDRIDDEN FOR TWENTY YEARS! GO! YES, I'M LOOKING AT YOU, WINCHESTER! MOVE!"
Cardin scoffed, but couldn't help but smile a little deep down at that. If there was nothing else about these guys, they had good quips and pokes. He crawled forward, carrying in his arms an assault rifle they'd apparently repurposed specifically for this training and filled with optics and ammo so it would be as heavy to carry as the rest of the kit.
He grit through the cold mud, crawling forward and standing to his feet, his face, new uniform and boots brown with the crap as he began running to the next part of the test:The rope climb. He slung the rifle on his back and kept it on via the strap before throwing himself on the rope and starting to climb, feeling himself slip slightly thanks to the mud, all while Tarasova yelled out, "FASTER, YOU FUCKER! THERE'S TRAFFIC BEHIND YOU!"
Indeed, about a dozen others were climbing behind him, shaking the rope as he got to the top. He crawled over the wall and dropped down, feeling his kit nearly throw him off-balance as he continued running, his lungs burning while Lita continued pressuring them. A few more obstacles later and they made it to the end, all of them panting heavily.
Lita walked in front of them and said, "Alright, that's enough! You made halfway decent time on this one, but I'm expecting a SHITLOAD better if you're gonna be rolling with us in any future operations! DISMISSED!" and she stopped Cardin before he left. He looked at her, then sighed a little and stood at attention. She told him, "Keep that shit up and you might actually be slotted in as DI, Winchester."
"Ma'am," The boy replied, a bit surprised. She nodded to him, then dismissed him with a wave of the hand before walking across the courtyard toward where Vesna was supervising the shooting range. She saw a few of the eighteen-year-old trainees for the VSDF firing their rifles. None were very accurate, but at least they were gaining practical experience.
She said, "Seems we're doing alright for recruits… A shitload more applications are in the mail."
"Sam and the Major said it best:Keep the numbers small until we get more DIs. Then, we can start expanding," The blonde replied, her fox ears twitching with each shot. Lita snorted, looking at them. It was almost adorable. She did nod in approval, though, then looked over at the kids as they were firing. Ves added, "Hassan has finally got the ammo contract for all our weapons."
Lita sighed in relief, "Violet Weapons Concern agreed to reopen a factory, huh?" and Ves nodded. The green-haired Captain Price impersonator scratched her neck with her gloved hand, telling the girl, "Means we might get to produce our own firearms soon, too. Kalashnikovs have the easiest manual of arms so far… And they are the most common in our arsenal bar none."
"Much to the American boys' chagrin," The blonde giggled, "What I'm more interested in is seeing when we'll get actual armor developments… The BMP-2Ms we have are a good starting base for anything we might need, what with their caretakers already being here with blueprints for them…" and they couldn't thank the lord enough for the fact that the repairmen of the Company came with them.
Lita nodded, smiling, then asked, "So, since that's being worked on… How're you and Victor doing? Any date for your wedding, or are you waiting a bit more to decide?" which caused Ves's cheeks too turn a bright, healthy red, the girl starting to stammer. Lita chuckled, then looked back as she heard the engine of a BTR-80A rolling nearby.
Almost all of their vehicles had been stripped of Russian military symbols and had them replaced with the Coat of Arms of Vale, the two crossed axes in front of a round shield with a laurel wreath at the bottom, plus symbols of the 'Company' they were now part of. The Misfits had elected a familiar symbol from one of the guys' favorite games as the Misfit coat of arms.
A skull viewed from the side, with a lit cigar in its mouth and a green beret on its head, surrounded by a thick, golden circle with writing within. The circular writing read, 'Misfits Private Military Contractors-Si Vis Pacem, Parabellum'. Strength and Muscle and Jungle Work! The song even played in the distance.
The girls looked around at their little compound, a training area with a few makeshift barracks and multiple under-construction parts of the training course, plus a couple of shooting ranges, a classroom area and a few other items being constructed just behind Vale's prestigious Hunter school for the sake of ease of deployment.
It was also an expansion that allowed all potential new arrivals to find a place to rest at and discuss. The walls of the compound had been built first out of reinforced concrete, power running to various defensive turrets bought from an Atlesian defense structure company specifically to keep the military compound safe. A couple of the BMPs rolled forward as well, carrying troops for a possible mission to a nearby village.
"I think it's that mission Sam wants you and Vic to go off on," Lita told her, then pat her on the shoulder and said, "Go. I, Vera, Anja and Ayesha have this handled," with a smirk. Ves smiled and nodded, then moved to the vehicles, finding the one on which Victor sat. The transports halted and Vic leaned forward, helping Vesna climb aboard with a smile. He gave a wave to Lita and Vera, both of whom gave thumbs up.
Vera walked up to Lita as they watched the BMPs roll out, fuel cans strapped to the backs, then said, "You know, I look forward to the day I see you and Jim like that, too," Which caused Lita to double over, face suddenly burning red before she glared at Vesna's sis. Vera grinned, tipped her helmet and said, "Don't dish it out to my adorable older sister-slash-cousin if ya can't take it, madam."
"Says the woman who flirted with Dushman's girlfriend in bullets," Lita shot back, causing Vera to laugh a little. She looked over to see Quentin and Sofiya doing a Ruck March with about twenty of the Recruits and a few of the Marines, to which Lita said, "I still can't fucking believe he pulled an SSO Operator… How?!"
"I don't know, sestra. I don't know," Vera chuckled, "But you gotta admit it's funny."
"Da," Lita snorted, "Da, it is. A fucking Special Ops member and a Crayon-muncher from the US military," and she looked over toward Gibby, who was with them, only to blink rapidly as she saw a woman with very tan skin marching beside him. She pointed at them and said, "... Who the fuck is that next to Gibby?"
"His girlfriend," Colbert replied, causing both women to jump and scream. The Marine sergeant grinned, then took a sip of his coffee as he saw Lita go through all five stages of grief before settling on Disbelief. He nodded, "Yeah, she and him were in Ukraine together with Dushman… She volunteered straight out of the Mexican Army."
"... Fuck…" Lita mumbled, eyes wide, "... I owe Paul twenty bucks…" only to pause as she heard Robert approach. The man seemed about as depressed as could be as he saw Gibby and his girlfriend. A sentence no sane man should ever think, they all thought together. Colbert, however, had a proud grin, while Lita herself said, "Rob, do you still have friends in ICE…?"
… Colbert snorted so hard, the coffee shot out of his nose…