Adam kept his gaze low, resting his lower face on his intertwined fingers. His elbows leaned against the battered desk. Lighting the stuffy plain room, a single lightbulb buzzed above him. He kept his face blank as he ignored the commotion outside. He couldn't let anyone see how he was feeling, not even to his Lieutenant. But the more he heard about the situation, the less he wanted to know.

"How much Dust did we get from the docks?" he asked.

Cole replied with a gravelly voice, "About 15 tons?"

Less than half of what he expected. It was supposed to be their break with their depleting storage and the unrelenting sabotage. But even with the increased security, it wasn't enough. It'd be a miracle if they could stick to the schedule.

He asked again, "And how many men did we lose?"

"…32. Dead or arrested."

32 more martyrs. He swallowed a bitter taste and felt the mask around his eyes. They weren't short on recruits yet; Sienna had been directing more people from Mistral. But how many more lives would be lost in their pursuit of justice?

Cole cleared his throat. "Adam, sir, what should we do about the trains?"

"Keep them as they are. But block the entrances leading to Forever Fall and double the guards. If there's anything amiss, alert me immediately."

"Yes, sir." Cole leaned closer and whispered. "We should do something about them, too."

Adam nodded and stood up, following Cole out of his office. The stagnant underground air assaulted his senses. Below the guardrail, Roman's men continued arguing with one another while his White Fang group loaded the crates onto the train. But their eyes often wandered towards the quarrel. He gestured at his men, and they immediately picked up the pace.

A man with red glasses clasped his hands together. "Please, Everyone! We just need to bust him out of jail."

"Who's paying us for that?!" A bearded man threw his arm up. "I'm out of here!"

"Um, guys?" Another man pointed at someone.

The snappy sound of heels clicking echoed in the cavern. A short girl with half-pink and half-brown hair swung her parasol and strode towards them. Her eyes seemed to keep changing into brown and pale pink. Her smirk never left her face. It was a smile he'd seen plenty on the Schnee Dust Company Mine foremen.

"M-Miss Neopolitan!" They bowed. "We didn't know you were coming."

She tapped her parasol on the ground. Wordlessly, she pulled the person who suggested rescuing Roman to one side and the person who wanted to leave to another. She walked around them, swinging her parasol and checking them like a predator.

The bearded man chuckled shakily. "Miss Neopolitan, I can ex—"

A needle blade pierced through his throat. He covered his neck, gurgling on his blood. Blood sept through his fingers and stained his black shirt like the colour of his tie. When he dropped to his knees, she gave him a final push with her heels. The choking sound faded into nothing.

The man with red glasses twitched and thrust his arm in the air. "W-We're getting Boss out of jail!" His words were met with immediate cheers.

"We're not doing that." Adam walked downstairs with Cole beside him. "Not without a plan."

Neopolitan swung the blood off her blade, letting a few drops onto her black-and-white spat knee boots. Glaring at him, she stepped towards him with her subordinates behind her.

One of them said, "Piss off! We'll do what we want."

Cole growled behind his mask. "Watch your tongue, Human. You're only here because we allowed it."

"Oh yeah? You think you could've lasted this long without us?"

"That's right," another one taunted. "You collars don't know anything!"

A chainsaw revved. Adam immediately caught Cole by his shoulder. Now wasn't the time for more problems. But his followers didn't seem to think so. They approached them with weapons in tow, throwing insults at her men. It wouldn't be long before it turned into an all-out brawl. He glanced at Neopolitan, hinting at her to intervene. But she just grinned and brandished her parasol. With a growing annoyance, he grabbed his hilt, ready to fight if necessary.

"Enough!"

A ring of inferno circled them. Some screamed, patting the fire out of their bodies. The ends of his hair and clothes charred. He gritted his teeth, focusing on his Aura. The heat, however, continued to torment him. As the blaze gradually faded, Cinder descended from above. She waved her hand and extinguished the fire around her short red dress.

She said, "You will work together unless I tell you otherwise, understand?"

They exchanged looks at one another. After a moment of heavy silence, they all nodded and grumbled in agreement. Neopolitan glared at him one last time before leading her subordinates away.

He turned towards Cole. "Remind everyone not to antagonise them, got it?"

"…Yes, sir."

As Cole talked to his men, the tension inside Adam slowly disappeared. He could certainly use a strong drink or two. But the others still looked up to him. He had to remain strong. After straightening his back, he walked towards Cinder.

"I take it you'll be paying them?" he asked.

"Of course." She chuckled. "Keep those precious Dust of yours. Our agreement still stands."

He nodded. Still, their arrangement was never the issue. It was the aftermath that concerned him. Sooner or later, their interest would divulge, and he wasn't sure who would come up on top. Not yet, anyway.

She glanced at him. "Any luck with your slight issue?"

"Philip isn't as idiotic as he looks," he replied. "Someone from Beacon is working with him. It'll take some time to deal with them."

"Not even your trusted enforcers are doing the trick?"

"I've already gathered everyone with Aura to the city. But they're only good against cops. Not people from the Academy."

She hummed and crossed her arms. Her two minions headed towards her: an assassin and a thief. From what Adam had seen, they were quite formidable. Dangerous, namely.

"Leave them to me," Cinder said. "Oh, we'll take care of your mole, too. Consider it a gift."

"What exactly do you have in mind?" he asked.

She smirked. "A trap fitting for them."

Author's Notes:

You've reached the end of Volume 1. Congrats.

The next volume will deviate more from the canon. If you want to follow the series, I'd suggest you create an Author Alert. But given that I'd release it weekly once it's ready, it'd be hard to miss.

I'll also restructure the whole volume before I publish Volume 2. The major plot points will remain the same, though.

See you when I see you.