Chapter 13
Nearly a week after the Breach of Vale, things had stagnated.
Somewhat…
Well, in terms of actual events, that is.
Throughout the week, Percy had met numerous times with the 'Ozluminati', as he'd termed the inner circle, much to Qrow's approval and everyone else's disappointment. He wouldn't budge on the name, though. Who knew that Remnant also had conspiracy theories like the Illuminati?
Slowly, with each meeting, they had broken down the information to him, about the Maidens, the Relics, and Salem. Oh, and of course, the Fall Maiden that was unconscious in Ozpin's basement. Really, there should have been something about women in an old bastard's basement, but who was Percy to judge?
The Maidens were four women who represented the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, each having incredible power granted to them by an old wizard.
When a Maiden died, the last young woman in her thoughts received the power; if the last person was a man, the power would be given randomly to some poor chump on Remnant who was eligible. Each Maiden could access one of the Relics of Destruction, Knowledge, Choice, and Creation, given to aid humanity by the God of Light… or Aether, as Percy knew him.
The last piece of crucial information given was that if all four relics were united, they would summon the Brother Gods of Light and Darkness back to Remnant, and the Brother Gods would judge humanity once more. If they deemed humanity worthy, they would return to live amongst them once more. If they were to deem humanity unworthy, they would eradicate them.
Old wizard was an absolute fuck up to give random women power when the power could just randomly transfer to some other moron on the planet.
Percy had articulated his thoughts, and Ozpin had been strangely defensive of the old wizard.
They'd debated on what to do about Cinder and her team, over, and over again, especially when the General had showed them footage of Cinder and her team meeting with Adam Taurus of the White Fang on Vale's rooftops.
The problem was that the cameras from Ironwood's ships that had taken the footage could only enhance and zoom so far from a bird's eye view, and the only things they could make out were silver, green, red, and black hair respectively, along with the black haired one wearing a red dress that popped out and the red-haired one having bull horns.
He would be the first to admit that it was kind of paranoid for them to assume stuff simply based on hair color and clothing color, but coupled with the attack of the CCT, the woman that had been with Torchwick? It was just too much to ignore.
By the time Ironwood had brought the information to them, the General looked like he was frothing at the mouth to just arrest the bastards. Percy might have been too, had he not realized that any attempt to arrest Cinder Fall, who had three quarters of the Maiden power, was kind of stupid. At worst, she'd escape, and at best, she'd cause a massive scene that would leave all sorts of headaches for Ozpin and Ironwood alike, along with the other two headmasters of Shade and Haven.
Surprisingly enough, Goodwitch had commented that Ironwood treated everything like it was a dick measuring contest. And even if Ironwood did have the best interests at heart, he did! Percy honestly hadn't known that strict, all-business professor had it in her! At the time, Percy had shared a look with Qrow, and a muffled snicker. Muffled, because neither of them had dared to laugh and risk an irate Glynda Goodwitch turning on them.
Speaking of Qrow, he was a snarky kind of guy, tough on the outside, but nice, yet still snarky once you got to know him and beat his ass in a couple spars. Percy could tell he genuinely cared for his nieces, always asking him how they were doing, and pestering him about practically everything concerning them.
His scroll vibrated in his pocket, jolting him out of his reverie. He was about to reach for it when he noticed her.
An irate Glynda Goodwitch was in front of him, eyes narrowed, "Mr. Jackson, please pay attention to the class. This is the last spar of the day, I believe you may be able to glean something from this."
He looked up, seeing an amber-eyed, raven-haired woman on the floor of the arena.
Cinder Fall.
His suspicion peaked, and he leaned on the edge of his seat, gripping the sides of his chair. There was no way in hell she didn't have some kind of plan in place with less than noble intentions.
"I would like to test myself against a skilled opponent. Weiss Schnee."
His hand latched onto her wrist.
It was all Percy could do to restrain himself from jumping into the arena to confront Cinder himself.
"What?" Weiss sounded confused.
Fuck.
Percy had nothing. He couldn't start up a scene in front of everyone and make it so painfully obvious to Cinder that he knew what she was doing. He couldn't give himself away like that. It would invite a deadly response, one that he was confident he could fend off, but not confident that his team could.
He grit his teeth slightly.
"Nothing."
He forced his fingers to release her wrist, "Just… be careful."
Weiss blinked, before tossing her white locks of hair over her shoulder. There was a light dusting of pink on her cheeks, but she wore a confident smile.
"I'll end this spar quickly, don't you worry Percy," she gave him a brilliant smile as she turned away, sashaying towards the arena.
Still, despite his teammate's confidence, he couldn't help but find comfort in twirling Riptide in pen form, grasping it between his fingers.
His friends cheered her on, telling her to kick ass as they supported her loudly. He did the same if only to avoid suspicion, although he couldn't put any heart into it; the gesture felt hollow, and out of place.
She wouldn't win… not unless Cinder intended for her to. Cinder was a dangerous factor, one that Percy so desperately wished he could eliminate out of the fold entirely. And yet here she was, preparing to spar against Weiss, his own teammate.
"The usual rules apply, of course," Goodwitch explained, pushing her glasses up. She caught his eye briefly as her eyes roved over the crowd of students, and he tried to convey his sense of worry to her, and she nodded imperceptibly in response as she continued.
"You will fight until surrender, ring out, or until your aura reaches the red, at which point you will cease immediately. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes ma'am," Weiss nodded, taking an Atlesian fencing stance with her rapier.
"Understood," Cinder only moved a foot back, bending her knees slightly.
She wasn't using her weapons, Percy realized. Because he'd fought her that night at the CCT.
She was changing weapons and fighting styles every time, from using her fire semblance and dust during the first encounter with Torchwick, to utilizing glass during the night at the CCT, to now simple martial arts.
When Goodwitch called start, Weiss was the one who struck the first blow.
Glyphs flashed beneath her feet, and she cut across the arena in a brilliant streak of white, Cinder being pushed back from the sheer force of the move. She attacked with power, forcing Cinder on the backfoot.
And yet, her comfortable lead in the fight did nothing to stop the nauseating pit that had opened itself up in his stomach.
Still, he cheered along with his friends, ignoring his senses that were going haywire.
Weiss kept on the offensive, thrusting her rapier rapidly and with fervor, utilizing the different types of dust in the chamber of her rapier. Cinder was kept on the backfoot, and looked panicked, except for her eyes.
The eyes always told a story.
And her amber eyes were utterly nonchalant, bored even, of the spar that was happening before her. They told him that Cinder was merely toying with Weiss, like she was playing with her food.
She deflected with her forearms and the back of her hand, only throwing in kicks every now and then.
Be careful, he whispered, praying, don't fall for her tricks, don't let your guard down.
She couldn't hear him, of course. Lost in the thrill of combat and eager to prove her worth, she was always on the attack, even as Cinder led her in circles. As the fight dragged on to several minutes, it became painfully obvious what Cinder's goal was.
And soon enough, Weiss began to wear out.
"She's slowing down," Blake sighed, "She's just burning off her energy at this point. She's fast, but she can't find an opening."
Percy's face was tense and slack at the same time, though no one commented on it. Perhaps it was a mixture of fury and worry so complex that no one could even hope to decipher it.
Cinder only leaned away from Weiss' increasingly fatigued attacks and weak thrusts with her rapier, and Percy cringed at the wide gap that Weiss left in her defenses.
A heel slammed into Weiss' side, followed by several more kicks and punches thrown in a flurry of movement. At some point during the rapid exchange, her rapier flying out of their fight as Weiss was disarmed. Her aura dropped rapidly as the taller woman laid into her, slamming a fist into her chin.
Cinder twirled, kicking down and following it with a roundhouse kick, then a fist thrust into Weiss' stomach.
She bent over, hacking for breath as Cinder made a show of checking the aura meters above them. With Weiss still in the yellow, she brutally slammed her heeled boot into Weiss' stomach, and the heiress was sent flying back.
"The match is over," Goodwitch called, Cinder nodding in acceptance and stepping back, walking towards Weiss' weapon.
Percy did not relax, however. Cinder wouldn't expose herself for no reason, that he knew. After all, she only had a limited number of fighting styles that she could burn through before her entire gig would fall apart. If she was going to do anything, she would paint it as an accident by the transfer student disguise she had on.
Weiss tried to push herself up off the ground, only succeeding in getting up to her knees. Her face was an expression of wounded pride mixed with regret. Her gaze flickered to him, her ice blue orbs locking with his sea green ones. He gave her an encouraging smile, one that had her face brightening up, if slightly.
"Ahh!"
Like a hawk, Percy's gaze swapped from Weiss to Cinder in an instant, his eyes locking on to her. Cinder retracted her hand, feigning that it was burnt, and Weiss' rapier fell to the ground.
It would have been an accident, a training accident. Dust was volatile, and everyone knew that. Oh, Cinder Fall, the kind-hearted transfer student from Haven had tried to be the epitome of politeness, trying to return her opponent's weapon to her… but dust weapons could malfunction, as everyone knew. A training accident that put Weiss in Beacon's infirmary for a few weeks was tragic and unfortunate, but just that. An accident. An incident that everyone would forget about in a few weeks by the time his teammate was out of the infirmary.
Except, it wasn't an accident. Percy had caught the brief glint of malice in the woman's amber eyes, an almost unnoticeable glint of gold.
Her semblance.
There would be no consequences other than a little detention at the maximum, or a few lectures on weapon safety. Low risk, high reward, just the type of thing that was irresistible to a woman like Cinder Fall.
And he'd be damned if he let anything like that happen, especially to one of his own teammates.
The rapier struck the floor, clattering, and the dust ignited, with the tip pointed towards Weiss. Cinder shouted in faux warning, but was cut off as a great torrent of fire poured out from the tip of the weapon, rushing with fury towards the prone Weiss.
Goodwitch scrambled for her crop, emerald eyes wide behind her glasses. Weiss' icy blue eyes were wide, filled with fear as she put her hands up before the fireball, too fatigued to even move and too drained on aura to even shield against it.
He moved, rocketing off his seat speed, boosting wards appearing behind him as he vaulted himself into the arena.
One second, it was Weiss staring down a torrent of fire, and the next, it was him standing in front of her.
A brilliant shield ward flared to life before them as he shielded Weiss with his body, the flame flickering and screaming against the ward, desperately trying to burn a hole through.
He held it though, and he pushed the shield ward, the ward breaking through the current of fire. Ashes and embers were left behind, falling on either side of him as they fluttered through the air.
"Percy…" Weiss whispered from behind him, icy blue eyes wide and filled with mixed emotions. He spared her a glance, giving her a once-over to make sure she was okay, before turning towards Cinder.
He walked towards Cinder, meeting her amber eyes.
They were filled with shock and frustration for her mistake, and also surprise. A thin veneer of shock covered it though, the feigned shock for Weiss, although he could see right through it.
He smiled internally. Good.
"Avoid touching things you fail to understand," he said, unable to resist the little taunt as he held out one hand for Weiss' rapier.
Goodwitch came to a slow halt beside them, green eyes narrowed in suspicion behind her glasses. Percy knew she'd seen it too, but she couldn't do anything about it.
He desperately wished Cinder would do something, some mistake, some move that would require the acting of Ozpin in the public's eye.
She didn't, of course. She was too smart for that.
He could tell by the glint in her eye that she was frustrated, but patient enough to bide her time. Instead, she bowed her head submissively, and gingerly held out Weiss' rapier for him.
"I-I'm so sorry," she 'whimpered', playing the role of the thoroughly cowed student, "I truly apologize. I didn't think that would happen- I could have- it could have-"
Percy snatched the rapier from her, as Goodwitch began sternly lecturing Cinder on the dos and don'ts of weaponry and ended it with telling her that she would be having several detentions along with lessons on weapon safety.
But even if Goodwitch hadn't seen it, he had. The weapon hadn't malfunctioned; it was a state of the art Atlesian rapier, and Ruby had checked Weiss' weapon hundreds of times at this point (after having begged for it, of course).
"I… lost," Weiss whispered, eyes downcast and looking at the ground.
"Hey," Percy gently tilted her chin up at him, giving her an encouraging smile, "You did your best. I'm glad you're okay."
She accepted his hand, and allowed him to pull her up to her feet.
He checked her over again, scanning for any injuries. The fire could have made it past the edges of his shield ward, after all.
Cinder had been careful, not doing anything even remotely suspicious until the end. She would have been severely punished if she had tried to continue the fight when Weiss' aura hit the red.
Weiss looked away from him, neck tinged with pink, and Percy tilted his head in confusion.
"What is it?"
"I- Stop staring at me, dolt," she whispered furiously without any real heat behind the words, "And… thank you."
"What for?"
"For saving me, you dunce," she smacked his chest lightly, smiling up at him.
"You're my teammate," he grinned down at her, "And what kind of team leader would let his team get hurt?"
Weiss opened her mouth, but her words were lost to him, interrupted by Professor Goodwitch shouting that combat class was dismissed.
He had to inform Ozpin.
"Hold up Weiss, I need to use the restroom for a second," he feigned urgency in his voice, rushing away from his team.
He mingled himself into the crowd of students leaving combat class, then emerged at the headmaster's office, taking the elevator up.
As he stepped out of the elevator, the golden clockwork and the green theme of Ozpin's office greeted him, the man behind the desk raising his head from signing some documents.
"I have important news," he said as he strolled across the office towards Ozpin's mahogany wood desk.
"Oh? Is a certain little bird lost in his cups again?" Ozpin sounded amused, and in a good mood, strangely enough, even with all the signatures he had to sign every day.
Percy sighed, "No, Qrow isn't drinking, though I wouldn't bet anything on it. No, with this recent development, we have to take action against Cinder Fall. Call the others, please."
"I already have."
Ozpin smirked up at his flabbergasted expression, even as the elevator door opened again, revealing Qrow, Goodwitch, and Ironwood.
"Perseus, please inform them of what has transpired."
"Very well," he nodded, "I trust that Professor Goodwitch has already informed all of you of the specific details?"
They nodded, as he continued, "Cinder Fall tried to harm a classmate during a spar in combat class, specifically my teammate, Weiss Schnee."
"So what?" Qrow snorted, "Mini-ice queen almost got hurt, didn't even die. I don't see the problem here."
"The problem," Percy stressed, "Is that her aura was disgustingly low, far into the red because the final strike that pushed her into the red was severely strong. The fire that she'd generated was far more than that would have been if the rapier had actually cracked and fire dust had leaked. what if it had been one of your nieces?"
The change in the man was instant, as Qrow put away his hip flask, growling as he palemd the hilt of his weapon.
"It was an attempt that would have at least put Weiss into the infirmary for several weeks to a month with severe burns, robbing Beacon of one of its capable fighters. It was disguised as an accident, and she would have gotten off with only a few detentions for it."
"Oh don't worry about that," Goodwitch's smile seemed to be all teeth, "I assigned Cinder Fall three lessons on weapon safety with Port. Let's just say that her face changed from calm to horrified."
Qrow snorted, "Old man's still around?"
They ignored the drunk bird.
"Perfect," Percy's smile mirrored hers, "But we must take action against Cinder Fall. She's proven to be a thorn in our side for far too long. She's now trying to actively harm students. She's planning something, no doubt."
Ironwood and Ozpin looked like they agreed wholeheartedly, even Qrow nodding as he took a sip of his flask.
Goodwitch still looked a little unsure as she adjusted her glasses on her nose, "Are you certain, Perseus? This could simply be a huge misunderstanding, after all."
He snorted, drawling, "A coincidence, sure. A coincidence that the physical height matches, that the hair matches, that the eyes match."
"A coincidence that Qrow saw a red dress, amber eyes, and black hair through the blurring effect when he saved Amber. A coincidence that I fought a woman with a red dress and the same golden eyes that was working with Torchwick. A coincidence that I met her again at the CCT. A coincidence that she tried to injure Weiss, one of my teammates."
"Her fighting styles aren't the same-"
He cut her off, "Of course they aren't exactly the same. She changes it up every single time, but the same fire-based semblance is there every time, and the same flow of moves, even if she isn't using the same weapons."
He snorted again, "We have to deal with her."
"And what do you propose, Perseus?" Ozpin finally spoke, his hands clasped together elegantly as he sat forward in his chair.
"I propose that we, deal with her."
Their eyes widened simultaneously, almost making it comical. It was funny how a simple change in tone could have so much of a different meaning.
And even if Cinder Fall was to be killed, Percy didn't feel any guilt.
He had no qualms about killing a woman who was aiming for the destruction of the world… or at least a power hungry maniac. Nothing other than pain would spawn from allowing her to obtain the Maiden powers.
He'd done so to so many monsters and immortals over his lifetime… what was another?
"An assassination…" Ironwood rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Percy could see the military cunning behind the General, and the gears in his head turning.
"It could work."
"Heh, I like the way you think kid," Qrow took another sip of his alcoholic flask, "Good way to get rid of Amber's attackers."
"It would have to be off Beacon's grounds and in Vale, however," Ozpin frowned, "It would cast further suspicion upon myself, as well as James if it was on Beacon's grounds. In Vale, an assassination would not put questions in the minds of the people towards the Academies."
"Which is why we should hire a hitman," Percy continued, "An assassin through a third party, that can't be traced to any figures of authority such as yourself, otherwise it would spell public disaster for you."
On a roll now, he didn't let anyone interrupt him, "If the assassin were to accomplish his mission, we'd be without Cinder Fall. If he were to fail…"
"We can place her under protection," Ozpin realized, finishing his thoughts, "And stack guards around her team dorm, plant listening devices in her team's room, and escort her everywhere, and become essentially unhinged and unquestioned for our motives."
"Exactly," Percy pointed out, nodding, "And best of all? She doesn't know that we know. The guards won't be for keeping others out; they would be for keeping her in."
Qrow slow clapped, the sound echoing throughout the headmaster's office, "Gotta give it to ya kid, you're smart as hell. But we're jumping a little ahead here. What if the assassin, or hitman, or whatever ya wanna call him… what if he fails his task and runs? After all, lien isn't worth everything. Even dumbasses know to value their life over lien."
"Well, we could place her under protection either way," Percy pointed out, "Because she was attacked."
"And what if she keeps quiet?" Qrow countered immediately, "She doesn't want to draw attention or suspicion onto herself."
"Good point, but we'll have make sure the assassin goes full throttle for her. We'll hire one of those hitmen with perfect track records," Percy nodded, "When she can't get him off her, then she'll be forced to kill him. A body is hard to hide, after all, and she would have to claim the kill for her alibi."
"And even if we don't find the body, Jimmy or Ozzy could fake that they did," Qrow realized, his red eyes going wide, "And the bitch would be forced to claim the kill again…"
"I like your way of thinking," Ozpin complimented, a smile breaking out in his face.
Ironwood nodded, looking resolute as a military general should, "A devious plan indeed. Cutting off all entry and exit points to trap the enemy…"
The General took a few steps towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "You think much like an Atlesian Specialist. Might I interest you in joining the Specialists once you officially obtain your huntsmen license?"
"James," Ozpin gave him a look, "Tell me you are not trying to steal one of my students out from under me."
"Oh well, it was worth a shot," Ironwood shrugged shamelessly, a smirk on his face.
Ozpin sipped his coffee loudly, drawing all eyes to him, as he set the mug down again.
"And how would you acquire this hitman?" he folded his hands together.
Percy feigned surprise, "I never said anything about me hiring a hitman."
Qrow raised an eyebrow, "Kid, you and I are the literal only ones who can hire a hitman right now. These three are all busy running academies or armies or teaching."
He snorted, "And I'm Qrow Branwen, I'd never need a hitman. I'm a bigshot, ya know. Not some small shot celebrity like you are."
"I wouldn't need a hitman either, considering I whoop your ass every time we step onto the arena," Percy waved him off, even though he wasn't quite sure what Qrow meant by small shot celebrity.
"That was once!" Qrow flipped him the bird, and Percy laughed. A bird flipping the bird.
He briefly recalled the club that Yang had brought him to that one time, the information dealer behind the bar that had been obviously nervous to see her. Hei Xiong, that was his name. He'd be useful.
"Either way, I know an information dealer in Vale, I'll get him to scour through his contacts for a hitman."
Ozpin nodded, "I approve. I'll provide you with the times of Cinder Fall's typical departures from Beacon, and an itinerary of her schedule. Beacon will provide you with all the lien you need, up to twenty thousand."
"That would be most useful," Percy nodded.
Goodwitch groaned, "I can't believe we are about to assassinate a student."
"We're subsidizing it too," Qrow reminded her, winking and giving her a big thumbs up, a stupid grin coating his face.
"There, there," Percy smirked, patting her shoulder condescendingly, "I'm sure that lien falls under business expenses anyway, so you won't be having to pay taxes. That's a plus!"
The blonde deputy headmistress seemed to slump even more in defeat at the thought, as Ozpin sighed, though there was a small smile of amusement on his face.
"Perseus, please stop antagonizing your combat professor."
Percy smirked, before sobering up, looking each of his fellow Ozluminati in the eyes.
"Then it is decided. Operation Sic Semper Tyrannis is a go."
"Sic Semper Tyrranis? Really?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed. Percy shot him a look that said, 'Shut up please', and an amused smile broke out on the headmaster's face in response.
Qrow seemed to perk up, "Was that Ancient Mistralian?"
Ancient Mistralian, hm? The fact that Latin was confirmed to be ancient Mistralian made Remnant's culture all the more interesting.
Regardless, it didn't stop him from teasing the bird.
"Damn Qrow, you've impressed me! I honestly didn't know you had it in you, bird brain."
The man's red eyes seemed to narrow at him.
"Kid."
"Yeah?" Percy grinned, crooking his index finger at him, much to the exasperated sighs of his impromptu audience in the background that knew what was going to happen.
The man lifted a single finger, giving him the bird, again, ironically enough.
"Fuck you."
He snorted.
"No thanks."
That night, he left Beacon quietly, citing to his team that he had business to sort out in Vale. Luckily, they'd accepted that answer, even if it'd been a little shady.
Percy approached the Club, whistling a jaunty tune as he casually strolled past thugs and thieves on the street, many of whom recognized him, for some reason. A few tried to take his wallet, and by the gods was it stuffed with lien, but a quick flash of Riptide, and they backed off. Some of the bolder ones, or dumber ones depending on how one looked at it, decided to challenge him, and that had ended with broken bones and blood on his hands.
Not his blood, of course.
Either way, as he strolled into the Club, none of the douche bag looking henchmen tried to stop him.
Or, most of them at least. One of them was dumb enough to put a hand on his chest, stopping him from entering, but just barely.
Percy looked up at him, willing to humor the large man, even as his right hand twirled Riptide's pen form between his fingers.
"Hey, listen kid, club's closed today. Boss is kinda busy right now so why don't you fuck off-"
Percy slapped the man's hand off him with pathetic ease, flashing the golden blade of Anaklusmos at the guy, who wore red glasses and a red tie along with the other douche bags.
The guy, despite being larger and taller than he was, paled dramatically and backed off. Percy gave him another cursory glance before he strode in, aware of all the eyes on his back as he entered the Club.
The place was empty, and quiet, with only three figures towards the back of the large disco room, all three behind the bar.
Hei Xiong looked up as he entered, a look of recognition on his face. Two girls flanked his sides. One was wearing a red dress, with bob style black hair and a straight fringe along with pale green eyes, with claws on her hands as weapons. The other was wearing a white dress, with a straight fringe of black hair and pale green eyes. Percy could spot blades along her heeled boots, noting that she was a kick fighter and filing that information away for later.
"Damnit Larry! I told ya not to let anyone in here!" the tall man hollered from behind the bar.
"Hello, Hei," Percy recalled the name from off the top of his head, him having done some basic research of the place.
"It's Junior," the man grunted dismissively as he cleaned a wine glass, "And whatdya want? I ordered those grunts not to let anyone in. Seems like you got past my men anyway."
Percy made to speak, but the guy interrupted him.
"Unless…" Junior's eyes widened comically, "You're with that blonde again?"
The girls beside him stiffened, sharing a wary look with each other as they suddenly went alert.
"Woah, woah, easy there Junior," Percy put his hands up placatingly, trying to calm the guy down, "Yang's not here. Did she trash your club or something?"
"Something," Junior grunted, "That's exactly what she did."
Percy snorted, "Sounds like her."
"Alright listen kid, you got something for me, or get out, you're wasting time," Junior's expression seemed to harden.
"Yes, actually. I need to hire a hitman, a professional hitman. Not some two pump chump or random bastard off the street, but an actual one," Percy looked at him seriously, making sure he understood, "One that specializes in long range and taking down huntsmen-caliber targets. Powerful huntsmen-caliber, towards the upper side of the scale. I'm afraid the target's too dangerous for good old-fashioned hand to hand combat."
Junior grunted, "Right. Look, I don't mean to be rude, but you have all the info right. Otherwise, it'd be a waste of my time."
He flashed the folder of info he had at Junior, the man nodding in response, content.
"Alright kid, just so ya know, it's gonna be expensive. Let me see," Junior looked over his computer hidden behind the bar, typing into the keyboard and pulling something up.
"I got a guy available right now. If you give him fifteen to twenty minutes, he'll be here. The other option is a more reputable guy. Best in the industry, or so I've heard. Perfect track record. You pay, you'll get results, guaranteed. He'll be here within… two hours if you stay for that long."
Percy pursued his lips. Obviously, the best option was the more reputable guy, but it was already late; well, late by his standards. If he stayed for another two hours, he'd miss the last ship to Beacon, and he'd have to shack up in some shitty motel for the night.
But work was work. Anything for Cinder Fall's death.
"The second option," he finally decided. If he had to sleep in some sleazy ass motel for the night, so be it.
"Very well then," Junior nodded in return, typing in something, then looking up, "Five hundred lien."
Jeez. If that wasn't fucking expensive for typing a couple of words in, Percy didn't know what was.
He couldn't exactly bargain here though…Junior knew he had to have more than five thousand lien at the least to just hire a hitman in the first place.
Percy slid the lien across the counter, and Junior collected it, tallying it up before shoving it into a drawer.
"Anything I can get ya?"
He was being oddly nice, Percy decided.
And it was probably all because the fact that he was even friends with Yang had him tipped off. Yang had more than likely trashed his club, by the man's reaction from earlier.
"Hmm…" he tapped his chin thoughtfully, as he tried to recall that drink that Yang liked so much.
"What was it…ah, yes, strawberry sunrise, add ice please."
"Need the lil' umbrella on top too?" the man grunted in question as he began stirring up the drink.
Oh right, Yang always asked for that.
"Nah," Percy waved him off, sliding the required lien over the counter for his purchase.
Junior slid the drink across the counter, Percy grinning as he picked it up and took a savory sip, tasting it.
He wasn't afraid to drink, even if it was his first time doing such a thing. He had a natural affinity against poison, after all, and alcohol was basically poison to his liver anyway. It would take a lot of alcohol for him to become… inebriated like Qrow.
An hour later, Percy strolled his way across the floor of the Club towards Junior, the large man having waved him over.
Dancing with the Malachite twins, as they had introduced themselves, had been fun. They'd been wary at first, skittish like cats, but after they had warmed up to him, they'd danced away like a practiced trio in the empty club, music blaring.
The man's lips were moving, but Percy frowned, unable to hear him over the loud music.
He had to shout louder, leaning over the counter to even get his words across, "The guy's here, by the way. Entered through the back door. Go to the back, take the set of stairs up. He's in the first room to the left."
"Aww, the hunk is leaving…" Miltia, the one wearing the red dress, blew him a kiss, "Make sure to be thinking of us."
Melanie only winked at him, the hems of her white dress sashaying from side to side as she strolled away.
Percy only allowed his lips to curl into an amused smile as he turned towards the back of the club, using his long strides to make his way up the stairs. He flicked on his hood, covering himself with a flowing cloak that obscured his features. After all, he couldn't be letting everyone know his identity, otherwise he might as well have been screwed over sideways.
As he opened the door to the room, he was met with a dark wooden desk, with only a few torches lighting up the room, giving it a sort of dark atmosphere.
The man sitting in front of him was cloaked, a hood obscuring his face. He wore a dark blue, almost black, flowing cloak, with light armor over himself. Other than that, not much else could be made out from his obscured figure, other than the light, agile build that Percy took note of.
"You're hooded," Percy observed, as he slid into the wood chair across from him, the chair scraping lightly against the floor in response to the motion.
The assassin chuckled, his voice reverberating deeply throughout the room, "As are you. Though I hope you don't mind. One must maintain anonymity in this kind of profession."
"Of course. I assume that includes buyer's confidentiality, yes?" Percy met the man's dark eyes that he could just barely see peering through the darkness of the hood.
He could see the man's lips curl into a smile, "Certainly, even if I am unable to observe you properly. Now, may I see the information about the target?"
"No," Percy met the man's eyes again, a steely look in his sea green orbs, "Let us discuss the price first. After all, I hope you understand that I won't just give out information about the target preemptively."
The assassin made a noise in the back of his throat that made it sound like he was vaguely impressed, "Very well then. I am willing to take only ten thousand lien for this assignment."
Well then.
Ten thousand was… cheap, all things considered.
It was Cinder Fall, after all. Her death was invaluable. They would definitely pay more than that to get rid of her.
But that didn't mean he wasn't going to haggle a bit. After all, whatever remained of the twenty thousand lien was going to be his.
Yeah, he was a greedy bastard, but he was also poor as fuck, and in desperate need of lien. What better way than to haggle and weasel a couple more thousand out of Ozpin's pocket?
"Five thousand is the best I can do," Percy argued, his face stoic as to not give anything away.
The man in front of him frowned, leaning forward in his seat and clasping his hands, "I don't think you quite understand the motions of my work. I take my profession very seriously. I would rather die than fail an assignment. I strike once, and I end them. My face is the last thing they will see."
"I am highly skilled at what I do, the best in the industry. I have a perfect track record and haven't failed a client ever. Xiong has informed me of the level of skill that your target has. Even against a highly skilled huntsman, I will be able to perform perfectly," he took a breath, his eyes staring into Percy's through the darkness of the hood.
"You won't get better results from anyone else, that I can assure you. Any of the target's friends that are with them at the moment will also have to be eliminated."
The assassin took a breath, pausing for a moment, "That being said, I'll be extremely generous here. Seven and a half thousand lien, and no less."
Percy tilted his chin thoughtfully. What if… what if he made a failsafe for if this guy couldn't kill Cinder Fall? Worst case scenario, Cinder Fall didn't get killed, and killed this guy.
She had taken out a Maiden, after all… it was already an established fact that she was deadly.
"Six thousand lien, but a thirty percent bonus on top of the six thousand if you carry it out within three days," Percy offered, crunching the numbers mentally in his head.
The assassin did so as well, seemingly coming to the same conclusion that the thirty percent added was well worth it. He seemed to be confident in his own skills, as he nodded.
"I will accept half up front."
"No," Percy instantly denied, frowning, "I like a job well done, and there is no proof to say that you have finished the job yet. A quarter up front for now."
"Forty percent then," the man countered expertly.
Percy sighed, as if he were giving up a great deal, when in fact, he was merely acting, "Very well. Forty percent of the six thousand lien up front, the remaining sixty to be paid out once you show me picture or video evidence of the body, along with a thirty percent bonus on the six thousand if you carry it out within three days."
The assassin nodded, as Percy continued, "Allow me to present you the information about the target then."
He slid the file across the table, allowing the man to open it up and scan through the papers he'd provided.
"Do not engage her in close combat," Percy cautioned, "She is quite adept at it."
The man across from him chuckled as he read the files, "I'll hold you to that. So, a huntress in training, you say? You do understand that any targets with her will have to be eliminated, which means her team would full well be eliminated as well."
That was… a generous gift. Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, and their fourth clearly fake teammate 'Noir' being eliminated was the best case scenario.
Regardless of how much of a favor this guy was doing to them, an assassin was still an assassin, and he could technically change the deal and walk out on him at any time.
"I understand," Percy said, his tone cool, as if the thought didn't faze him at all.
"Good, good. Related heating semblance… expert swordswoman, dust embedded clothing… Alright, there shouldn't be any problems," he shrugged, leaning back in his seat.
"Take her seriously," Percy warned, "I paid for huntress caliber because she is huntress caliber, not some huntress in training. Be careful."
"Of course. I never slack off on a job. May I have the forty percent up front now?"
"Naturally."
He made a show of counting up the lien, sliding it across to the assassin. The gesture went ignored by the assassin, however, as he counted it up himself before pocketing it.
The two of them stood, chairs creaking as they were pushed back, and he noted that the man was relatively tall, only a few inches shorter than himself.
They shook hands, the man's hand firm and calloused, letting him know that the assassin was not messing around.
"Pleasure doing business with you."
Percy's smile was all teeth.
"The pleasure is all mine."
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Next Chapter: July 22nd (1 week)
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