"Qatar is the only country"

- Alex Trebek

Percy ducked around a corner, sitting just outside the entrance to the police station. He might be able to tank the shots from the dozen or so men for long enough to take them out, but he wasn't sure he wanted to test what those huntsmen trained agents could do in the meantime, especially so soon after losing a big chunk of his aura just a few hours ago.

He cursed as a shotgun shell blew concrete out of the corner he hid behind. If he did well, he might be able to recapture Malachite without revealing any of his powers. But only if he played his cards right.

Mind made up, he quickly but quietly ran to the side of the entrance to the police station, hopping over the railing and landing on the soft grass. The element of surprise was his only chance here. With any luck, they wouldn't know he'd moved from his position.

Percy began sprinting the entire lap around the police station. He figured that by the time he was about halfway around the building they'd discover he wasn't where they'd last seen him.

Which means that by the time he was on the other side…

Percy hopped onto the railing on the other side of the entrance, his view full of the backs of Malachite's agents all searching for him. Balancing on the railing momentarily, Percy leaped directly behind one of her undercover police, slamming their head into the railing so hard he dented it.

The surrounding goons cried out in shock, turning to face Percy as quickly as they could. It wasn't quick enough for a turned officer who subsequently got a kick to the chest, sending him tumbling down the stairs and likely putting him in the hospital, if he survived that long. Ducking under the bullets he knew were about to come, Percy lunged forward and tackled one of Malachite's agents.

He didn't have time to make them stay down, but one of his friends did that for him.

Percy rolled off of the goon just in time to avoid the bullet that subsequently entered the man he'd tackled.

He wasn't fast enough to avoid the couple of bullets that hit him afterwards, unfortunately. Grunting, Percy held his arm up to stop them from hitting him in the face and dashed inside.

Three down, nine to go, two of which had aura. Piece of cake, right?

"After him!"

Well, that was convenient. There was no real reason Malachite shouldn't just leave while he ran into the police station. Her emotions — her want for revenge lost her this fight.

Percy hid around a corner, inching Riptide out of his pocket. He didn't need it quite yet, but he would in a moment. Waiting until one of her agents ran around the corner, he swung his arm out and clotheslined him, sending him onto his back heaving for breath. Bending over, Percy picked up his head and slammed it into the stone floor below him, knocking him out. 8 to go.

Percy heard the sound of hurried footsteps heading towards him, and dashed to another corner to do the same thing again.

"There!"

Percy was confused just long enough to feel the ground rupture beneath him. Eyes widening, he dived to the side as quickly as he could, just barely avoiding falling into the opening in the earth.

What the Hades was that?

Scurrying backwards away from the still widening gap, Percy scrambled to his feet just as the search party rounded the corner. Lifting their guns, they let a volley go at him, and Percy had no choice but to duck into the nearest room.

Okay, he had no idea what that was, but he did know he'd probably need some of his powers now.

"In the room, middle right."

The next thing he knew the ground was opening up directly beneath him again. He was a little more prepared this time, but it still threw him off his balance and forced him to dodge to the side right as the door opened.

Percy cursed, ducking behind a desk which did little to stop the bullets going through it.

"Fuck it."

Percy clenched his fist, and the room imploded. Pipes running beneath the building, through the walls, and through the ceiling all exploded, sending water crashing into the room itself, and then out through the door, sweeping along the search party with it. Percy didn't let up, keeping the pressure on every one of them. He couldn't see it, but he could feel the water slamming the party into the wall of the building, slowly suffocating them. Drowning them in the middle of a mostly dry hallway.

Percy sighed and slowly stood up, looking over himself. His clothes had a few holes in them which would mean he'd have to have them sewn up and donated. Pulling out his scroll, he winced. His aura had gotten dangerously low. He hadn't exactly been conservative during his fight earlier in the day, as he hadn't exactly expected to be thrown into another fight on the same day. He might have been able to eke out a victory over Malachite's rescue party without using his powers, but it was unlikely.

Feeling that the last goon had stopped squirming he released the water from his control. The police would arrest them, too. He'd make sure a judge gave them life sentences for treason.

An evil thought at the back of his head suggested he keep the water exactly where it was. After all, if he left none of them alive there would be nobody to tell his enemies about his 'semblance'.

He shoved that thought down back where it belonged. Just because he did kill people didn't mean he liked it. A life was worth more than his secrets, especially one he didn't mind getting out too much. As much as he despised turncoats, he wouldn't kill what were essentially prisoners at this point.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he jogged to the entrance. He'd need to take Malachite back into custody now. Or kill her, whichever proved more convenient.

Coming out the entrance of the police station, Percy snarled. A few hundred meters away, Malachite was boarding a bullhead.

Percy started running at it full tilt, determined to stop that bullhead before it could lift off. Unfortunately he wasn't successful.

The bullhead retracted its ramp, closing the door and beginning to lift off. Percy cursed. He couldn't make it in the bullhead, but he'd be damned if he was just letting it go.

Percy reached the bullhead when it was already a dozen feet off the ground. Grunting, Percy launched himself off the ground, just barely managing to hang onto the landing gear.

Scrambling with his other hand, Percy held onto the bar, pulling himself up to stand on the landing gear. Unlike the landing gears on helicopters back home however, these ones retracted.

Percy cursed as the landing gears started folding into the bullhead, glancing down below to the ground which rapidly moved further and further away. Any further and he wouldn't naturally survive the fall.

Making up his mind, Percy hopped up on the wing of the bullhead, well aware that if they started moving sideways instead of just up, he'd be in for a long ride down. Quickly, he balanced himself on the bullhead's wing for a moment before crawling onto the main chassis of the VTOL. From there he slowly made his way to the cockpit where the pilot and co-pilot sat. With any luck they hadn't noticed he was on their bird and he could take them by surprise.

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side.

The moment Percy poked his head over the glass canopy, he was met by a bullet to the forehead, shattering the glass in the process.

Cursing, Percy scrambled back onto the chassis, fighting to keep balance. Well, that was out. Glancing briefly over the side, he determined he was also too far away for water to help him any time soon.

He didn't have enough aura to risk another direct shot like that. If this was a movie he'd pull out a tracker that he conveniently kept on him just incase he was on a plane that was flying away… but this was real life, and he was pretty confident he knew where this bullhead was heading anyway.

He could use Riptide to cut a hole in the bullhead below and potentially grab Miss Malachite that way, but that was also a risk. He was sure they had guns in there, and if they managed to get even a single good shot on him, he was fucked with the level his aura was at now. Shaking his head, Percy decided the only reasonable action was to be patient. If he let Malachite slip from his grasp it would be a problem. But he was confident she'd still be at house Junia in a few hours, when his faunus friends showed up.

She didn't have anywhere else she was confident was secure. She would want to do her business from their villa for at least a little while. Especially because nobody knew his reach extended as far as it did. After all, how would the owner of one little city do what nobody had done in thousands of years, and take down a major family in their own estate? He wouldn't blame her for thinking it silly.

As such, he let himself slip off the side of the still rising bullhead. He would have her in time.

Percy slackened as he finally slipped off the very edge of the bullhead, letting the air have its way with him. Reaching thousands of feet below, he pulled water from the water system of the city to cushion his fall. He couldn't see it, but he could feel the water pulling itself from the walls, from the sidewalks and from under the streets.

When he was but a few hundred feet above the ground, the water reached up to envelope him, softly setting him down. Percy shook off the discomfort he felt from falling that long, and began making his way back to his HQ. He had some plans to change.

"There's a change of plans."

Adam grunted, looking over the bullhead docks. "What kind of change of plans."

"I need one dead. You may have heard of her." Percy handed him a scroll with Malachite's picture and name.

Adam glanced at it. "Should I have?"

Percy shrugged. "She's an information dealer. It's of little importance, but I need to make a point. Everything else stays as planned — you shouldn't expect much heightened security."

Adam nodded, handing the scroll back. "I'll make sure my men keep an eye out for her." he glanced backwards at the city of Windpath. While mostly recovered, there were still signs of the recent battle. Firetrucks and ambulances idled around the city, and the odd fire still burned on a street. For the most part it was a battle without collateral damage, but even the panic alone generated by an attack could cause mayhem and attract grimm. "What happened here?"

Percy glanced back as well. "There's a reason I want her dead. All of her men have either joined me or they've been removed."

Adam grunted "I understand. I'll be on my way, then."

Percy nodded. "Good luck."

With a nod back, Adam was gone, on his way to speak with a small circle of White Fang gathered by one of the bullheads, likely his officers.

Percy turned and left him to finish preparing for the attack. For now he just had to wait, and if all went well then come a few hours from now, he'd have everything he needed to take the next step in his plans.

Several bullheads sped through the night, heading directly for one spot on top of Mistral. With the advantages they had, there was almost no way they could fail in their mission. They could see perfectly at night, they outnumbered the security ten to one, they had the element of surprise, they had assault rifles while security staff had pistols — the point is, they had the advantage. They were a militia attacking a civilian target. A relatively heavily guarded civilian target, but a civilian target nonetheless.

Adam pulled a radio up to his mouth. "Are all forces ready?"

"Squad four ready."

"Squad two ready."

"Squad three ready."

"Squad five ready."

"Squad one ready."

Adam smiled at Blake next to him, the leader of squad one. This was her trial by fire, so to speak, and he was confident she would perform.

"Good. Remember your missions, and be quick. In and out. We're not sticking around long enough for the Mistral police to respond. Be prepared to deploy."

Adam clipped his radio back onto his pants, and prepared to hop out of the bullhead. This was the first mission that their benefactor had given them, and if Adam wanted to hang onto this partnership, they had to prove they were capable of getting results.

The only problem was that Adam didn't just want to keep this partnership, he needed it. The entire White Fang did. If they lost their funding tomorrow he had no doubt that Perseus would just turn to the SDC and sell them twice as expensive weapons for five times the price, end them once and for all, and walk home with a nice profit all the while. No, they needed to deliver here, or Perseus would find a new lapdog to do his work.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Adam focused on the battle before him. The bullhead settled to a stop and the door opened, revealing a small contingent of security guards who had assembled to meet them.

"Hey! What's your business here!? Put your hands in the—"

Gunfire rang out, silencing their calls. Blake winced, but he knew she would keep going. They were armed combatants, and she was a smart girl. It was kill or be killed, with people like them.

The noises were echoed around the villa, gunfire peppering the night and eliminating all of the outside security almost immediately.

"Go! You all have your jobs!" Adam called to the White Fang, and they needed no more prodding. Blake's squad rushed past him, directly into the mansion. A couple of the other groups moved to secure exits and sweep the perimeter, while the rest cleared smaller buildings, making sure there were no stragglers.

Adam jogged after Blake's squad, keen to join the fighting himself. His men wouldn't respect him if he couldn't prove himself as a fighter.

Entering the mansion, he saw things progressing pretty much as planned. Family servants cowered out of the way, the odd security guard attempted to block their way, and was quickly cut down by either Adam's blade, Blake's Gambol Shroud, gunfire from the rest of the White Fang, or some odd combination of the three.

After searching through two floors of the five floor mansion without any success, Adam grew worried. At this rate, the police would arrive before they'd secured their targets.

Instead of ignoring them, Adam grabbed the next servant they saw, slamming him up against a wall.

"Where are the Junias! Tell me!"

The servant, a younger boy, probably a bit younger than Adam himself, grit out a response.

"I'll never betray the family. Go to hell."

Adam snarled, slamming his head against the wall and knocking him unconscious.

The next servant they came across, Adam did the same thing.

"Where are they!"

"If you think any of us will betray the lords, you clearly haven't spend long in Mis—"

Adam threw him to the side, turning to Blake. "Keep cleaning this floor and moving up. I'm going to the top."

Blake frowned, but nodded. Adam charged back where they came, leaping up the stairs three at a time. With any luck, they would be located at the top of the mansion, and he could put an end to this goose chase.

Before he made it up even a flight of stairs, his radio crackled to life on his hip.

"Boss, we've found the secondary target. Orders?"

Adam grabbed his radio. "Keep her ready for me near a bullhead."

"You got it, boss."

Adam put his radio back and continued climbing up the stairs.

He had just arrived on the fifth floor when he had to duck back down the stairs, cursing. There was a small barricade with three guards. It would be annoying to push through, but it was also a sign he was in the right place. There was no reason for them to protect the area like this unless it's where the Junias were.

Adam charged up the stairs and down the hallway, intercepting the incoming bullets on his sword, cursing whenever one slipped past and pinged off his aura. He barely stopped to properly deal with them. Slashing one, he pulled the trigger on his sword, letting the shotgun on its end turn the guard on his left into swiss cheese. The last guard didn't have time to get his gun up before Adam had sliced his arm off, and then stabbed him through the throat.

He winced. It was bloody work, being in the White Fang. But it was for the cause.

Adam began to look around on the fifth floor for the family, but he didn't need to bother. Down a hallway to his right, he heard a young girl crying, and another voice shushing them.

Putting his radio to his mouth, Adam called it in. "I've found them on the 5th floor. Team 1, head up here ASAP."

"Got it, we'll be right up."

Adam strode towards the door the crying came from, everything turning dead silent as he stepped before it.

Taking a moment to prepare, in one fluid motion he turned the door knob, pushed into the room, and held up his sword before him, just in time to deflect a bullet. There was one guard left, probably meant as a last line of defense for the family.

Unfortunately for the guard, he was no match for a huntsman, even one in training like Adam. Adam cut him down, spraying blood over the back of the room. The crying resumed, and the mother called out in shock, covering her daughter's eyes.

Adam turned his gaze to the family he was surely here for. A middle aged mother held onto her daughter, the father huddling over both of them. And behind them… jackpot. The grandfather stood defiantly, staring into Adam's eyes and pretending he wasn't deathly afraid.

The rush of footsteps from the hallway caused Adam to turn to the door, just in time to see Blake arrive with her squad.

"Take all these fine ladies and gentlemen into custody, and make it quick, let's move." Adam turned, beginning to make his way out of the door.

"The council will never let you get away with this, you know."

Adam stopped and turned to raise an eyebrow at him. "Oh? And what will they do?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Everything. There will be nowhere in the four kingdoms you can hide."

Adam shrugged. "I somehow doubt that. Besides, who said I wanted to stay in the kingdoms?" With a small smile, Adam turned back and began making his way back to the exit of the mansion.

Less than a minute later he exited the mansion, just in time to hear the sirens pull up to the front of the villa. Jogging over to where the bullhead he arrived on sat, he found two men standing beside a cuffed, rather obese woman.

Adam nodded at the two. "Go, get in your bullheads and get ready to leave."

With a nod, the two ran off.

Adam pulled out his radio and repeated the order. "All squads, move to your bullheads, we're leaving."

Putting his radio back, he turned his attention to the woman he was here to kill.

"As extensive as my network is, I had no idea he was working so closely with you animals. Fanatics always were the hardest to infiltrate." Malachite sighed. "Oh well. It don't matter. He'll arrest me again because he's a naïve fool, and I'll escape again. Next time, I'll make sure to move quicker. It's a stupid thing he's done, showing his hand."

Adam nodded along. "Only one problem with that."

"Oh?" Malachite arched an eyebrow. "And what's that, sweetie?"

"He didn't ask for you alive."

Wilt was out of its sheath for all of a second, but it was long enough to do the job. When Blake's squad arrived with the Junia family, Lil' Miss Malachite lay cooling on the ground.

"Get them onto the bullhead, let's get out of here."

"Oh god! They're going to kill us! The animals are going to—"

"Shut the fuck up!" one of the White Fang backhanded the mother, causing the father to buck in his restraints, and the daughter to begin crying again.

"Hey, calm down. They'll get theirs. They're going straight to Perseus, but I'm pretty sure he wants them all for himself, so keep your hands to yourself."

Blake pointedly kept her eyes away from both the body and Adam, stepping straight onto the bullhead. Adam waited until the others loaded the targets onto the bullhead. As a side thought, he pulled out his scroll and snapped a picture of the corpse. Just in case.

Stepping onto the bullhead with the sounds of police in the background, Adam smiled. The mission was a success. They'd done everything their benefactor had asked, and given him no reason to complain. This would go a long way to securing goodwill between the two, and with any luck allow Adam to shake loose some of the reigns Perseus had on them at the moment.

For once, Adam found himself looking forward to a meeting with the notorious crime lord.

"Come in."

Adam did so, fighting to keep the smile off of his face as he stepped into the small room. It was… more humble, than Adam would have expected for someone with his wealth. His condos and hotels in Mistral that they sometimes met in were certainly more opulent than… this. It looked like the office the CEO of a small company might have.

The other thing he noticed is that there was another man in the room. He was dressed in all white. White leather pants, white jacket, and white dress shirt. Even the guy's hair was white. A sword hung from his waist that was — you guessed it — white. The only thing that wasn't white was his race, looking like he had come from somewhere in east Mistral.

Perseus was sitting on the armrest of a cushioned chair, facing the white man, who was sitting on the desk. When he saw that it was Adam at the door, he perked up.

"Good news, I hope?"

Adam nodded, pulling the scroll out of his pocket. "The Junia family is just outside the building, being guarded by two squads of my men. This is what happened to Malachite." He showed Perseus the scroll.

If he was pleased by the sight of the corpse, he barely showed it. "Good, you've done well." he nodded at the man in white. "Shiro will take care of the Junia family." With a nod, said 'Shiro' walked out of the room. "You can leave them to us for now. As a show of appreciation for your first successful mission for me, I'll be depositing a little extra in your account tonight. This won't be a regular occurrence, so don't get used to it. But I thought it nice to show my appreciation. Take your men to anywhere in the city tonight, the bill's on me."

Adam smirked. "Then I'll be glad to take your money. Pleasure doing business with you."

Percy nodded, only letting himself slump once Adam was out of the room. Walking around the chair, he let himself collapse into it, and let his eyes shift shut. He would… take care of everything tomorrow. In the morning.

Apologies for another short chapter. On top of things staying busy, I have the rona, and now spend about 3/4ths of my days in bed hacking my lungs out. Don't worry about me too much, I'm in the demographic most of you are, and I'd be about 4x more likely to die if I'd caught the common flu. It's just a cold with an extra kick, really.

Anyway, sorry again for the short chapter, the late chapter, and the low quality chapter. This was so late notice I've been on a coffee fueled late-night writing spree, cause fuck going to sleep without posting the chapter, and I don't even have time to proofread it, which never happens for me. But I stick to my word damn it, corona or no corona.

Huge thanks to my pat-rons for sticking by me during this, I don't deserve you guys, slacking as I have been recently.

This chapter and the last chapter will be updated by this time next week to remove the bevy of spelling and grammar errors I'm certain are present.

Edit 3/21/21: Yeah that didn't happen, but they're updated now.

Also, huge thanks to everyone on the discord who popped in to wish me good health as soon as I became sick. Love ya'll.

Discord and pat-reon are on my profile.

I'll see you all next week for Proditione et Fide.

Next Chapter March 21.