Chapter 32: Unwanted Reunions.

"When you decide to be something, you can be it. That's what they don't tell you in the church. When I was your age, they would say we can become cops or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?" ~ Frank Costello.

A few days after I opened the Moonstone I got a certain call on my scroll late in the middle of the night. I heard Russel's ringtone going off and I groaned as it forced me awake from what had been a very pleasant sleep. Downstairs my club was in it's last hour open and I had fallen asleep hours before with Neo nestled in my arms.

Displeased to have my pleasant rest interrupted I pulled away from her soft embrace and looked around sleepily. My makeshift home was located in the loft of the club and the angled windows provided a decent amount of illumination as I looked around seeing that the scroll wasn't on my nightstand like it usually was.

The memory of how Neo and I had gotten into bed slowly faded back as my half asleep brain woke up more and more with every passing second of that cursed scroll ringing. I remembered that it was in my pants pocket, which were currently strewn on the floor after I had quickly discarded them getting into bed with her.

I cursed leaving the bed and Neo's warmth to search for a moment naked across the dark floor to find my pants and my scroll which continued to ring loudly. Neo had woken up as well sitting up with the blanket wrapped around her as I managed to find the accursed scroll and accept the call.

"What do you want, Rus!?" I asked with an unamused growl. I was not happy being ripped away from my pleasant sleep and having Neo's own rest distrubed as well. I was starting to learn more and more as I slept next to her that she too had her share of nightmares. I never learned specifically what they were about, but I imagined that she didn't sleep easy for a lot of the same reasons I didn't sleep easy. Pleasant dreamless sleep was a commodity both of us valued.

"I'm afraid Russel isn't here at the moment Gentleman," I heard an unpleasantly familiar voice say to me over the line. My blood went cold and I shivered kneeling naked in the middle of the bedroom.

My weariness vanished at the sound of that voice but my anger only grew hot. "Adam!? Where the hell is Russel!?" I asked him urgently not liking his casual tone of voice.

"He's here with me," Adam said cooly over the line. I stood up and stood in the dark squeezing my scroll tightly. "We should really meet and have a little talk."

"What the fuck to you want to talk about!?" I asked him firmly. Neo sat up straighter in the bed, rubbing her eyes as she listened to my half of the conversation.

"You'll see when you get here, come down here to the northside docks, pier seventeen," Adam said to me.

"Fuck you!" I said to him, "I'm not going anywhere unless I know he's alive," I said, I had no idea what kind of game Adam was playing on me suddenly but I wasn't about to just charge blindly into what was very likely a trap. Neo, not one to just sit and ponder what was going on, turned on the lamp illuminating my bedroom and moving to collect her scattering clothing, dressing herself as I talked to Adam on the scroll trying to contain my rage and worry.

A second later a text came over the phone and I heard a sputter come over the line. "B-boss," I heard Russel say. I looked at the picture texted to me and sure enough it was him, bloody and bruised and looking almost naked. "I-I'm… I'm sorry boss," he said to me meekly.

"Don't worry about that Rus," I said to him. "I'm coming to get you."

I couldn't make out Russel's next words as Adam clearly took the scroll away from him. "Satisfied that he's alive now?" He asked me. "Come over the docks if you want him in one piece."

"Why the fuck are you doing this?" I hissed at him.

"Your boy here messed with one of my subordinates and I want compensation," Adam told me with a touch of venom in his voice.

"Adam I swear to the gods-!" I hissed only for the call to drop out from under me. I cursed and moved to get dressed with the scroll in one hand as I called for Cardin pulling my pants on with one hand.

"Can you get ahold of Sky and Dove?" I asked Neo, as she pulled on a bra. The scroll rang in my ear trying to connect to Cardin.

She nodded and held up her scroll. She was already on it.

"Hello?" Cardin asked with a yawn.

"Cardin… I just got a call from Adam… on Russel's scroll he says he has him and he did something to one of his subordinates, He says I need to meet him if I want to see him alive." I said, not wasting any time and laying out the facts as fast as I possibly could.

"WHAT!?" He cried into the phone. "What the fuck did Rus do?"

"I don't know," I admitted, "But Adam called me to the docks to talk compensation as he put it."

"I'm there," Cardin said to me. "Just give me ten minutes and I'll head over."

"Do you know what Russel was even doing tonight?" I asked him, curious about how Adam could have possibly even nabbed him.

"I don't know… as far as I knew it was just a normal night for him," Cardin told me.

Neo waved at me and pointed to her scroll before signing. "Dove - and - Sky - say - he - was - on - a - date - with - his - girlfriend. He - told - them - not - to - expect - him - to - come - home."

"Neo's texting Sky and Dove and they say he was out with his girlfriend," I told Cardin.

"Do… Do you think that maybe he was doing something that he shouldn't have?" Cardin asked me.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out," I told him as I tied my tie. Part of me wanted to just rush off with pants and a shirt but if I was going to confront Adam then it was probably best that I keep up appearances instead of looking like a bum. I wanted to project strength after all.

In a short enough time we had managed to get dressed and went downstairs passing through the club and going out into the streets where it only took a few minutes for a couple of cars to stop by for us.

"What's the plan?" Cardin asked, he already had his mace in hand and a concerned expression on his face.

"I want you and Dove to come with me," I said, getting into one of the vehicles. "Sky… I want you to get a look at the warehouse from a distance, and be ready with Feather's Edge, provide an overwatch and start shooting if I give you a signal or if things get violent."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a bluetooth earpiece connecting it to my scroll so he could hear everything I said. "Go there first and tell us when you're ready, then we'll arrive."

"Alright," Sky said, getting into one of the vehicles by himself while the rest of us piled in. We drove around getting close to the meeting place but circling around as we waited for Sky to get into position.

"What - the - fuck - does - Adam - want - with - you?" Neo asked me, sitting in the back seat with me as we drove around the dark and empty streets.

"I think I have an idea," I told her, clenching the handle of my cane. I knew that Adam didn't care much for me or the Family but I had assumed that my position within the Family would have given me some kind of protection from such things. But whatever happened I wasn't about to let this go unaddressed by Roman or Cinder, as soon as we were done we'd be having words.

"I got a place across from the warehouse, the warehouse has a lot of windows and I can see Russel. It's him and one girl, they both look pretty bad sir." Sky said into my ear, speaking through the earpiece I had gotten for just such occasions.

Did they take Russel's girlfriend? I thought to myself. Even for terrorists that was pretty fucking low.

"Just keep them in view for the moment, but if you think they're going to kill him… start shooting," I ordered him, looking over to Neo who gave a nod of affirmation. If people did die tonight I could count on her word to back me up to Roman.

"Got it!" Sky said to me.

Cardin turned the car around and we pulled up to the dock warehouses. This was Bruce's territory, I suppose he was going to want to know that the Fang was making use of his union warehouses to threaten me. I could only wonder what the fallout of this would be, Russel wasn't a made man like I was, the Family wasn't obligated to protect or avenge him. That was my job.

Outside a couple of Fang members waited for me, I recognized George who approached me looking nervous. "Hey… Jaune… Neo," he greeted us meekly as I glared at him. "Uh… Mr. Taurus is inside with your friend."

"Show me in," I growled pointing my cane threateningly at him. It was rather difficult for me to swallow my anger so I decided to let it radiate off of me.

"R-right away," he said, moving to the steel door and holding it open so all four of us could step inside. My cane tapped on the concrete floor as I walked into the mostly empty warehouse. It wasn't that long ago that this place was packed to the rafters with stolen dust but now it seemed it had been emptied out. I wished that I knew where the stuff was going.

Sure enough Adam was there waiting with his sheathed blade in hand pacing back and forth like a predator. A bunch of his subordinates stood around. In a clear spot in the middle of the floor I spotted Russel and Deery of all people.

Both of them were naked, bloody and bruised up, Russel's eyes were swollen and his nose was gushing blood all over his bare chest. Adam's lieutenant stood over the two of them towering high above both of them holding what appeared to be a wooden broom handle. Not a particularly deadly club, but certainly strong and heavy enough to do some damage.

"Adam… what the FUCK is this all about!" I yelled at him. A few of the White Fang members snickered, as if they were hoping I'd charge him and do something stupid. As if I was just a joke to them.

Adam motioned over to Russel with a snarl. "Your boy here was… cavorting with my subordinate here. We caught him at the Royal Griffin Hotel!"

I looked over at Russel and Deery, she let out a little sob followed by a cry of pain as the lieutenant brough the wooden stick down, beating her over the shoulder. "Quiet traitor!" He barked at her.

"Jaune! I swear boss I can explain everything! Deery and I-," Russel screamed, only he too was silenced as the massive masked man swung the club knocking in the side of his head.

I didn't need Russel to explain anything to me, it all made sense now. Deery was Russel's mysterious girlfriend. Apparently somewhere along the way helping her provide flight simulators for the White Fang's bullhead pilots the two of them had begun a secret romance together.

"Russel, it's alright let me do the talking," I told him pointing my cane over at the lieutenant. "And you! If you touch either of them again, I'll break one of your fucking legs!" I scratched my cheek, giving Sky one of my signals.

"I read you boss," Sky said in my earpiece. Showing that he understood my meaning.

In a petty show of defiance the lieutenant raised his stick to beat them again, as if he thought I was powerless here. As if he wanted to prove my words to be empty. The fucking fool.

The blow didn't land, the second he had finished raising the club up for the strike he stumbled down onto his knees, the sound of Sky's shot echoed a second afterwards along with a bunch of glass raining down into the warehouse from a shattered window.

The lieutenant screamed in pain clutching at his bleeding leg. Red arterial blood was gushing out of the wound. The rest of the room jumped back taken by surprise by the sudden gunfire and seeing one of their officers felled so easily. Cardin and Dove moved out to defend me as a few of them moved to react violently but Adam stopped them with a raise of his sheathed blade. He glared at me.

For a long moment the only thing we could hear in the warehouse was the lieutenant groaning in agony from the shot that had pierced his kneecap. Even his aura was having a difficult time healing him from that wound, the son of a bitch should have activated his aura when we started this meeting.

"I'd get a tourniquet on that leg if I were you," I told him, his aura would probably keep him from bleeding to death but I felt it was a nice way to break the silence. Clearly they hadn't considered me bringing a sniper here or escalating the situation with a bullet.

"I'm not going to be threatened like this!" Adam said to me.

"It wasn't a threat Adam, it was a promise, and I delivered. Now if you're done I'll be taking my boy here so you can take your friend here to a hospital." I told him, stepping over towards Russel.

"We're not done!" Adam said, giving a glance as the lieutenant took out a belt to tie around his leg. A few others had gathered their courage to help him out, a few looked around nervously for the sniper they all knew I had now.

"Oh I think we are, if you have a problem take it up with Roman or Cinder," I instructed him, moving forward towards Russel.

"This cannot be ignored Arc!" Adam said, "I won't let you take them until I am satisfied!"

I sighed, of course a terrorist wouldn't be threatened simply by a display of force. But instead of talking to Adam I turned to Deery walking close and leaning down close to her. I set my Cane down and pulled off my jacket draping it around her shoulders to cover her nakedness and help her preserve a sense of modesty. I looked into her eyes.

"Deery… did Russel force himself on you?" I asked her calmly, speaking in the most friendly manner I could but loud enough for everyone gathered to hear me. If Adam wanted to do this with an audience I'd obliged him.

"N-no… we went out tonight… we got dinner and we went to a hotel together," she told me, sobbing meekly.

"The two of you have been dating for a little more than a month now, haven't you?" I asked her.

She nodded to me silently.

"Did Russel ever do anything… rash? Ungentlemanly? Did he not pay for dinner?" I asked her, letting everyone around hear me and hear how ridiculous this really was.

She shook her head. "No he's… he's been very good to me."

I stood up and shrugged to Adam. "I don't see the problem here Adam! Two people going out for a nice meal and spending the night in a hotel doesn't sound too bad to me."

Adam gritted his teeth. "Don't you fucking do that human… don't you pretend that there isn't anything wrong with..."

With what!?" I shouted, cutting him off and taking full advantage of his pause. "With our kinds mixing!? No Adam I don't see a problem with that, but since you apparently do, why don't you explain the problem to me."

Adam's face contorted as I watched the cogs in his mind think of a response. A look towards the crowd of gathered faunus showed that they too were a little uncomfortable. Apparently calling Adam out on his own racial hang ups didn't sit too well with them. Not every Fang member shared his particular brand of radicalism.

"You! You were trying to have a spy planted in my ranks!" Adam said accusingly, after a pause that lasted a little too long to sound very convincing. He really wasn't the smartest guy around, but like I had learned when dealing with Cueball, sometimes idiots are far more dangerous than the smart and sensible.

"You had your guy here seduce my subordinate so she could inform you and the family about me!" Adam stated to me pointing the hilt of his blade in my direction.

"That's ridiculous," I said dismissively. "Russel wouldn't even tell us about her, I only learned that they were dating just now. And believe me I would have had some words to Russel about it."

"You think I'm gonna take your word for it?" Adam asked me.

"I don't really give a shit," I said, looking over to Neo, she met my gaze and gave me a nod. "We're leaving, if you have a problem then you can bring it up with Roman."

Neo nodded again, showing that she was backing me, which was the next best thing to having Roman himself here in person telling Adam that he could fuck off. He couldn't stop me without shitting all over his business arrangement with the Family.

"Come on Rus, help your girl up. We're out of here!" I said, turning around, showing my back to Adam to pretend that I wasn't afraid of him or what he might try to do. He was angry and I knew how dangerous a violent idiot could be. But looking back would have been a show of weakness I couldn't afford. Besides, Sky would be able to pop him in the head before he even drew that sword of his.

"No!" Adam barked, his voice echoing across the warehouse.

I stopped, but kept my back to him. "What now Adam?" I asked calmly.

"You can take your boy… but that's my subordinate and I won't have you taking her away," Adam said to me.

I looked over at Russel, who despite his injuries was helping Deery walk with Dove's assistance. Cardin snarled and tightened his grip on his mace. "Like hell we're going-," Cardin growled only to be silenced as I raised my cane.

Deery had a sorrow and fearful look on her face. I had been tasked with killing Tukson for leaving the Fang… I had no doubt about what her fate would be. Even if Adam would "forgive" her for being with a human, the accusation of being seduced into spying for him sealed her fate with the Fang.

I finally turned around, Adam had found one bargaining chip he could actually use against me. I eyed him for a long moment weighing my options. "What do you want, Adam?" I asked him.

"I want that information on Blake Belladonna I asked you for," Adam told me flatly.

I shrugged at him. "Well you're going to have to name a different price because I know nothing Adam. I thought I made that very clear to you!"

"Then why were you dancing with her at your club?" He hissed at me, pulling his scroll open and showing me a picture from the other night where I danced with Blake at the Moonstone during Franky's first song.

So apparently Adam had someone in the club keeping an eye on me. I wasn't exactly sure who they were but he had tipped his hand to be.

I laughed in front of him. It was actually funny how much he seemed to overestimate how much I knew about Blake. And shoving that picture of us dancing together in the club only seemed petty.

He gripped his sword tighter as I finished laughing, mocking him right in front of everyone. I could tell that he wanted to hurt me, to draw that blade of his and remove my head from my shoulders. But I had a sniper with a bead on him, two former Beacon students that would defend me, and Neo who aside from likely being the best fighter here was a direct line to Roman and his vengeance. Adam couldn't touch me and he knew it, he'd bring the wrath of the Family down on his head. And even Adam wasn't stupid enough to do that.

"So what!?" I asked him, still cackling at him. "You did this all because you're what!? Jealous!? Sure she and a few other old friends at Beacon spotted me, we talked a bit and then we had a little dance. Then I danced with my old partner Pyrrha Nikos… what of it?"

"Why the hell would she ask you to dance!?" Adam said.

"We were at a fucking nightclub! Have you ever gone to one? That's kind of what people tend to do at them." I said, dismissing his question.

"Why was she dancing with you!?" He pressed.

"I asked her to and she said yes," I lied, that earned me a look from Neo. I had told her that I had talked to my old friends at Beacon, there was no point in keeping that secret when so many had seen us there together. But I had failed to mention that I had danced with Blake and Pyrrha both.

"I don't believe you," Adam hissed.

I shrugged. "Have you seen me dance? I'm pretty damn good at it. Just ask Neo here." I said earning a nod from her. "If you had, you might understand why she agreed to it. But if you doubt me please explain… Why do you think she agreed to dance with me?"

"I don't know, but I find it concerning that you decided to ask one of my defectors to share a friendly dance," he told me.

"I wanted to see if I could learn anything from her," I explained to him. "After that little appearance at the docks I was curious if she had recognized me."

"And did she?" Adam asked.

"Do you think I'd be here right now if she did? Do you think she would have agreed to dance if she did?" Another lie, I had no idea why Blake chose to keep the details of seeing me to herself. She clearly suspected me if nothing else, but I wasn't about to tell Adam that.

"Speaking of your defector… why is she being allowed to roam free?" I asked him, an idea coming to mind. "It seems to me she would be just as much a threat to your operation if not more than Tukson ever was. Why don't I remove her from the equation for you? I'll do that for Deery here."

It was a bluff. I had no intention of killing Blake and I suspected that Adam wouldn't be too happy about that either. If he wanted her dead then he would have done something about it already.

"Like you did with Tukson?" Adam spat. "No thank you! I don't need a botched hit on a Beacon student!"

"It was Cinder's cronies that botched that job," I explained. "And I wouldn't do it myself… I'm sure Neo here would be willing to make an agreement. She is quite good at what she does."

Neo looked at me and to Adam, giving him a smile and nod of agreement drawing Hush's blade to let him see.

"No!" Adam said firmly.

"Why not? She's a liability to our little business arrangement," I told him.

"She knows nothing about our arrangement, and a Beacon student turning up dead is the wrong kind of attention this close to the festival." Adam explained to me.

He had a point, but I wasn't about to let my bluff go to waste. "Does Cinder know about this? Perhaps she should be the one to decide Blake's fate."

Adam paused looking at me, I had him there. I had no idea what Cinder would decide to do about Blake, she might agree that taking her out was too much of a risk given everything. But I figured that Adam wasn't about to let Cinder make this decision for him.

Adam set his jaw and stepped forward to me so he could talk low without the rest of his people hearing him. He stepped close and Neo stood close to the side, ready to strike if he tried anything.

Adam gave Deery a look and snarled at her. "Just take the bitch… just make sure that she keeps quiet about our work, otherwise I'll have to shut her up myself." He told me dangerously.

"And Blake?" I asked him.

"She's mine to take care of," Adam gowled to me. "Not you and not Cinder… is that understood?"

"Are you trying to buy my silence on this matter, Adam?" I asked, seeing him fall neatly into my little bluff. It had been risky but it had paid off. Whatever Blake had been to him or the White Fang… Adam had an axe to grind and he wasn't about to see anyone else take care of her for him.

"That's right," Adam said to me, too low for anyone else but Neo to hear him. "She's mine to deal with, so keep Cinder out of this."

"What did she ever do to you?" I asked him, referring to Blake. I could practically smell the hatred emanating off of him.

"She betrayed me," he said to me. "Do we have a deal?"

"Deery for my silence? I can agree to that," I said, offering my hand to him.

He looked down at my offered hand distastefully but eventually relented and clasped it, shaking to seal the deal.

"But I'm going to promise you this right now Adam," I said, keeping a hold of his hand. The gravity dust infused in my leather gloves helped strengthen my grip. "If you ever hurt one of mine again, and that includes Deery, I will take it as a personal attack against me. You understand? Next time you try a stunt like this the deal is off, I'll tell Cinder everything, and I promise you next time the bullets aren't going to be flying through knee caps, they'll be going through heads. Is that clear?"

Adam grunted in response, he tried to pull his hand away but I only tightened my grip keeping him from pulling away from me. "Is that clear Adam? This doesn't happen ever again!"

He bared his teeth to me, he isn't the kind of person who was used to having people threaten him. He hated it, he hated me. But I was a made man, and I was in a position to ensure that the wrath of the Torchwick Family fell upon him should I be wronged. Tough and intimidating as Adam is, I was not someone to be fucked with lightly, not anymore.

"Fine." Adam said, finally getting me to release my grip on his hand.

"Happy to come to terms with you Mr. Taurus," I said, stepping away and motioning for Russel and Deery to leave with the rest of us. We got outside and shuffled them into the car waiting for only a minute for Sky to bring the second vehicle around so we could drive off together.

Russel was completely silent as we drove, his aura was working to heal his cuts and bruises, he kept one arm around Deery as she just continued to sob for the whole drive back. I wanted to talk to them about this little misadventure but now wasn't the time.

"You - never - told - me - you - asked - that - girl - to - dance," Neo signed to me.

"She asked me," I explained to her. "I just lied to Adam because I was pretty sure that detail would've upset him even more."

Neo held my gaze clearly, not pleased with that bit of honesty. "Why - did - you - agree?" was her next question.

"Because she actually did seem to think it was me she saw at the docks." I admitted to her. "I felt like turning her down and running away would have looked more suspicious so I just played ignorant and pretended that I was fine dancing with her."

Her bicolored eyes narrowed. "You - need - to - be - careful - Jaune. You're - not - in - Beacon - anymore - stay - away - from - them. They're - dangerous - to - be - around."

"I will," I assured her. "It won't happen again."

She nodded and dropped the subject there as we arrived back at the Moonstone. It was past closing time in the club so the only people that were still there were the staff doing the last minute cleanup before leaving to go home for the morning. We entered through the back and moved upstairs.

"Cardin… go upstairs and get some pants for Rus here. My clothes should fit him well enough." I said, the only thing he was wearing was Cardin's too big jacket and a pair of boxers. Dove moved over to the small bar and grabbed a glass and a bottle pouring out a double of whiskey and holding it out for Russel.

I snatched the glass away and threw it as Russel reached out. The glass shattered on the floor splashing whiskey everywhere. "You fucking idiot!" I yelled at him. Russel shrank in fear while the rest of my crew stood stunned at my outburst. I was no longer containing my anger towards him. "You know Rus I just figured you were just shy when you wouldn't tell us anything about your girl here. But now I see that it was far far worse than that! You were doing something incredibly fucking stupid."

Russel looked away, refusing to meet my eyes. He had put us all in danger and that wasn't something I could let go ignored.

"Sir, please he made a mistake," Sky said to me. Deery went wide eyed with fright but despite herself she moved closer to Russel as if she was going to stand between him and me.

"No!" Russel said, looking me in the eyes. "He's right… I didn't say anything because I figured that… I knew you wouldn't approve."

"You're damn right!" I said to him, "Damnit Rus you should know better, she's a fucking terrorists!"

"I'm sorry!" Russel said, looking at the floor. "I… I figured it'd be bad enough with Cardin and the rest since she's… well you know."

"I don't give a shit that she's a faunus Russel, what I care about is the fact that she's a member of the White fucking Fang. I'm pissed because you gave Adam a reason to put the squeeze on me!" I explained to him.

"How can I make this right?" Russel asked me.

I released a long heavy sigh. "This isn't the Clan Rus, I'm not going to demand you shave a knuckle off your pinky in repentance. And I don't think I can beat a lesson into you that Adam's guys didn't already beat in already. So right now I'm at a loss as to what I should do about this."

Cardin came down with some of my clothes, he handed Russel a pair of pants. "Here," Cardin said, handing over a pair of sleep pants and an undershirt so she could wear something other than my jacket. "You can wear this until we get you some proper clothes, you can change in there."

Deery looked at the clothes and nodded to Cardin. "Thank you," she said, before leaving for the upstairs women's room to change into the borrowed clothes.

Neo hopped up on the bar stool and looked at me. "You - know - I - have - to - tell - Roman - about - this - right?" She asked me.

"I know, and go ahead. If Roman decides to tattle to Cinder then I still keep my word and Adam has bigger problems to worry about than me," I explained to her. "Besides… it's not like he bargained for you to keep quiet."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Cardin asked me. "He took Rus here, he's clearly not afraid to mess with us."

"There's nothing I can do about that I'm afraid," I admitted to him. "But Adam went after Rus here because he gave him a reason too and he isn't made, if he was then there'd be a big problem." I explained to him. "But what really worries me is the fact that he had someone watching me."

"He - tipped - his - hand - on - that - to - us," Neo commented.

"That he did," I agreed. "But we don't know if he's had some of the staff here in the club watching us or if maybe it was a patron."

"Boss… let me look into that for you," Russel suggested to me. "I know it won't make up for what I've done but I hope that it can make some part of this right."

I sighed and nodded, moving over to the bar. I wrapped a few ice cubes in a napkin and handed it over to Russel so he could take some of that swelling on his face down. Deery came out looking sheepish dressed as she walked, my clothes far too baggy for her. "Can I get you anything?" I asked her, taking out a drink of my own.

"Uh… I don't suppose you have anything to eat do you?" She said to me nervously.

"The kitchen is closed. And there's nothing here at the bar unless you want to eat a bunch of olives and cocktail onions," I said, pulling out my scroll. "I'll order you some grub… what do you want."

"What's even open at this time?" She asked me unsure of what she wanted.

"I know a diner that makes some pretty good breakfast burritos," Sky suggested. "It should be open right about now."

"That… that sounds nice, thank you," she said to him.

"I'll go get them," Sky said, leaving out the door.

"Anything to drink?" I asked Deery.

"Just a soda," she said.

I grabbed a can of cola and opened it for her along with a glass and some ice and handed it to her.

"What's going to happen to me?" She asked, finally bucking up the courage to ask what was on her mind.

"That's what I'm planning on figuring out," I told her leaning against the bar. "Do you have anywhere to go? Any family?''

She shook her head. "I left my family a long time ago… I gave my life to the Fang." She explained to me.

"Her parents disowned her," Russel explained, taking the stool next to her and setting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It might be a good time to consider patching things up," I commented dryly.

She averted her eyes and looked down into her glass of fizzling cola. "I… I don't know if that's possible, when I started to attend the Fang rallies is when it happened."

"I think it's safe to say that the Fang is behind you now," I told her.

She shook her head and hopped off the stool. "That bridge is burned… ok? Listen, I'll just go… I won't trouble you."

"Babe no," Russed said to her, moving to follow. "It'll be alright… Jaune is a good guy."

I sighed in frustration. "I'm afraid I couldn't just let you leave even if I wanted to, Adam told me to keep you quiet and if I don't I'll have a lot more than him to worry about. Whatever happens… I'm afraid I'll have to keep an eye on you."

"So I'm your prisoner!?" She asked bitterly.

"Think of it as parole," I said with a shrug. "You can move freely but I'm afraid we're responsible for you."

"Then her family isn't even an option," Russel explained. "She's from Patch, you can't keep an eye on her from there."

"Alright," I said. "Then she can stay with us."

"I don't want your charity," she told me sourly.

"Good, because I'm not offering your charity, just some help," I assured her. "I can talk to Bruce about getting you a union job on the docks."

"I… I don't think that'd be a good idea," she said, looking down at the floor. "A lot of those dock faunus will probably recognize me from some of the rallies."

"Weren't you wearing a mask at those?" Dove asked her, speaking for the first time as he helped himself to my club's liquor supply.

"I didn't attend them as a member… I pretended to be just one of the attendees so I could convince others to join. Adam thought it would be good to approach them as well… Just a regular faunus." She explained to me. "And just last week some of those union guys threatened me for trying to get a couple of guys to attend… they didn't like me spreading rumors about Sienna Khan."

"Sienna Khan?" I asked her, unfamiliar with the name.

"Our leader," Deery explained to me. "Not that long ago… she was killed by humans."

"I never heard about that," I told her.

"It's true… and with her gone Adam has assumed complete control of the Fang." She told us.

"HE WHAT!?" Cardin asked, looking at her and towards me with a worried look.

"It's true," Deery said. "Check your news feed about a bomb going off in southern Vacuo, it won't say anything about Sienna Khan or the White Fang… but why would it?"

Cardin was already at it, checking his scroll to confirm her story.

I'll admit that I too was a little concerned with this revelation. I had known that Adam controlled the local cells for the White Fang but to learn that he was now the bigwig of an entire international terrorist syndicate was worrying. I had just made a few threats to a man far more powerful than I had thought.

"This - is - bad," Neo signed to me with a concerned expression on her face.

"Does Roman know about this?" I asked her, having our business partner suddenly grow in power like that wasn't something that could be ignored.

"I - don't - know," Neo told me. "I'll - go - talk - to - Roman - about - this. He - needs - to - know."

"Alright… good luck," I said, giving her a wave goodbye as she went out to meet with Roman and tell him about tonight's events.

"I've caused you a mess of trouble haven't I?" Deery asked me, crossing her arms meekly.

She did, but I wouldn't get anywhere blaming her or Russel at this point. What was done was done and I just had to keep playing the cards I was dealt. "That remains to be seen," I told her. "For now… if you can't work at one of the unions… How about here at the Moonstone?"

"You'd… you'd let me work here?" She asked me.

"I don't think the staff would mind one more waitress or bartender," I commented to her. "I even have a spare room you can use till you find a place."

"Hold on," Cardin said, holding up a hand. "Listen boss… I don't mean to be the bad guy here but I wouldn't exactly feel comfortable with her staying here."

"Dude!" Russel said to him. "Listen… I knew you'd have a problem with her being a fanus but please don't-."

"It's not about that!" Cardin said to him. "You heard Adam accuse Jaune of sending you to use Deery… how do we know that this isn't the same thing."

"She's not a spy!" Russel shouted at him defensively.

"He's right!" Deery said, putting a hand on Russel's shoulder to calm him, defusing the situation before I needed to. "He… he has every reason to be suspicious of me."

Russel sneered at Cardin but let the matter drop. Cardin thankfully let the sneer go unanswered and let Rus stew in his frustration. Naturally Cardin and the rest of his team played a big role in why he refused to give us any details on her and his worries were bubbling out right now.

"How about we talk to Sky about letting her crash at our place for the time being," Dove suggested. "We have a couch she can use, besides if she's going to be working here then she's probably going to be up long hours like we are."

"That… that can work," Russel said looking at her. "Would you like to do that Deery?" He asked her nervously. "You know… stay with me?"

"I'd like that," she said with a nod.

"Fine… work it out with Sky when he gets back," I said, reaching into my coat and grabbing a couple rolls of twenties. "And take this," I said looking at Deery as I put the rolls on the table. "Get some real clothes when things open up."

"I'll pay you back for this," Deery assured me.

"Don't worry about it," I assured her, I wasn't concerned about getting back just a few rolls of lien, I was making more than that every day after all. "Think of it as a gift to Russel's special lady."

She paused but eventually nodded, taking the rolls off the bar. "Thank you," she said to me.

"Don't mention it," I said, suppressing a yawn and stepping away leaving everyone behind. "The rest of you figure this out but call if you need me."

"Where are you going, boss?" Cardin asked me.

"Sleep is beyond me so I might as well get to work planning out those heists we have coming up," I told him. "There's no rest for the wicked it seems."

"Well we are in a wicked business, Jaune," Cardin lamented with a smirk and a shrug.

"Too true," I said, heading up to my office to begin my day's work.

Even though Roman had told the rest of the Family that we were done with Dust, the stuff wasn't quite finished with me, or rather I wasn't finished with it. With plenty of other heists still in the planning stage I had taken it upon myself to grab the stuff and sell it off where I could. I was able to make good on that deal to Marcello and provide him dust to infuse into his suits and other gadgets. Some of those mob owned dust shops were left alone while I took a few shipments here and there and sold them off to private dealers that weren't going to ask too many questions.

This was all of course with Roman's blessing. It would have looked suspicious if all the dust robberies and trafficking ended all at once so I was entrusted with seeing that operations tapered down swiftly and evenly all the while taking advantage of the ridiculously high dust prices. Needless to say I was making a pretty penny from all of this.

But what's more we had begun switching from dust to military hardware. I had figured that what was being taken was mostly guns but it seemed that almost anything and everything the Atlas Military was bringing into Vale was desired. Medical supplies, rations, even clothing. The White Fang wanted it all for their little war with humanity.

Most of this was stolen with the help of some faulty paperwork courtesy of bribed officials hoping to make a quick bit of cash on the side. It was mostly small time however, a crate of ammo here a box of bandages there. It was just some SDC beancounters failing to report on some inventory that went missing.

Apparently as I had come to learn most of the guns and other equipment was run down and old, Atlas was practically eager to lose it all instead of having it gather dust in some military warehouse. You see, Atlas prides itself on having the best military with the best toys. And every year there's a newer, better shinier model coming out and Atlas just has to have it. Meaning year in and year out they're constantly ditching their old service weapons for the new ones. Most of the old are put into storage to be used later, sold off, or traded back to the SDC for their own security forces to use. And now the SDC was helping us see that the old stuff ended up with us.

So far stealing from the Atlas Military was easy, usually someone would arrange for us to pick up the supplies somewhere inconspicuous and we'd transfer the lien to an offshore bank account. I never talked to or met with these corrupt officials directly but I have plenty of scroll calls with some proxies that set it up.

We all had to use aliases and talk on burner scrolls, I can tell you right now that I was using at least three to four different scrolls every day and scrapping most of them. And Roman made it very clear that I wasn't supposed to attend any of the pickups personally, we expected Atlas to be careful about all of this and be ready for us so we did the best to stay one step ahead. So mostly it was either some hired help that I had my crew oversee.

Sure enough Deery moved in with Dove, Sky and Russel into their three bedroom apartment. She got started working at the Moonstone as a waitress collecting a generous salary compared to the rest of the general staff. I had to make sure that Russel wasn't just spending all his time around the Moonstone distracting her from her job.

A couple of days after the incident with Adam I was surprised by a call to my scroll.

"Hello?" I asked as I picked it up.

"Uh… hello Mr. Arc?" I heard a young nervous voice ask.

"Speaking," I said casually. "May I ask who is calling?"

"Yes… it's uh it's Kohl… Hana's son," he said, introducing himself to me. "We met briefly after the blast at your apartment."

"Ah I remember you," I said, we had only met one time when we had gathered whatever we could from the ruins. I could only think of one thing he was calling me for but I wasn't about to be presumptuous. "What can I do for you?" I asked him.

"You uh… you said that if I or my mother ever needed anything I could call you and well… I am hoping that the offer is still on the table," he explained to me.

"Of course the offer is still on the table," I said to him honestly. "It never came with a time limit."

"Well uh… perhaps we can meet sometime tomorrow," he suggested to me. "Are you free?"

"Text me when and where and I'll be there," I told him.

"Are you sure?" he asked me. "I am sure you're a busy man."

"I'll make time," I assured him.

He texted me an address and a time to meet and I adjusted my schedule calling Cardin up to come out with me. The next day we drove out to Little Mistral to a little apartment complex moving up the stairs and knocking on the door.

A little girl opened it for us and the familiar smell of udon noodles wafted through the open door. "Daddy! There's two guys here for you!" The little Girl shouted before I could even introduce myself.

"Thank you Michi," Kohl said, coming around and picking up the little girl and giving Cardin and me a little smile. "Please come in, make yourselves at home."

"Thank you," I said, stepping inside with Cardin behind me taking off my hat. The little girl Michi looked curiously at my fedora and I handed it over for her to look at, chuckling as she put it on to completely envelop her head.

"Khol? Who's at the door?" I looked over hearing Hana's voice as she stepped out of the kitchen catching my eye. She was up and walking, but there was no hiding the bandages that covered her arms, face and body. I knew that the burns had been bad but this was the first time I had seen her after leaving her with the paramedics. It looked bad.

"Mr. Arc! What are you doing here?" She said, moving to grab my hand and shake it in both of hers.

"Hello Hana, it is very good to see you, your son called me here," I explained to her, patting one of her frail hands.

Hana turned a glare at Kohl, "I told you to leave it alone… I do not need to beg!" She scolded him with a scowl.

"Mother please," Kohl pleaded. "We need help."

"We already have gotten help, O-Ushi has already done so much for us and you would have us demand more!? You'd have me ask for more from the man who saved my life!?" She scolded him. "And now I will have to make more food for our guests."

"Please Hana there is no need to be angry with your son… I am happy to come here today and help you or your family however I can. It is not a burden, I am simply pleased to come here and see you." I said, trying to ease her concerns.

"Thank you Mr. Arc," Kohl said, setting his little girl down to run through the house with my hat. "Do you mind talking in the kitchen?" He asked me.

"Not at all," I said, moving into the humble place where Hana was cooking up some lunch. She got back to work looking at Cardin.

"I do not believe we have met before… Do you work for Mr. Arc?" She asked him.

"Uh yeah," Cardin said. "We uh… well you don't remember but I was there the night of the blast."

"Cardin is the one that carried you out." I clarified, I felt that he deserved some recognition for that.

"Oh thank you thank you Mr?" Hana asked, wanting his name.

"Winchester, Cardin Winchester," he said as she clasped his hand, shaking it vigorously.

"Please sit Mr. Winchester, I'll get you a bowl," she said, pushing him towards the table as she started filling a bowl of udon noodles. I myself took a seat and waited for her to set down a bowl of my own.

"Please don't wait for the rest of us you two, please, eat eat," Hana urged us. She wouldn't let us take no for an answer and I was happy to eat her cooking once more.

I wasted no time in starting on my bowl and with a little prodding Cardin did the same, he gave a grunt of approval tasting it. "This is very good," he complimented. "I can see why Jaune here would gush about your cooking."

Hana beamed with pride.

"So… not to be rude but I would like to know how I could help you," I said to them before I got distracted away from the business at hand.

"Well uh… we could use a little money," Kohl said, looking down at the kitchen floor.

"No we do not!" Hana said harshly to him, holding her ladle as if she was willing to club him over the head.

"Yes we do!" Kohl said, looking at me. "After the blast… after mom lost the laundromat we moved here. O-Ushi bought us this apartment since I'd been living in a small studio with Michi and we couldn't accommodate my mother. We're very comfortable living here and we're grateful… O-Ushi also paid for all my mother's medical expenses but I don't think it's enough."

"It is enough!" Hana barked at him.

"For a while it was," Kohl agreed but continued on. "But last week the mechanic shop I worked at had a little fire and I'm out of a job. What's more… I think my mother here needs some help, someone to change her bandages and move around. I don't want to put her into a home but I need someone to help take care of her. I was already losing hours at the shop just so I could be here with her more."

"I do not need anyone to take care of me," Hana said, filling another bowl.

"Her and Michi," Kohl said, ignoring his mother to carry on his explanation. "My sister would usually take her when she's not in school but it's becoming difficult to manage everything."

I held my hand up to him. "Say no more… I'll help you out."

"There is no need for that Mr. Arc," Hana said to me. "We are still waiting for our insurance to pay out. And once it does I plan to open a new business. We'll be back on our feet in no time."

"Mother… you're too old to handle that again," Kohl said to me.

"The Clan has helped me enough," Hana said to me. "I am not going to ask for more."

"I am no longer with the Kuroi Kuma Clan," I told her, she clearly wasn't aware of the fact that I had left Junior behind and started a new path. "I was recruited by the Torchwick Family with Junior's blessing. And I have no problem giving you help Hana."

"I see… but it still stands… I plan on starting a new business when the insurance money arrives," she explained to me.

"If it arrives," Kohl corrected.

"If your son is having a rough patch being unemployed we could help him get a job in one of the unions. There are plenty that could use a skilled mechanic." Cardin commented, having already finished his bowl of noodles and drinking down the broth.

"That's true," I said, forming a couple of ideas in my mind. "I can talk to Paulie, he's good friends with O-Ushi and I'm sure that he would be happy to help you find employment with Mulo Trucking."

Kohl nodded to me, "Thank you Mr. Arc… I appreciate that. And if you have any way you can think of helping my mother I would greatly appreciate it."

I looked to Hana who still looked rather displeased that we were so readily offering her help. "Hana… I know you don't wish to just spend all day being waited on hand and foot… but you must surely understand where your son is coming from. In your old age it is his job to care and look after you. Surely you understand this?"

She frowned, rubbing at some of the bandages that covered her body. "I do," she admitted to me. "But I do not want to be a burden on you or my family… I may be old but I am not done serving my family or the Clan."

Even though Hana wasn't really a member of the Clan, not even considered an associate, her loyalty to it was commendable. To her the Clan was Little Mistral and she felt like a part of the community and she wanted to be a part of it, even if it simply meant running a small laundromat that helped wash the Clan's money.

"Hana," I said looking into her eyes. "How would you like to serve the Clan as a nightclub owner?" I asked her, folding my hands on the table.

"What!?" Cardin asked me. "Are you serious?"

"Mr. Fontane wanted me to find someone with a clean record and a business license to hand the Moonstone off towards," I explained to him.

"You want my mother to own a nightclub?" Kohl asked me.

"On paper," I said with a shrug. "And to perhaps help us out with the menu, we have some Mistrali dishes and I would love to have some of your recipes. What's more, tonight we're opening a casino in the basement that is owned by Toshi. You'd be helping the Clan by doing this. And I would say that it is far less strenuous than operating a laundromat or dry cleaners. Her job would mostly be paperwork."

Kohl looked at me stunned, "You're serious… you'd do that for her?"

I shrugged. "It's nothing, believe me… if anything she'd be helping me out."

"I… I think I would like that very much Mr. Arc," Hana said to me with a bright smile.

"Then get dressed for tonight, I'll show you the club and make some calls to Mr. Fontane," I told her with a smirk before looking over at Kohl. "And hey… since Hana is the one who's going to be helping me with this, how about I throw in a bit of a thank you." I said, reaching into my jacket and pulling out a checkbook linked to an account I had set up in a false name.

"No Mr. Arc you've offered us enough already," Kohl said, "I was just happy that you decided to help us out."

"Well you're going to get a little more," I said, signing the check and passing it off to him.

"We can't accept this," Hana said.

"Think of it as a little help between things, it should help you all stay on your feet until I get you a meeting with Paulie and until we get things sorted out with the club," I explained. "That… and the start of a college fund for Michi."

"I… thank you," Kohl said to me. "Thank you very much Mr. Arc."

"Don't mention it," I said to him with a wave, finishing off the rest of my noodles and tipping the bowl to drink the rest of my broth. "It was worth it just to have Hana's noodles once more."

"You're always welcome to my cooking," Hana said with a proud smirk.

"I'm glad to hear that, and I look forward to having it in my club," I said standing up and straightening out my jacket. "I'll pick you up at seven a little before the club opens, you both can come."

I looked around not seeing Michi anywhere to be seen in the kitchen. "Where's my hat?" I asked them with a chuckle.

Kohl managed to get my hat back from Michi and I went out with Cardin saying our goodbyes.

"You're really going to leave the club in the hands of that frail old lady?" Cardin asked after we had gotten into the car together.

"I know she can keep her mouth shut, she has experience as a business owner and I'm afraid I don't know a lot of people like her with spotless records," I explained to him. "She's exactly what I was told to find for the Moonstone."

"Fair enough," Cardin said to me with a chuckle. "But… you're living at the club. I guess that makes her your landlady once again."

I laughed seeing his point. "Good point… I have my sweet old landlady back."

As promised I picked Hana and Kohl up that night and showed them around the club before it opened up and then I let them enjoy it for a time. Showing Hana the kitchens and having her talk to the cooking staff was particularly enjoyable as they even managed to cook up some of her stir fry which I had missed immensely. It didn't take long however for Hana to tire out so I called her a cab to bring her and Kohl home for the evening.

But before she left I took the opportunity to show her the Casino in the basement we finally opened to limited clientele. Only people who had been invited and were on a list were able to go down after tipping the bartender a special playing card and being shown down by one of the bouncers.

The place wasn't exactly a thriving casino, it was sparsely populated since it was such a small space that could only fit a few dozen who wanted to gamble. We had some card tables, a roulette wheel, craps and even a small corner with a big screen television where we showed ball games for patrons to place bets on. And since the casino was so exclusive we only accepted those we had judged to be high rollers able to bet a few thousand lien a night.

None of the games were rigged, we didn't want any rumors going around that we played dirty here, not that it mattered. I'd never gambled at a casino but I started to see why they always said the house always wins. Usually the idiots that came down here to gamble would call any win a "hot streak" and would proceed to lose anything they won. Some people really don't know when to quit while they're ahead.

Witnessing the casino first hand I couldn't help but grin at Toshi as he watched a few of the patrons buy some chips behind the counter handing over quite a bit of cash. "Is it everything you hoped it'd be?" I asked him, it'd been a long time since we had actually hung out together. As friendly as the Clan and the Family were, it kept us apart for most of our business.

"So far so good," Toshi told me. "I just wished that I was able to put it in the basement of a club of my own."

"Don't worry you will one of these days," I assured him, patting his back and handing him a drink. "Hell it won't be long before this place brings in enough scratch for you to open up two clubs."

"I hope so," Toshi said, taking a swig of his drink. "You lucked out Gent, I never would have guessed that you'd own a club of your own so soon."

"Friends in high places," I muttered, I was well aware of my own luck regarding this. "How are your other places? How's Tonen? I hardly got a chance to talk to him on opening night."

"My dealership is doing well, I'm still paying Tonen off for it but I'm earning my share," he explained to me with a shrug. "I'm not exactly rolling in lien yet but hopefully this casino does the trick."

"Don't worry about it," I said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "It will, we'll just have to find some more gullible high rollers."

"It better, Junior helped invest a lot into this place." Toshi said with a shake of his head.

"Trust me you're going to pay him back every thin dime," I promised him. "Now come on, let's lose some of our own money at the roulette wheel."

"Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose?" Toshi asked me.

"Think of it as investing back into the business," I told with a chuckle, taking a sip of my own drink and approaching the table. "Besides if we win big we can just put the money back so no harm no foul."

We spent most of the night rubbing elbows with some of the casino's clients and getting to know a little about what they expected to see from this place. People can be very talkative when they're losing their money. Toshi was also a good reminder of just how lucky I had been, he got made before me, he's been in life longer and he wasn't as well off as I was. He was having to work twice as hard for only a fraction of what I had made so far.

Getting involved with Roman and the dust racket had been a huge boost to my career and having help with Fontane in getting this club had fast tracked me. What's more, what businesses Toshi did have were mostly set up by Tonen and thus Tonen collected a healthy cut until it was all paid off. I had investors but the Moonstone was all mine thanks to the dust money and I was having no problem pulling more in. I had really lucked out in my own way and I promised Toshi that I'd try to bring him into some future rackets.

I didn't go to bed until it was almost time for the club to close up. Since the casino was supposed to be secret it closed before the club did and we shuffled everyone out to blend with the normal crowd before leaving.

Sitting in the cigar lounge overlooking an empty stage I enjoyed a final smoke and a nightcap before going up for some shut eye.

"Are you finished with that?" Deery asked me, carrying a tray that she filled with empty glasses and full ashtrays.

"Yeah I'm done," I said, dropping the cigar into the crystal ashtray as well as my empty brandy glass. "How's the job treating you?" I asked her, it had only been a couple of days but I figured I should at least keep an eye on how she was doing here at the Moonstone.

"My fucking feet are killing me, not to mention I had to have the bouncers help me with a few of your drunker customers," she complained to me. "But other than that… it's working for me I guess… the food is certainly a lot better than what we usually ate at those safehouses. I was practically eating cheap pizza day in and day out there with the Fang."

"Well I'm happy that you're at least getting some good food out of this," I told her. "How are the tips?"

"Not so good… you should really start charging your customers' gratuities," she grumbled.

"I'll keep that in mind," I told her honestly.

"Listen Jaune… I know that I need to earn a little trust considering… where I come from. But I was accepted into the Fang for a reason. I can help you with your business." She suggested to me. "I have my aura unlocked, a semblance even."

"Really?" I asked her, raising my eyebrow. "Can you fight?"

"I'm not half bad with a gun, I used to hunt all the time back home," she explained to me.

"Hunting isn't the same as fighting," I commented to her.

"I'm just saying, whenever you feel that you can trust me. I'd be interested in doing a lot more than waiting on your tables," she said to me.

"I'll keep that in mind," I told her. "What's your semblance?" I asked her.

"I'm good at tracking." She explained to me. "I used it a lot while deer hunting, if I can find a piece of whatever I'm tracking or some item that belonged to them… I can get a really good idea where they are."

"Interesting," I commented, keeping the thought that a deer faunus was deer hunting sounded peculiar to me. I got up and gave her a wave. "Well… if I never need to track someone I'll give you a call. Until then I'm going to turn in for the night. Is Russel going to pick you up?"

"Yeah," She said to me with a nod.

"How's it living with him and the other guys?" I asked her.

"It's fine," she told me. "The thing is I never thought about Russel and I being, know you… serious. But that seems to have changed quickly."

"Do you regret that?" I asked her.

"No… it's been nice and the rest of them are kind to me," she said with a little smile. "It's just… it's a lot to take in so suddenly. One minute we're just a casual thing, going on dates and sharing texts, now we're living together."

"I understand, and if you ever wanna to stop living with your boyfriend I'll arrange for something."

"I'm thinking once I have enough money saved I might get an apartment of my own," She explained to me.

"Does Russel know about that?" I asked her.

"He does, and he understands," she told me with a nod.

"Good," I said, happy that Russel wouldn't be taking that personally. I gave her a wave as I moved to leave upstairs towards my rooms. "Goodnight Deery."

"Goodnight Jaune," she said, watching as I left.

I went upstairs to the loft and stipped down before climbing into bed and closing my eyes for a goodnight sleep. I had been quite a night owl with my new job but I still managed to be pretty beat after spending all night drinking and clubbing.

I don't know how long I was out before I was roused by the soft creak of my door opening. It took me a second to remember that I had shut my bedroom door and a panic set in. I rose from the covers and reached over to my nightstand grabbing for my revolver when a black strand darker than the shadows seemed to whip out and snatch the holstered weapon away and toss it across the room out of sight and out of reach.

Panicking I grabbed my cane and raised it up as I stumbled out of bed in a crouch. The same black ribbon wrapped around the half of the cane almost pulling it out of my grip so I drew Astuzia from it and yanked back on the haft of the cane with all my might pulling my attacker towards me.

Amber eyes flashed from the moonlight that filtered in through the windows. It was Blake, she glared at me as she moved in with Gambol Shroud extended into a sword, swinging it at me. I deflected the swing with Astuzia and tried to smash her with it. It was hard to keep track of her in the low light of the room, I was half blind only fighting with filtered moonlight while she was in her prime element, able to see in the darkness with her faunus eyes.

"Blake!" I said to her, "Stop!"

She ignored me as we exchanged sword strikes working in a rhythm of cuts and parries as the ribbon of Gambol Shroud pulled Vendetta out of my grip and tossed it across the room to clatter on the floor away from me.

"Damnit Blake stop!" I cried as she drew the blades scabbard and unlashed a flurry of attacks at me. I tried to keep us as best I could with her. Stepping out of range of the strikes trying to work within the cramped surroundings of my bedroom parrying the strikes I couldn't dodge. Trying to think of what to do, how to escape.

Unable to get past her I started attacking leveling cuts and thrusts her direction which she herself parried away before retreating towards the shadows. I didn't question it as I moved for the door trying to get out of here only to find her blocking my path.

I moved forward towards her and leveled Astuzia into a thrust only for the image of Blake to dissipate the minute my blade touched her. I had attacked one of her shadow clones. A mistake that had cost me.

Blake had moved to the side, tangling my sword hand with the ribbon and tripping me with her foot with the other. I went down to the ground and she pounced atop me pinning me to the floor and yanking my tangled arm back behind me tying my arms with the strong ribbon restraining me as I thrashed and bucked against her. I tried rolling and almost got her off but I stopped when I felt the tip of her blade touch my throat threatening to open it.

"You had your chance to come clean, Jaune. You lied to me!" she hissed at me. "And now you left me no choice, you're going to the police!"

"Blake, please wait! You don't know-!" I stammered before I felt something heavy smash the back of my head making my entire world go black as I lost consciousness.