"Thanks for the heads up."

"Consider it to our mutual benefit," Roman sass came effortlessly through the call. "Neo thinks the kid's interesting, and she won't like it if he's taken away too soon."

"Suppose I owe you a favor now."

"Hold on to it, because I think I'll be cashing in sooner than you think."

Following that, the line died, and Junior pocketed his scroll, started back up the ignition, and proceeded to drive off for the club. Over these past three days he'd done some digging on Blanco, and up until now it was fairly standard stuff. Middle aged, fairly gruff, and a decently hard worker. He supposedly had all the trappings of your usual check-by-check man, doing jobs on the side for extra lien from time to time; the physical stuff. He'd been to work for only one of the three days so far, and if word was to be believed, Blanco had come down with a small case of food poisoning.

He seemed the type to make the mistake of undercooking things, but assuming he really was the man working with Garanite, Junior had other suspicions behind this sudden absence. Unfortunately, he couldn't do much more digging now that Roman had updated him on urgent developments.

Disregarding the whole news report of Jay's assault down at the mall, Roman pinpointed a sighting of Jay beside one of the newer orphanages; it didn't take a genius to assume the reasons behind that. Why Roman was intercepting police lines and playing pretend for an evening could be explained in up to twelve different ways off the top of his head, but Junior couldn't be bothered with them right now.

He needed to let the girls know, and following the brief message, Junior got in mind to retreat back to the club as quickly as he could; being caught on the streets, even without any dirt on himself, was never a good time. Roman said they wouldn't be mobilizing and that he'd erased the call log, but with the attack earlier today, who's to say there won't be more sightings flying in than one? If the police began moving, he needed to be at the bar to both catch the news, and see what passed through the ears of the public.

Midway through his trip, though, Junior caught sight of something peculiar.

No, that couldn't be... could it? He only had the base photo to go off of, but wasn't that Blanco driving up along north? His ride wasn't all that spectacular, but with the window open and a smoke between his lips, a little bit of squinting confirmed it to be true, and now Junior was hit with two possible decisions: either head back to the club to catch the news and dodge potential police stalling, or see where the target of his eye for the past three days was headed.

With the only acceptable answer being option two, Junior wondered why he even toyed with the idea.

And so he followed, for a long, long while, until the man parked himself before a quaint little... wasn't this that salon Miltia always went to? It didn't matter, as Blanco indeed stepped out and trekked around back. Junior, having parked a decent distance away and in between two other cars on the sidewalk, Hopped out carefully. He couldn't fully approach this side of the street without it being incredibly obvious; the salon itself was closed, so that only made things weirder.

Instead of moseying right on up, he dipped into the shadows of the linking huddle to his left, fell out into the opposing street, moved ahead, passing right on back around via another alley. But rather than jump out onto the sidewalk before the salon, he made use of his aura again for the first time in what felt like forever, boosting the power in his legs to leap high up and grab hold of a window sill. Getting a decent grip, he did so again to quickly ping-pong between walls, until he'd made it to the roof of the salon.

It's been a while since I've done this. Exhaling and resting his beating heart, he pushed past the signs of his body finally starting to dip into old age - according to kids these days - and gingerly prowled across until he found himself peering over into the alleyway Blanco had disappeared into. Knowing the only way down would make a little too much noise for his liking, he lowered himself carefully until he'd found footing upon a rough, decorative spiked protrusion from the structure - he never understood why Vale even allowed these nonsensical decorations to begin with, especially when they were always breaking off and injuring passersby. But they served a purpose this time, he supposed, although the duty was less than noble.

And Vale's people thought Atlas was bad for showing off, when they themselves liked to break up their homes and businesses with curls and twirls around every corner and bend. Personally speaking, with this perch here, Junior half-expected to see a gargoyle nearby - not tonight apparently.

At least from this new angle he could spot where Blanco might have vanished: a quaint little back door into the side of the ground floor. Of course, going inside would have him discovered immediately, so penetration wasn't exactly something he'd be doing; this didn't leave him at a total loss however.

If he recalled correctly, Raspberry Starlight owned this particular establishment, and from the immediate outlook it seemed Blanco had some backstage pass into it, working after hours. While uncertain if that solidified her guilt in things going forward, assuming Blanco was the man he was after anyway, Junior could at least do some questioning on a better day; Miltia wouldn't give up a chance to repay the favor to her new friend, and would certainly find it interesting that the place she visited for her 'touching up' may have ties to a group of Faunus Traders.

Once again, Junior had been ready to dip when something new entered the fray; or rather, someone.

The door opened up, and out popped not only Blanco, but a young faunus boy. For merely a second, the pair were together, until the kid handed something to Blanco, getting a nod before both went their separate ways. Potential Faunus Trader just letting a kid run off, especially after his last show where he'd presumably been chasing a bloodied up grade-schooler didn't exactly make a whole lot of sense, but the child seemed no worse for wear.

With no time to get down quietly and chase either, Junior was forced to bite the bullet and let the two scamper off into the night, where he'd been left with more questions than answers. But, if anything could be counted as a step in the right direction, it was that they had a new face to add to the list, and Miss Starlight would be having a conversation with Miltia once she got back either with, or without, Jay.

Well, that, and this Blanco here went from teetering to fallen on the scales of suspicion. Now it was simply a matter of questioning the man.

.

.

Neo didn't expect to walk into much, but getting a call over one of the kids missing wasn't something she had on her Bingo card tonight.

Tulip gave her the total breakdown from their new basement hideout under the east-side pawn-shop Roman and her had under their payroll. That boy, who'd come crying and scared senseless after being chased by Blanco initially, had vanished without a trace earlier this morning. Originally, Tulip thought he'd just went to the washroom or out on a quick job to snatch up goodies, but after doing the final head count multiple times, she was forced to - regretfully - admit to his absence.

Giving the big girl a pat on the head and subsequently hopping from the love seat to the floor, Neo retreated from the basement and out atop the city skyline to do some searching. With nothing to go off of, she was forced to instead run through the assigned routes set up by Roman and her to ensure the children had plenty of tight squeezes to hide in should a chase break out if one of them were caught.

This, as one might guess considering she didn't end up a toddler richer, turned up a whole lot of nothing, and she relented to give Roman a quick text; more bad news, but not wholly new since tossing their lot - unwillingly - in with Cinder.

The big man himself was doing his own style of digging, but not really for themselves. Rather, Roman had been asked (ordered) by Cindy to listen in on the local police lines tonight. The bull and his posse of merry murderers were recruiting, and fire-bitch didn't want any snitches getting in the way of that by calling the cops on suspicious persons. According to them, this was a long time coming, but to be honest: the gathering hall looked a little small, as did those present. Neo supposed it didn't matter; terror's gonna do what terror's gonna do. All of it culminated into Roman playing customer support for the evening, faking the role of an official who would be sending out Vale's local peacekeepers to placate fretful eyes... only to do nothing and instead delete all logs of every conversation.

Ironically, it was the loudest quiet job around, and chances were he would be itching for it to be over.

Neo sent her question, tossed into the ether of cellular communication, and around five minutes plus he traded the pickings running through the lines.

"Don't have anything on homeless children sightings, but I got word of that slippery snake Jay. Dork's been spotted up near Starlight's orphanage. I'm sending you the location now."

Ooooh~ Now that was even better. If she wasn't seeing the kid out along his usual patrols, then it could be argued he'd been spotted by the traders, and if this 'Jay sighting' was accurate, then maybe the whole caravan was active tonight, and not just him. Could it be that one of the fuckers swiped their missing street-rat in the process of something else? One could dream of such a lovely coincidence to justify a rampage, but for now, she had a solid lead.

Weren't many cabs that would beat her dashing across the sky, and so Neo coated herself in the illusion of a raven, taking off in a straight line for the last known sighting of the boy...

Only to get side-tracked ten minutes in when she spied none other than Junior precariously leaning from a perch and dipping his focus a little into an alleyway before him. That was kind of weird in its own right, but not enough to stop her dash - not that he'd see her with the feathery disguise she wore. No, instead what stopped Neo's charge was the pair he'd been looking at down in the damp crook below. Neo actually ceased her charge on the rooftop across from the out-of-practice mob boss, sharpening her eyes to see the two down in the shadows trading something before heading separate ways.

Blanco made for an interesting target, but Junior probably thought that too, so she'd leave him to that. Instead, Neo's eyes were locked on the missing kid she'd been out to catch.

Now now, wasn't that interesting? Not a wack or wallop from Blanco this time, and no choked up terror in his little eyes; Neo would go so far as to say - or generally imply, in her case - that the kid looked a little bit determined. Why oh why would a faunus boy running previously from slavers work almost happily with the slaver who'd chased him?

That would be a question she was sure to get answers to soon enough, especially when she fell from the sky whilst shattering her cover. The boy fell back on his bottom... but that didn't stop her from picking him up under his little arms, holding him to the sky with a playful grin, and shoving this squirming package under her arm before returning to the world of invisibility as a dexterous cat this time - after a short dip into the darkness so no one saw her change.

Tulip would be the one to help crack this case, and while Neo may have been scary, only Tulip held permission to discipline the kids should they misbehave - such as, say, potentially selling out your friends to slavers.

Roman later got called about a potential child kidnapping, which Neo made sure to rectify afterwards when he was finally off duty. Granted, he'd end up learning it was her because of the description of the woman doing said kidnapping, so he hadn't been too concerned anyways when he deleted the log like all the other drivel that night.

.

.

For a slave-trader's basement, it could be a lot dirtier, but the deep orange lighting of individual bulbs unsettled him anyways.

A near replica of the layout above, these dank hallways of solid cement branched out into individual crooks and crannies, wrought with tiny fractures here and there and nothing but the scent of stagnant sanitization, you wouldn't be amiss to equate it to that of a hospital. Separated by various doors he was almost too scared to open, Jay wasn't entirely sure how it remained so quiet; surely with this much raw stone, even a pin drop would scream. As if things weren't bad enough, cracking every individual door presented him with swells of empty cells beside podiums and a stage, where the selling very blatantly took place.

Each room hosting its own auction… Now that was a horrendous thought. If he had to guess, it entailed that the patrons of those hopeless prisons were already gone: sold to the highest bidder. Was this how Vale did the dastardly? Selling from individual hideouts, where the podiums themselves were nothing but crates with a white sheet tossed over them? He supposed it was safer this way; but you couldn't exactly invite a crowd through something so discreet as an orphanage, so maybe buyers were invited one after the other and presented the goods.

Being able to cover your ears to all but the rattle of change; a skill that didn't so much amaze him as it did serve to justify his already bitter outlook on the world, and one Remnant was replicating expertly.

Shockingly, he faced no opposition during the trip, clearing rooms left and right, all the while the daunting dread of being watched compounded. These halls couldn't have been without cameras, or other devices of supervision, meaning he was missing something. The route he'd been briefed on mentioned patrols in even intervals swabbing the walkways every ten minutes, but not one guard or even a sneeze broke the droning nothing. Sure, cameras weren't brought up during the breakdown, but that didn't mean there weren't any - if not a system, then individual spies set in important locations with perhaps an alarm or two.

Wait, hold that thought.

Jay sidled up tight against the wall, leaning around a sharp ninety-degree corner and letting the sounds of what he'd soon observe squelch and smack against his ears. Peeking, he spied the last remnants of blood being flicked from the fingers of a man who, with his masked companions, had just finished carving up the last remaining defense. All those guards he'd been vigilant for, all dead and piled along this one particular hall.

White Fang!

What were they doing here? Fris never mentioned them.

"C'mon," Came the echo of who Jay presumed to be their leader. "The children are waiting."

"They're not going anywhere," mister blood-soaked added, dismissing his ally's concern wholeheartedly. "And we can't let any of these fucks go free. I know there are more here than that; they're just hiding."

"Yeah, that woman up top... What'll we do about her anyway?"

"She'll know who the buyers are. Isn't it obvious? We grab her on the way."

"There are still kids up top; what if one sees us?"

"Who said we're leaving them behind?"

By this point, the multitude of chatter bled together, and Jay couldn't pick out who was saying what exactly.

"They're human though, aren't they?"

"Exactly." Some shuffling, and a small glance showed the big guy standing. "Consider it that "equality" Vale's council likes to boast about. They're so eager to sell our kids, so it's only fair we snatch theirs."

"I don't know about that... They're just kids."

"We'll just give 'em chores around the base. It won't be nearly as bad as what they're putting our little ones through; dust, I'd say we're being more than generous, giving all those little boys and girls brand new homes with us."

"Don't get so worked up. Unlike here, we can actually raise them right; let's see them look at faunus with anything other than the utmost respect after this."

"I... I guess..."

Well that screwed things up further; shit. Pushing off the wall, Jay began creeping as best he could, but sadly, a nearby shout picked him up as he locked eyes with the mask of one passing out from the opposing hall. Right as the guy paused, Jay ripped out and tore open the bag in his hand before ducked into a door, holding it shut.

"We got one here! Guys! We got a human!"

Much charging clapped across the outside, as expected, but just like back at the mall, the cries of fury soon switched out for shock.

"Heyheyheyheyhey! Woah woah woah! I can't move-!"

"Where-!"

"Bastard's got-!"

Jay dashed out, zipping past the group of floaters, only to tumble over when both a massive explosion engulfed the surrounding area and a pain rocketed through his leg. Choking back his own scream, he was lucky the chunk of stone hanging above his head did so while strung a few inches above by a beam of metal - granted, the Gravity Dust probably kept it from caving. Most everything was drowned out by a sharp sheen echoing in his head, but other than the near unbearable pain in his leg, he was fine.

Speaking of that, and after wiping away the tears lured out by the immense suffering, he peered down at the aching limb to see it bleeding from the calf. He'd actually been shot; that wasn't something he expected anyone other than himself to do. Needing another moment, it was a constant battle with his own composure, only to be stagnated by the image behind him. Half of the wall had caved in, and several chunks of flesh and clouds of scorched fingers floated in a cloud of charred blood, or was that soot?

He couldn't tell, considering the blood leaking from the few intact limbs pierced by shattered stone had their blood floating due to the Gravity Dust. Ironically, even after being ignited, the effects of the stuff still lingered for a few minutes more; this rang true for all dust, much like the ringing in his ears. Honestly, Jay was shocked the explosion hadn't hit him; he hadn't even felt the blast, only hearing it.

At best, Jay was able to pull himself along for a few seconds more before surrendering to the pain and collapsing, but not before hearing the estranged voice of Fris yelling from above.

"Dust dammit! Of all times... Can... Hey... Hear-"

And like that, the darkness took him.

.

.

Our luck was bound to run out at some point.

Getting upset at unpredictable circumstances would hardly aid them in completing the job, which looked to be shot if the surrounding scene was anything to go by. Fris checked the kid's pulse, and seeing as he was still breathing, made to abandon the task and just get them out of there.

"What's going on-?!" Hopping up with Jay over his shoulder seemed to spook the woman before him - a night worker, if he had to guess. Her eyes widened, and she blabbered sporadically.

"W-what do you think you're doing?!" She yelled, frightful and furious. "I provide you with your goods and this is how you repay me?! We had a deal!"

And that miniscule tirade earned her a quick capture. Reaching into his coat, Fris sighed before leaping back and flinging the crystal at her feet, which sucked her up in a spray of white. Pulling out his scroll, he then rung up Garanite.

"Fris."

"Listen, the mission is a bust," breaking it down immediately, he huddled them both into the shadows of what looked to be the kitchen. "Basement storage is totaled, Jay's out cold with a bullet in his leg and not a scorch otherwise, and I've just sent who I believe is one of the masterminds behind the trade operation- Hold on." Spying the scorched shard of an all too familiar mask, along with a burned floating wolf ear, Fris rectified his statement a little. "I'm seeing what looks like the remains of White Fang activity as well. They were probably the ones responsible for the chaos."

Seeing as they were caught up in the Gravity Dust's hold and there was a bullet lodged in Jay's leg, Fris could safely assume they'd made the mistake of firing that shot after the air was filled. Suicide it was; a quick demise, at least. But Jay... he didn't even carry a hint of burns on him anywhere.

"Then we weren't the only ones with info on this locker." Hissing, Garanite reset his focus. "We'll have to change up our tactics. I'll get a hold on our guest soon; she can't get out of the warp room anyways until I open it. Is there anything else of note?"

"Big blast took out the Fang, as I said, but Jay here was almost right beside them and his hair isn't even fringed."

"Curious..."

"From what I can tell, the hall they were in lit up when they tried shooting Jay. Bullet hit the boy, but the spark from the firearm ensured their fate. Chunks of them are still floating around, but that'll pass in a couple of minutes."

"Then perhaps it is not only dust he can avoid the effects of, but that spawned from it as well. Bring him back; if the White Fang are devoting themselves to finding stolen children of their kin, then we'll let them do it."

"Sharing the strain; understood. I'm on my way." Hanging up, Fris shook his head. This boy was becoming more trouble than he was worth, but that dust immunity... Garanite needed him still, but so long as he himself kept getting paid, Fris wouldn't question it.

Stepping beyond the threshold of the house, Fris would make a break for their way out of here... had he not been stopped by the rude shouting of a man to his right.

"JAY!"

Seems he was begotten by two this time, a sturdy young man, and a woman looking ready to brawl as her motorcycle screeched to a stop.

Author's note

...

Alright, that's a decent stopping point.

Bit of a chaotic chapter with everything happening, but it flowed decent enough.

Roman's on call, dishing out news and bogus support while removing evidence of every call he can; spreading helpful info to fuel his and Neo's own interests while surviving Cinder's wrath. Junior get's some field work for the first time in forever, even if it didn't amount to much other than confirming Blanco to be important beyond a shadow of a doubt. And Jay... is out of commission again - no surprise there.

Some of you may have noticed some updates a little while ago; had a bit of a hiccup when sifting through old chapters. Much like in my other story, we had a couple of instances where a character just showed up to contribute a single line and vanish into the ether - nothing really plot-breaking, just Blake using her interstellar cat-girl powers to phase into existence in places she doesn't belong; passing one comment and pissing off. Weird mistake, but I've fixed it.

That's it for this one; reviews will be tackled below. As for the rest of you: until next time.

.

We got a genuine critique again this time that deserves attention, so I'll break it down quickly.

First point: Junior not telling Roman about Qrow. Why would he do that? Junior wouldn't rat out his other clients - it breaks the whole 'trust' aspect when specific names are involved unnecessarily; even friends, whoever they may be, are kept in the dark. When he spills anything, it's for a purpose; usually to gain something without truly losing anything on his end.

Second point: Emerald's report. During chapter 7, Emerald mentioned finding it strange that Junior let one of his girls go off with a nobody, and simply reports that along with a picture. When big players change things up, the wise know to note it down. Cinder, in turn, likes to keep a tight leash, and Emerald knows that - being the good pet she is - so she does her due diligence.

Third point: contrivance. Sure, all of it together can feel contrived, but we get everyone's motives behind their varying levels of interest in Jay rather directly, as well as why they're present in any given instance - besides Cinder most of the don't have much info about the outside activities of Beacon from the show, other than the White Fang doing their thing and Roman stealing dust, so it's mostly fair game in my eyes.

And that's about it. Sure, it's a large breakdown, but I feel that genuine critique deserves genuine attention. I've ignored the last two points because they don't add much; Jay feeling SI is more or less just confirmation for me that he feels human - SI's are too limiting for my tastes, so I like to avoid them while still making the characters feel real. And the ghost thing... I really don't have a clue what that means, but it's interesting I suppose. Still appreciate the review, so thanks.

Tootles.