The ding of the elevator heralded the arrival of two occupants: Mister Torchwick, who came along to provide his first real report, and Ozpin himself. Stepping into the empty expanse of usually busy equipment, they were greeted by Qrow Branwen, who nodded from the sign-in desk ahead, and tossed a raised brow at Torchwick.
"Hmm." He took a sip from his flask, leaning back casually. "Didn't think I'd see you again."
"Believe me, if I could, I'd still be kicking back in my cell."
"Rough week?"
"You can say that. Why are you here?"
"I find it fun to linger around mild property destruction." Not the greatest dismissal, but clearly Qrow wasn't too worried. Roman could assume whatever he wanted; it made no difference.
"Having run into your nieces who, by the way, love blabbering about their cool uncle being a threat if I act out, I can believe that."
Ozpin left them alone to further venture; no harm in letting them converse for a moment. Strolling around, he soon spotted James, who stood staring thoughtfully at the busted terminal. Unlike on the cams, getting a good look at the destruction around front revealed some interesting facts, which James was so helpful to point out.
"It doesn't make any sense."
"Perhaps, but what of the internals?"
"They're busted, but not beyond repair." James huffed, scowl deepening. "I had some men do a quick recovery of the local system. Initially, since the center of the explosion seemed to come from a single flash port, we assumed that maybe she'd planted something, but that theory's questionable. Twin scans of this CCT's servers and mainframe itself proved clean as well, so anything done had to have occurred on this individual terminal."
"Nothing of value sits on a publicly available communications terminal, and destroying one does not mask the data on it; it can always be recovered."
"I know, it's got me thinking this might be a trick." James began pacing, his eyes anywhere but the present. "Maybe she's trying to distract us with the CCT so she could act elsewhere."
"And so the question becomes: where?" Assuming Miss Fall is Salem's pawn, then damaging a single CCT terminal would be pointless. Maybe a virus of some sort could have been uploaded, but James said everything came back clean, and he trusted his ally and friend. This wasn't adding up. If it was really a misdirect, then why make it so obvious?
"There you are." But before he could ponder further, Roman showed up alongside Qrow. "Why'd you ditch me like that? I'm hurt."
"You two looked to be having a fine time." Ozpin allowed a sprinkle of humor into his tone. "Why ruin such a moment?"
Roman rolled his eyes, refusing to retort it seemed and instead zeroing in on James.
"I've got my report ready," he took a bow, "your majesty~" Ironwood hummed, nodding for him to continue. Affixing his posture, Roman announced his recent accounts through a soothing and calm voice. "Well, for starters, your little ice puppy's a ripe killjoy." Qrow snorted. "Team "superhero" is just as unbearable here as they ever were out in the field; no offense."
"None taken." Qrow grinned. "I'd be concerned if they weren't making criminal lives harder."
"And I'm pretty sure Cinder will kill me the moment I step outside of Beacon." Sighing, he shook his head; hands on his hips like a girl scout. "She's been dodging me all week - as well as every soldier to stroll past. By now, I'm sure she's assuming I sold her out."
"To be fair," for the first time in a while, Ozpin had to keep his smile at acceptable levels, "you did. James informed me of the information you provided."
"Don't rub it in." Roman's mood appeared to tank further. "The White Fang are loonies, and they hate treachery even more than failure. Even if you grab her, I'd be dead regardless."
"I'm sure James has a plan of action to keep you safe. After all, Vale has not enacted the death penalty since the end of the great war. James?"
"We'll protect you for as long as necessary; consider your time here part of serving your shortened sentence."
"Oh boy. I feel so assured." Qrow grinned from behind, and Roman dropped into a dismissive slump. "If you need me, I'll be back with the kids, making sure they can't ruin my life any more than they already have."
When out of sight, and after the elevator's ding, Ozpin ceased hiding his relief.
"Everything seems to be in order." He had his doubts before, but Roman's information practically erased them. "And Miss Fall remains ignorant to us."
Of course, half of the credit owed itself to James.
"For now," James said, reminding them all of how fleeting this victory was. "Roman's presence here only distracted her; there are still actions that may alert her to our prediction."
"Then we must continue to be cautious." Cinder could not know they'd already connected her to Salem; he'd said so to James last night, but he felt the need to remind even himself. "Believing we know only of her ties with the White Fang provides two primary paths for her to take. Either she truly is Salem's pawn, and will thus use this as an attempt to obscure herself into the myth we've constructed for her while searching for Amber or enacting her mistress's will."
"Or she's a White Fang spy," James finished for him. "And she'll be gone within a week if we continue to tighten her leash."
Qrow chuckled, kicking up invisible dust as he cast his head back and spitting out a smooth breath.
"Okay, so that worked out too well; should we be worried?"
"That depends," James said, eyes locked on the subject of his previous scorn. "We still have to deal with this."
"Did you try checking the-"
"The CCT is clean." James cut Qrow off there, prompting the latter to cross his arms and squint.
"Damn."
.
.
"He's in the CCT." Mercury strolled up behind her, but Cinder just kept staring out.
Earlier last night, many people danced and pranced upon these balconies, but in the somber morning hence, all save a few would ever step onto them. Their room might have been a better place, but ever since Roman's arrival, she refused to trust its sanctuary.
She occasionally eyed the soldiers below, noting how a few would look right back up at her. But none intruded regularly enough to be a bother, and Emerald took post by the entrance, musing innocently on her scroll and apparently uninterested in further "team bonding" if anyone asked; a brief search by the girl earlier confirmed there were no listening devices or cameras present on the balcony, save the cam overseeing the entire building far too distant to pick up any sound - if it even could.
Still, they kept their voices low on the off chance some faunus were posted below.
"Excellent." Earlier, she'd seen the general stroll in to presumably investigate the scene; they wouldn't have barred access for the day otherwise. "Then he's playing reporter."
"You don't seem all that worried."
"I trust Watts's work." No matter how hard they tried, neither Atlas nor Beacon would ever find his bug. "They'll spend so much time trying to decipher the destruction inside that they won't even notice what's happening."
"And if they give up and focus entirely on us?" Oh Mercury, always the voice of reason.
"They won't. Their investigation commenced without a word, and nobody knows why the CCT is closed for the day beyond Beacon's official excuse, telling us two things: the men from last night woke up early enough to avoid being spotted, and nobody has seen the destruction inside."
Mercury leaned on the railing, casually rolling his eyes over everything and even offering a wave to the passing soldiers, who themselves would occasionally return it.
"And yet, I'm assuming the general was there first thing in the morning."
"Precisely, meaning they saw everything." Pair that with Roman's presence here, and it painted a very clear picture. They knew she had ties to the Fang, that had been all but spoken, however they continued to allow her to act and maneuver with nothing besides a tight watch.
"And you're not at all worried they'll do something?"
"Tell me something, Mercury." Cinder hopped atop the railing, sitting casually and taking in the morning sun. "If you were to catch a terrorist in your base of operations, what would that mean for you?"
"That I had some pretty shit security."
"Good. Now then, let's add another caveat to the question. Say you caught a terrorist, but at the same time, a newscast was being given a tour. What do you think would happen?"
Mercury smirked, chuckling a little as he looked out.
"There'd be a scandal. Everyone would be wondering how the hell the asshole even got in."
"Excellent work." Cinder gave her little tool a short round of applause, three soft claps, before wrapping her hands around the railing again; her grip lax. "They can't do anything without exposing a celebration-ruining fact. And so, they'll simply watch, until the fun has passed and all the excess eyes are gone."
"Sounds fair enough, but what if they know a little more than they let on."
Or, in other words: what if they knew about their ties to Salem.
"They don't." They couldn't. Even though Roman croaked, she'd never told him or Neo anything about Salem; unlike Adam, whose betrayal would justify a full retreat and re-planning based on more than just exposure of that tidbit of info.
"Okay..." Mercury fumbled a little in place before addressing her again. "Are you sure this is a good idea? What if they do find something?"
"Do you honestly believe Watts would let himself be humiliated in such a way?" Physically murdered? Sure; he's just a man. But to let himself be out hacked in the system he invented? Not a chance. No no; the destruction would continue to pester them for just long enough. "Just three more days."
"The start of the preliminary rounds in the tournament." Mercury passed one final wave before turning away from the view, seemingly relaxing from an outside view. "I got word last night; one of the Fang girls got invited by a senior. All the excess dust is stashed in Amity. We're golden." Cinder lifted a brow, to which Mercury sighed. "I burned the paper."
Good. While merely the backup plan for if the train somehow failed - which it did - it still carried the potential to turn this string of failures into a success. And to think, Roman was constantly complaining about them not needing half of their dust. She wanted to laugh, but settled into a gentle smirk. By her calculations, pre-approved by Watts sadly, setting off such a powerful explosion in the arena should be just enough to reach and damage its propulsion systems - they had just enough "extra" dust to make it possible. Pair that with the bug awaiting release through video call, and the whole stadium goes down.
She'd never heard of a system takedown being sent and executed through video feed, but it didn't surprise her that the arrogant prick had little hidden methods for delivering malicious data in nearly every possible outlet of communication. Atlas's gift to the world was about to become their worst nightmare.
"You'll be the one to do it." Cinder hopped down from her spot, stretching a little for the camera way off. "The moment they begin, you'll be calling Emerald's scroll directly from the CCT."
"You sure she'll be in by then?"
"Positive." Emerald, while a bit quick and over the top sometimes, could be counted on to get into the arena server room, and directly connect her sacrificial scroll, just in time to receive the call, and thus transfer the virus. A total blackout would add to the fear, and the march of the White Fang across various points of the city would only add to the confusion.
Atlas would need to sacrifice its carefully constructed position in Beacon, giving her all the time she needed.
.
.
"Last night was a disaster!" Weiss's yell had thankfully been muffled by her pillow. "I can't believe you wore that!"
"It's not my fault!" And Ruby dove right into defence. "I didn't think anyone would trip on the cloak!"
Mint sat, crossed legged, sipping up a frosty. Normally she didn't fancy slushies, preferring the typical sunday or soft serve, but being a gift from Yang had been enough of an intriguing premise that she went on and accepted it. Considering she wasn't dead, Mint could safely rule out poison.
"Hey." Mint twisted her eyes towards the right, where Yang leaned on the legs of the chair before the one desk in the room. She'd been doing what looked like homework, but clearly the desire to continue melted quicker than Mint's own drink. "Wanna come with me to the kitchen?"
Weird, she thought, nevertheless accepting with a nod and joining the not-quite bimbo on her trip through the halls. Yang quickly fell into a relaxed stroll, but the silence grew awkward. Clearly, she had something she wanted to say, but before Mint could do anything, Yang spilled the beans - all over the kitchen carpet.
"So... Are you trying to hit on Ruby?"
Pondering over how many sets of bollocks it took to toss that out in the open so bluntly, Mint allowed her expression to do the talking. Yang eventually peaked, and apparently chose to clarify.
"Is that a yes?" Mint slapped her with a flat glare, and Yang backed up, hands raised defensively. "Okay okay, maybe not."
Maybe?
Their stroll took them around a few corners, where some of the lingering students could be seen trying not to puke as they wandered who knows where? Yang hadn't been the only one to slip a little bit of an extra something into her drinks last night, but boy did she take it a whole lot better. Heck, Mint figured that the only ones really suffering were the newbies who'd never drank a day in their lives before.
Eh, they'd get over it.
"Are you not into other ladies, or do you go both ways?"
Weren't you supposed to wait until the second year of friendship before digging up the personal questions? Mint raised two fingers. Playing along wouldn't hurt anybody, but Yang would be facing more than a little bit of danger if she didn't quit the nonsense and get down to business. Blondie was smart, smart enough to read Mint's expression at least.
"Okay, sheesh." Pouting, Yang shoved her hands into her pockets, shying away just a little. "Look, Ruby's been talking a lot about you lately." That sounded about right. "And with how much she goes on, it got me curious. She made it sound like you two were a thing."
That didn't sound right at all. Disregarding the fact Ruby had only turned 16 a little while ago, Mint herself was sitting on 20. Sure, only a four year difference, but Ruby already acted about two or three years younger. Neo once told Roman before, but the same rang true for Mint as well: maturity matters. Honestly speaking, Mint figured she'd be more attracted to the sisters' mother as opposed to either of the two.
That's what made messing with Glynda so enthralling; the woman burned red hot when she was angry, and Mint loved the searing flavor - unlike Cinder, who tasted like ash.
Disrupting her own fantasies, Mint made sure to roll her eyes within Yang's view before shaking her head.
"Okay, good." Yang breathed out far too easily. Mint immediately called her on it with a questioning look. Catching sight of it, Yang explained. "It's not you; it's her. Ruby's not ready for relationships yet; she's just learned how to make friends."
Wow. Blondie really had no faith in her little sis at all, did she? That explained Ruby's eccentrics more than a little bit. Mint grinned a cheeky little grin; someone had played mother hen a little too hard.
"What?" Yang uprooted a brow, and Mint shrugged, waving her away. Choosing not to blame the girl as things could have easily been worse, Mint slowed her pace.
Stepping into the kitchen, they were beholden to the scene of Team JNPR, who were in the midst of putting the final touches on what looked like the strangest pastry Mint had ever seen. Yang, apparently, found it weird too, going so far as to call out.
"What's up with this?"
Jaune Arc shot a tired face their way.
"R-run while you can." He quickly dropped, as did most of the others, save Pyrrha Nikos, who while layered in sweat continued to wear a bright smile. Fake as her own ID, Pyrrha stepped back, saluting them.
"Excellent timing!"
Mint's heart sank. She didn't want to turn around, but that didn't stop Professor Port from spinning her anyway. Yang got spun too, but she faced her twirl from Professor Oobleck.
"Swell for you to join us." The green haired speedster began, adjusting his eyes, which sheened under the light above. "Are you ready to uphold your end of the bargain?"
Bargain? What bargain?
Yang swallowed, nodding stiffly.
"Yeah." She then went on to betray what little trust had been built up between them. "Weiss is a little busy right now, so I brought Mint to help instead."
"Why, that's not a problem at all!" Professor Port swung a jolly fist. "The dance was a huge success, and with that going so well, I know the staff afterparty will go splendidly too."
Afterparty? Neo unlatched the restraints around her neck, twisting to look at Yang.
"All according to plan." She mumbled, wearing a fake, sheepish smile.
Mint soon learned over the course of a tiresome three hours that the allowance of many questionable decisions in regards to the dance were only permitted because one Yang Xiao Long and Weiss Schnee had worked together to not only petition the idea from the staff, but also offered to organize a special celebration for said staff afterwards; a final hurrah before the Vytal Festival Tournament kicked off in three days.
Following the eve, Mint made a mental note to sue the Schnee for emotional distress; Port had been very Port-y, and she'd nearly collapsed from too much raw exhilaration and chanting - at least JNPR and Yang suffered too.
Author's note
...
Here we are again.
Roman gives his report this time, much to his own he chose not to mention Salem at all; granted, that shouldn't be a shock, as who'd believe in an immortal grimm queen anyways?
We also get a bit of Watts's work being mentioned this time too; he may not be here, but hopefully his personality shines through.
Now, can you actually send viruses through video calls in real life? No, not to my knowledge, but knowing Watts, I'm of the camp he'd build his creation with the prime idea of having all these backdoors and extra control-freak nonsense even before turning to Salem.
Reading the reviews, it's been made clear that the last chapter wasn't all that straightforward, especially regarding Oz. That's my bad. Hopefully this rectified that a little - especially the Salem aspect. Incredibly dangerous? Sure, but less ridiculous than the former.
Until next time.