"Iswearitwasn'tme!"
"Easy!" Qrow plugged his ears, only to push his youngest niece off of his chest a moment later, where she then proceeded to ramble on into a gibberish mess he couldn't even begin to comprehend. Behind her were the rest of her team - minus Yang, for reasons currently unknown to him - who watched on with tired looks.
Now, Qrow wasn't going to up and say the media's misunderstanding was totally their fault; it was, after all, based on witness reports from some of the students here in Beacon. Considering Oz denied any interviews to keep anyone from immediately catching him first - as if Salem's pawns were so fickle - he couldn't even claim they weren't trying to get down to the bottom of things.
But since this was his niece they were accusing here, Qrow by default needed to loathe and berate said media; it was a matter of family.
"ButUncleQrowI-"
"And we're nipping that in the bud right here." He raised a brow, meeting her eyes and slowly letting go of her mouth, only to straighten his back and cross his arms. "Look, I get it: you're innocent. All of the staff understand that too."
"B-but everyone else-"
"What about everyone else?" Slipping on a sly grin, he closed his eyes calmly and proceeded to dole out a dismissively mocking tone towards the rest of the student body, aimed particularly at those who actually believed Ruby would go around exposing that much leg; not his niece, no siree!
Alright… So Yang liked to show off a little, but Firecracker had a decent pair of fists on her, and boy did she hit hard. Ruby, though, was such a soft and squishy little thing. Sure, she could scrap with the best of 'em, but unlike Yang who was more than aware of just how disgusting people could be, Ruby had yet to experience anything giving away the world's oftentimes corrupt nature. She was one of the few rays of carefree innocence that remained in Remnant - at her age - and both Yang and him had agreed that they'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible.
Plus: Tai would tan his hide if his daughter started dolling herself up like a streetwalker.
Shuddering from the involuntary image, especially since he knew the real perpetrator was a dude, Qrow shook his head and returned to the present, where he began to discredit just about everyone in Beacon who'd made the mistake of not even counting the fact that the woman they were accusing was actively on school grounds at the time of the event.
"See, I can kind of see where those kids who were down there are coming from, but seeing as the complainers up here didn't even notice how you were hanging around right beside them, I'm inclined to ignore 'em; I'd call them blind, but according to Oz there are only a handful of those types in Beacon."
"Oz?" The Schnee girl asked, incredulously. "Are you referring to Headmaster Ozpin?"
"I don't recall anyone else sporting the patented 'o z' at the beginning of their name, so yes." Ahh... it was always fun to see an up-and-coming Ice-Queen scowl like that, but truthfully, she was a few years behind reaching the levels of I-will-murder-you that her older sister had long since mastered.
"You know the headmaster?"
"Kind of." He waited for just the right amount of scrutiny to cross her lips before adding, "He's my boss, so I do know him for that, but I also get a bit of a kick popping up unannounced on occasion; keeps him and the rest up here on their toes."
Right away he could tell that she didn't know whether to take this as meaning they held a relationship outside of work or not. In other words: she was confused. Excellent. It's always good to get some practice in for the more... wordy side of the job. While little miss popsicle was internally debating whether it would be polite or not to prod for clarification, the darker haired girl of the group tried her luck.
"Did the Headmaster have anything to say when discussing the news announcement?"
Smart girl. He'd expected that question from the Schnee honestly, but her obscure curiosities kind of flubbed her chances at actually asking. Blake Belladonna was the name of this one, if he was remembering right. Curious how she hid her faunus heritage underneath the slightly oversized bow atop her noggin, but considering who her family were - along with how isolated Menagerie was in general - he wouldn't hold it against her.
"He's waiting for the news to settle down first; let them have their say before ruining their credibility again."
"But why not clear Ruby's name right away?" Blake sent a pitiful glance at his niece, and Qrow had to withhold his own annoyance at Oz's decision - even if he knew the real reason why the man made it. "People have already been bugging her in the halls, and with rumors spreading so fast I don't think she can even go down to Vale anymore."
A fair point, but thankfully for everyone's sanity there was a piece of Oz's reasoning he could divulge.
"You're right, but if we reveal the truth right away, the real perp will scamper off." And here we go. Time to make use of his perfect mask, and test out just how willingly Ruby was to oust her new buddy. She clearly didn't hate Jay, but she knew him decently enough to recognise he was behind the attack.
Time to see how well you hold your own, squirt. "With Ruby taking the temporary hit, the real woman responsible will be more inclined to continue her crimes. This'll give us a better chance to catch her in the act."
Ruby flinched, but Weiss came up from behind; having recovered from her internal and self-inflicted confusion.
"We?"
"Oz wants some of us to head down and help out in the investigation. The cops can only do so much, but huntsmen and huntresses like us are able to slip between the lines at times." After saying that, Qrow raised a hand and thumbed to himself. "Plus, your's truly has a few contacts on the darker side of the city; finding this gal will be a piece of cake. Someone's got to have seen her somewhere; I doubt she's totally invisible."
"Yes... of course." Little Schnee puffed, crossing her arms and turning away. "I suppose the Headmaster holds some responsibility over the welfare of Vale and its people."
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Ruby popped back in, face full of determination doing its damnedest to hide the fear behind her eyes. Poor rosebud placed her bets on the wrong guy. But then again, Oz seemed to think she could change his tune. Qrow would believe it when he saw it, but there wasn't much use in trying to stop Ruby now. When she got something into her head, she'd find a way to do it whether she was allowed to or not.
"Right now?" But this was, again, one of those times he had to deny her. "You step one foot outside of Beacon and both the cops and media will be on you like grimm to the dust mines."
Seeing her deflate made him feel like the scummiest of sods on the planet. There was just nothing she could do right yet though, at least not until they caught Jay. And it needed to be themselves; not the media, not the cops, but Beacon staff such as himself - Qrow's arguable officiality wouldn't be a problem when Oz could vouch for him. If they could just get Jay, then they'd be ensuring he didn't run off back to Salem. And, at the same time, they might be able to hold him here for questioning. This sudden outbreak of aggression acted as the perfect justification to make it so.
It was either that, or hope they had a way to pin Jay's crimes on someone else; that would work too - whatever outcome avoided giving the kid a reason to book it.
Clapping his hand down atop Ruby's head, Qrow made sure to give his niece a good little shake, causing her to spit out a little "Bwa!" and pull herself free. Setting his hands back into his pockets, he sported a new cocky grin. Ruby wouldn't let this keep her down. Qrow casually bid his farewells after that, leaving to make his trip to Vale.
He knew for a fact none of these kids were going to sit things out. But that was okay for him, because his scroll was on and recording in his pocket, and they'd gotten that little warning of his on tape.
It was just a matter of taking it back and storing it away for the inevitable moment when the girls got busted for involving themselves in this. It was far easier to argue good intentions and direct the responsibility of their punishment solely into the hands of Beacon Academy when they were the ones actively responsible for the twerps.
And, if the four of 'em somehow managed to beat the odds, stay on the down low, and rescue their friend while clearing his name, then that was fine and dandy too.
.
.
"Alright... That's it." Nearly moaning into his scope, the man adjusted his aim incrementally while staring down at the target below. The infamous newbie and runaway terrorist Jay, the guy somehow on everyone's shit-list, was passing quickly through the back alleyways of the street.
A long ways away from the scene of the crime, but that was fine and dandy, because mister sniper seemed practically giddy to actually be allowed to shoot something. Who could really blame him either? Lil'Miss, while known for having her henchmen do a dirty deed or two from time to time, rarely ever broke out the professionals under her wing. Apparently, this was the sniper's lucky day.
"Got you." Breathing easy, the marksman leaned in, his elbow pressed firmly on the concrete edge of the building as he took aim and readied to fire. He'd give him props; this guy wasn't obviously dressed like a murderer, and he'd modified his military-grade weapon in such a way it, at a glance, seemed no different than any of the readily available commercial hunting rifles. But there was one mistake in that change.
The killer hadn't masked the gun as any specific type, making the disguise easy to pick out.
Disarming the hitman had been quick, painless even, and the sniper's aura being so small as to shatter quickly was just a spot of good fortune. He struggled for a good couple minutes, but then the drug lacing the glove covering his face seemed to kick in, and the hitman went out like a candle in the breeze.
Clover sighed, letting his target drop to the cement at their feet, and took a relaxing breath; that was one plot down, but as for how many more remained in store? Now that was the real mystery.
It felt strange being on a mission this... obscenely dangerous. Just a few months ago he'd been finishing up his final exams for the semester, passing with flying colors - or so General Ironwood said. It really rocked his boat when the general called him into his office, and assigned a fresh-faced Clover to a real life job. This wasn't your average 'slay the grimm' affair either. Instead, he'd been given full blown espionage to break him into the job market.
It was nothing like a spy movie...
Okay, it was a little bit like a spy movie.
"Your semblance makes you one of the most versatile and valuable huntsmen for the job." General Ironwood warned him of the risks: exposure would mean, at best, a quick death, otherwise the tortures might just be enough to break his entire mind. Having been given the details of his mission and the character he would play to get accepted into the Spiders was... a little ridiculous, but it worked out.
Being handed a tablet to slip under his tongue was the final piece of assistance for the mission; hold it there during every active day, and bite down if discovered.
The fear of accidentally killing himself only lasted a week before Clover got used to it. Originally, he was to be an 'in' for the Spiders; to spy on the big four during the Vytal Festival and ensure there was no foul play between the lot of them. Apparently, despite the obvious dangers, it was a simple job routinely conducted.
Things got complicated under the introduction of the new player: Jay.
As per his usual routine, Clover drafted up a report and slipped it along through the secure network provided via select drop points scattered across Vale - according to the general, this network was upkept by Beacon's headmaster, Ozpin. Had Lil'Miss not taken such an interest in Jay specifically, Clover probably wouldn't be out here right now taking down her hitmen under the general's orders.
But such was the line of duty: nothing remained concrete.
With the sniper done and out, Clover peered over the ledge to find that, as he expected, the figure dubbed 'Jay' was long gone. But make no mistake, it was the same figure from the attack at the mall; that would go in the report later tonight. Perhaps it might warrant investigating the scene to see if he could find some clues as to where Jay disappeared too, but it was clear Lil'Miss would have people doing that too, and he couldn't risk leaving evidence of himself - not after he'd just forced a mission failure upon one of her guys.
Clover knew he had to play this smart, and so he cautiously took his leave, making sure to stay in the darkness and cracks until he escaped the scene. Lil'Miss would, no doubt, call everyone in to do one thing or another when she didn't get word back from the sorry soul who let her down. On the bright side, being a mere goon in their group meant he himself would most likely be assigned something small while the big boys got down to business.
But those big boys talked, and so too did the little ones passing by; an information infection always spreads, no matter how sanitary you believed your secrets to be, and Clover would collect all of it, isolate it, and send it on down the line.
.
.
"You handled your job well."
Jay leaped in place just a tiny bit, but mostly from shock as opposed to real terror. Garanite always had been light on his feet; shadows never left behind evidence of their presence.
"Y-yeah... Thanks..."
Despite their brief interaction, Garanite was able to pin down a few things about the kid. Aside from the strange and unnatural aura radiating off of the bullet he kept in his pocket, Jay was, to put it bluntly, a pushover. Regardless of what the feminine man was told or how detailed any given thing was, it remained fairly obvious that he'd cave under any given orders, fulfilling them without a word. Some might argue it was the boy's survival instincts coming into play, but that didn't quite fit the bill.
Strolling around, Garanite placed himself before the young man again.
Bringing uncertain or at points questionable "help" into the interrogation chamber of their hideaway always provided some level of power over them. Just the unlucky pair, complete with the silent buzzing of the single light above. Were it to blow, they'd be drowned in darkness, and none besides those calling this place home could openly disregard the shadows rushing in.
It conjured an assured fear from their guests, and guaranteed a specific level of wariness when dealing or speaking.
"I've got another job for you; will you take it?"
Jay flinched, sneering underneath his perfected look of unprepared uncertainty.
"Do I have a choice?"
"No."
"Fine."
See, Jay spoke with the right level of regret, but the way his shoulders went from tensed up to just a smidge more relaxed gave away his true reaction. This was the unruly cog in the clock Garanite found himself determined to construct. What should have been a timely analysis extended the schedule with every little tick. But while Jay appeared to relax in increments upon receiving orders, the anger generated at being commanded against his will still remained.
But they seldom had time to spare; not when another deal was going down.
"We'll be going with the same methods as before, however this time-" Carefully, he laid a single vial of Wrapping Dust before Jay. "You'll be focused more on extraction."
"So no evac this time?" Curious eyes locked onto his.
"Fris will be parked at the initial drop-off point."
"Why? Can't I just leave in the blast with the kids?"
Not with your quirks. That would be the sensible play, but sadly, all their tests had shown up one valuable and ironically just as insufferable reaction when it came to Jay and dust: it had, quite literally, no effect on him. For some benign reason, dust refused to react when in contact with Jay. They'd first discovered this when trying to knock him out after the initial introduction into things. Around ten minutes after injecting the silent sleeper into the air, Garanite was forced to instead resort to classic measures, sending Blanco in to blindfold Jay and carry him to his room - they couldn't risk him memorizing the path via walking.
Some silent, albeit equally invasive measures involved slipping other bits of dust into his vicinity. Everything led to equal results: no matter the type of dust, it behaved no differently than… well, than dust. Powdered or crystal: dust in physical contact with their new associate just refused to function. For some unknown reason bordering almost along the lines of divine, Jay was not aware of dust's ineffectiveness against him. Should he find out, things would get a whole lot harder to handle. Jay was docile for now, and cowardly enough, but anyone could gain courage when learning of something so significant as that. For this reason, they decided not to reveal that little secret; not yet. If Jay's life should be on the line, then breaking the news was a single sentence away, but not before.
This meant they were forced to alter their plans involving Jay; annoying, but not undoable.
"Fris has need of you with moving "the goods" between buyers later on." Jay curled in a little; understandable. However he didn't seem to relax this time, proving that his personal moral compass could overwrite his initial reactions when severe enough - another gear to add to his clock.
"How many?"
"Two: a pair of brothers, both volunteers."
"Right..." Jay's sourness melted into fatigue. "As if that makes it any better."
"Better or not, we need to keep track of where these buyers are going. If I'm right, we may find the source of their operations." And then it would be time to rob them, stealing away their slaves while turning a profit from the initial trade.
Jay sighed, straightening his posture and somewhat pretending he was holding his own.
"Okay. Where am I going?"
Good; we've chatted long enough.
"Blanco will drop you off across from the target. They masquerade themselves as one of the orphanages near the eastern edge. Get inside the basement and dust the kids; should be simple enough."
"And the Gravity Traps?"
"You'll be given four; Fris will tell you where to pop them during the briefing. Memorize the route well and you'll have no trouble at all."
"Just like last time." Holding back a stiff groan, Jay went on to ask, "How long will I get this time?"
"For the job, I'd say three quarters of an hour should suffice. As for the briefing, I can tell you Fris has an hour to spare; he'll break it down for you, just like before."
"Okay." The boy took a deep, unsteady breath, and tried to calm his nerves. Garanite himself stood, taking his leave and thumbing Blanco to go move the lad. Blanco was relatively free today from his cover-job, meaning he would be handling the collars of the children.
Despite the frequency his contacts traded at, Garanite forever found that the collars and other employed restraints were far too tight; it was best to remove them when given the chance… or replace them if necessary.
Author's note
…
Not a whole lot going on this time, aside from Clover's introduction.
Has anyone ever wondered what the Ace-Ops were like before they showed up in Atlas? Surely, the top team of the kingdom had some outside duties and experience under their belt before being hauled back. Now, do I believe Clover really was a double agent at one time? No, not at all, but he is here.
The Spiders still have that hit out; Lil'Miss is, apparently, taking this seriously.
Ruby obviously wants to clear her name, so expect RWBY brand shenanigans pretty soon.
I'll cut it off here - not much more to say really.
Until next time.