“Weiss??” Yang whispered, aghast, as Weiss descended from the SUV like a princess departing from her throne. Adam glanced at Yang, noting her stunned silence, before frowning.
“Out of the way, dipshits,” Weiss snapped at the White Fang nearest to her despite many of them still aiming weapons at her. Baffled, they let her walk right past, glancing at Adam for orders but receiving none. Three more men in suits exited the SUVs and flanked her as she strode across the warehouse while several more waited by the vehicles, eyeing the White Fang but unresponsive to the open hostility.
“Well,” Weiss began, letting her gaze roam across the building before landing on Adam. “This is…quaint.”
Adam, for a brief second, looked too dismayed to be annoyed. That confusion, however, quickly disappeared into a scowl.
“Who the hell are you?” he growled.
“Who do I look like, imbecile?” Weiss crossed her arms over her chest and side-eyed Cinder when Cinder didn’t lower her weapon. “Point that somewhere else, bitch.”
“You aren’t the one we’ve been dealing with,” Cinder replied coolly.
“Because I hired you through an associate.” When Adam and Cinder glanced at each other, Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m Weiss Schnee, obviously. Who else has the money to hire you for such a big fucking job?”
Cinder’s arm lowered several inches, her certainty eaten away by Weiss’ bombastic persona. Adam surveyed Weiss, searching for cracks in her claims, before narrowing his eyes at Blake. He knew that she and Weiss knew each other. If he searched his memory, he would even remember that Blake went to Weiss’ wedding.
Blake stared right back at him, fighting for an expression that was equal blends of shocked, confused, and oblivious. Before Adam reached a conclusion though, Weiss smirked at Yang.
“You look like shit, Detective.”
In an instant, Yang’s stunned disbelief evaporated. Anger took its place.
“What the fuck, Weiss? What’re you doing here?! You promised - you swore to Ruby that you would never -”
“God, will you shut up?” Weiss might as well have slapped Yang across the face, silencing Yang’s sputters. “Ruby was just a stepping stone to bigger things,” Weiss explained as if speaking to a child. Her cool blue gaze slid to Blake before returning to Yang as a smirk snuck onto her lips. “Kind of like you.”
Yang’s jaw snapped shut so loudly that Blake heard it. Then her gaze darkened and, before anyone could react, she lunged forward and grabbed Weiss by her jacket. “Lying - bitch!” Yang nearly knocked Weiss off of her feet as they tussled. “How could you?! How could you do this to her?!”
Weiss’ guards grabbed Yang’s arm when she drew it back, fist clenched, and lifted her right off the ground as they separated her from Weiss. “You - promised -!” Yang shouted, fighting the burly men tooth and nail. “When we get out of here, I’m going to kill you!”
“Ok. Sure.” Weiss scoffed and straightened her coat while one of the men knocked Yang to her knees. Yang kept struggling until Yuma walked up to her and, upon pressing his pistol to her forehead, issued an almost delighted, “Stay.”
Yang, thankfully, stilled. She glared at Yuma, who smirked, while Blake touched her shoulder. The gesture caught Weiss’ attention - or, as the glint in her blue gaze suggested, amusement.
“Oh, Blake,” she added, her voice sweet as honey. “I’m so glad you’re here. You might get to be useful for once.”
Cinder huffed at the insult and a smirk flickered on Adam’s lips. Blake scowled.
“Now, where were we?” Weiss subtly straightened her jacket a second time before clasping her hands together and turning to Adam and Cinder. The two masterminds glanced at each other, clearly unsure whether they were suspicious or just confused by Weiss’ presence.
“You hired us to rob your dad…” Cinder said.
“Of course I did.” Again, Adam and Cinder glanced at each other. Again, Weiss rolled her eyes. “You have no idea how this works, do you? Fine. I’ll explain since you’re new.”
Adam scowled, but Weiss flipped her hair over her shoulder and carried on as if she hadn’t just insulted a wanted felon. “My father thinks he’s going to spend the next few years ‘teaching me the ropes,’ but he’s a short-sighted moron. True power is taken - I believe you know a thing or two about that.”
When Weiss dipped her chin to Adam, Blake held her breath waiting for his response. He mulled over the explanation first then, as the compliment wormed its way through his veins, let a pleased smile tug at his lips.
“I believe I do.”
“Then you understand why I’m not sitting on my ass doing what he says,” Weiss continued. “But you wouldn't take the job if you knew who I was, so I used an intermediary.” She motioned her hand as if more explanation was too boring to get into. “Point being, yes, I hired you to rob my father. And, as soon as we’re done here, I’m tearing the entire operation from his hands, so I’d suggest instead of questioning me, you decide whether or not you want to be joining me.”
Weiss couldn't have chosen a better word. Adam greatly wanted to claw his way into untouchable power and here stood the fabled Schnee heir…spilling plans of treachery and offering a path towards alliance. He could never pass up such an opportunity - Blake knew that much - and he confirmed it when he stepped back and extended his arm towards the safe.
“Then we have what you’re after.”
Cinder scowled at Adam’s acceptance, or at the way his eyes glinted at Weiss like she was a crown jewel, but Weiss straightened her jacket and strode to the safe. Blake wrapped her hand tightly around Yang’s arm when Weiss neared, but preventing a physical scuffle didn’t keep Yang from hissing, “Traitor,” as Weiss passed. Weiss didn’t even humor Yang with a glance - her attention was reserved for the giant vault in the middle of the warehouse. If there was any question about who the safe belonged to, it was answered when she found the engraving.
“He signed it.” Weiss touched the signature and then laughed. “What a pompous ass.”
“It took months to find,” Adam commented. “Even longer to figure out a way to get it.”
“Tearing the entire fucking thing through the roof was masterful.” The compliment, and Weiss’ genuine glee, made Adam stand taller. “He already filed a police report, the fool, and now the world gets to see what he stashed inside.” Weiss paused and, like a lightbulb suddenly flicking off, leveled Adam with a no-nonsense stare. “That is, assuming you can open it.”
“It would be open if you hadn’t gotten here early…” Cinder grumbled.
“You thought I’d let you take your pick of what’s inside?” Weiss clicked her tongue and shot Cinder a condescending look. “I wasn’t born yesterday, Cinder.” Cinder scowled, but Weiss ignored her and added, “Now, let’s see if Shroud is all she’s cracked up to be.”
When Weiss motioned for Blake to get started, no one in the White Fang objected. Cinder glared at Weiss, livid at having her role so easily usurped, and everyone else waited for Blake to comply, just as they would surely comply if Weiss issued them a direct order.
Now, it was up to Blake to get everyone out of there alive. First, she glanced at Yang, who briefly met her gaze and offered a miniscule nod. Then she took a deep breath and returned to her bag of tools. Time was her most valuable asset, but she needed to be more convincing than she ever had before…while ultimately finding a combination in the highest-stakes environment that she had ever worked in.
Her hands trembled as she knelt in front of the safe and removed her tools. Adam loomed over her like an ax prepared to fall while Cinder hovered to her left, just out of view but too close to Yang for comfort. Weiss stood to Blake’s right, looking almost amused by the entire production. When Blake met Weiss’ gaze, however, Weiss didn’t even blink - she just motioned for Blake to get on with it. So Blake took a deep breath, put on the stethoscope, closed her eyes, and set her fingers on the dial.
The cool metal sent a small shock through her system, like a current starting an engine. It had been a long time since she had worked under so much pressure, with so much at stake, and with so much adrenaline pulsing through her veins. Failure wasn’t an option.
This time, she had a luxury that she’d never had with a bank: the identity of the person who set the combination. And, through Weiss, she had a long list of numbers he might have chosen from. He wasn’t dumb enough to use a birthday, but if he used any of the numbers in any order, she would have a better chance of finding them.
Slowly spinning the dial, hoping to get acquainted with the ironclad lock separating her from success, she took calm, steady breaths and focused on every hint given to her. A tiny tremor there. A slight catch there. An almost inaudible click there. She needed a sequence of five numbers to proceed, but the first few turns yielded only two legitimate contenders - she needed to search harder.
But first, she pushed an exhale through her lips, wiped her clammy palm on her leg, and snuck a glance at Weiss. When Weiss remained stubbornly motionless, Blake started again. Some of the White Fang were bored already - even with her eyes closed, she sensed their various movements around the room. Some of her attention also kept sliding to her left, where Cinder, Yuma, and Yang occupied too little space.
She couldn't worry about Yang. She had already done everything in her power to ensure that Yang could take care of herself. The best thing she could do right now was to find the combination, which continued to elude her. After attempting two sequences, both failures, she swore under her breath and leaned back on her heels.
The entire building seemed to sigh.
“I have an idea…” Cinder aimed her weapon at Yang’s leg and arched a brow at Adam. “She’ll work faster if her girlfriend’s bleeding out.”
Blake shot Cinder a scathing look. When Yuma nodded and Mercury finally looked interested, she held up her hands and said, “Wait! Just…wait. I can do it.”
Unfortunately, Blake’s response only encouraged Adam to seriously consider the suggestion. Foreboding pooled in the pit of her stomach as a smirk crept onto his lips.
“I have a better idea,” Weiss piped in, stealing everyone’s attention as she whispered something to one of the bodyguards standing behind her. He nodded and returned to one of the SUVs, where he rummaged around for several seconds before reappearing with a pair of bolt cutters dangling from one hand.
“How about we start taking off digits?” she suggested as the man snapped the bolt cutters in the air.
“I said I can do it,” Blake repeated, but Cinder had already grabbed the tool and gestured for Yuma to hold out Yang’s prosthetic arm.
Blake looked desperately at Weiss, silently asking what the hell she was thinking, but Weiss just narrowed her eyes and said, “Then you better do it fast.”
Blake stared at Weiss as the words sank in, then she looked at Yang, who met her gaze, swallowed, and nodded, before swearing under her breath and turning back to the safe. Her hand shook like a leaf now, but she spun through the dial like a madwoman on a mission. The fourth number revealed itself just as she heard the stomach-churning snap of metal on metal followed by a thump on the ground.
Fortunately, no screaming or sounds of pain followed, but that didn’t mean she moved slower. Her gaze flitted to Weiss every other second - two more snaps broke her concentration like an airhorn blasting in her ear - and she seriously contemplated forgetting the safe in favor of launching herself at Cinder instead.
“Any day now…” Weiss eventually sighed.
Blake spun the dial faster than she ever had in her life - one, two, three, four, five numbers in place - then yanked the handle and felt an immense wave of relief when the lock disengaged.
“Stop!” she shouted, pulling the door open and stepping away. Thankfully, Cinder lowered the bolt cutters so that she could shove past Blake and be one of the first to see what was stashed inside Jacques Schnee’s fabled vault. Blake couldn't care less about what was inside - she scrambled to Yang’s side and set a hand on Yang’s back while surveying the damage.
“Don’t worry,” Yang whispered before Blake started freaking out about the three lost digits. Yang was almost alarmingly calm as she meaningfully nodded to the safe, where Weiss peered into the metal box alongside Adam, Cinder, and Yuma.
Blake craned her neck trying to get a look at what was inside, then inched forward when Yang prodded her. The crowd at the entrance blocked most of the details, but she could make out paintings stacked against the walls. A massive stack of cash that would put most banks to shame. Gold bars and statues. Files filled with documents. Weiss grabbed one of those files, flipped it open, and laughed.
“Oh, Father…you have some explaining to do…” She rifled through the pages before returning it to the safe. Adam glanced inside once more before turning to Weiss. His trademark scowl had returned - he was back to doing business - while Cinder and Yuma looked to him for leadership.
“We held up our side of the deal,” he pointed out in a low, threatening growl.
“Yes, you did wonderfully. Really. I couldn't have expected better from a group of ragtag thieves in need of a locksmith.” Cinder’s jaw snapped shut with an audible clack while Adam’s scowl lifted, momentarily confused, but Weiss cleared her throat, lightly clasped one side of her jacket, and said, “Did you get everything?”
In slow motion, Blake watched Adam and Cinder share a confused look, but they were already too late. Yang sprang into action, a knife flying into her hand as her left arm wrapped around Yuma’s neck and dragged him backward. Blake had Cinder in a headlock before the woman could even reach for her weapon. Cinder instinctively struggled, but Weiss’ guards had their weapons out and, aiming at the nearest threats, froze the White Fang’s leaders.
“You also have some explaining to do,” Weiss told a bewildered Adam. “But you can explain to them.” As Weiss pointed above her head, three red dots trained on Adam’s chest. “It really was nice doing business with you,” she continued in a patronizing tone as the sound of engines reached their ears. “Unfortunately, it seems like this is where your little crime spree ends.”
The warehouse, calm just moments before, erupted into chaos. The rest of the White Fang glanced at each other before scattering in all directions, but SWAT trucks and police cars were already streaming into the warehouse while officers poured through every conceivable entrance or exit. Weiss’ personal guards formed a shield around her and swept her away from Adam while the ones from the SUVs rushed over with guns drawn and handcuffs ready.
Versions of “Guns down! Hands in the air!” were shouted over and over. The White Fang, with no means of escape, backed up and complied. Guns were laid down and hands raised as disbelieving glances were shared throughout the building.
One of the officers quickly disarmed Cinder. The same happened to Yuma, who scoffed at Blake while the officer snapped cuffs into place and led him away. Cinder said nothing as she put her arms behind her back to wear a pair of handcuffs, but the venom in her eyes said plenty. That anger - and the accompanying fear of retribution - had swayed Blake’s decisions in the past. But today, despite knowing that Cinder would do everything in her power to get revenge, Blake simply looked away as Yang’s hand slipped into her own. Yang’s steadfast gaze assured Blake that everything would be ok, and Blake believed it.
When she caught a glimpse of green hair near the van that had brought them to the warehouse, she knew that plenty still needed to be done.
“Hold on a second?”
Blake motioned to Emerald, drawing Yang’s gaze that way before a nod followed. She had to jog to make it over to Emerald, who had received her own pair of handcuffs and was about to be led out.
“Wait,” Blake called out to the officer, who thankfully paused. Emerald’s gaze swept over Blake, but no anger lurked in red eyes. If anything, Emerald just looked…tired.
“Thanks for this.” Blake picked up the tracker that she’d dropped on the floor of the van before glancing at the officer ready to take Emerald to the station, where she would likely be sent to prison. “Maybe they’ll give you a deal,” Blake added. “I’ll tell them you were never involved in the…bad stuff. So if you cooperate…maybe that’s an option.”
“You know how much I like cooperating…” Emerald sighed. Her gaze flitted around the warehouse before returning to Blake with something close to relief lingering in her gaze. “I’m glad it’s over.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Blake held Emerald’s gaze for another second, the two of them commiserating over everything they’d gone through, before nodding and turning away.
“Hey, Blake?” Emerald touched Blake’s sleeve but hugged her arm to her chest and stared at the floor when Blake turned around. “Do you…do you think they’ll give Ilia a deal, too?”
Thinking about Ilia, who was fortunate to miss out on this final adventure, Blake nodded.
“Yeah. Yeah, I think so. I hope so.”
Emerald mulled over the response before biting her bottom lip and nodding once. The officer took that as their cue to go, leaving Blake to watch Emerald be led to one of the many unmarked police cars being used to shuttle the White Fang out of the building. Sighing once, Blake tossed the tracking device back into the van and then caught Yang’s gaze. Yang gave her a soft, kind smile that reminded her that this wasn’t the end of the world for Emerald, Ilia, or any of them.
They all survived. That was the best result anyone could have asked for. Still, Blake drew another deep breath as Mel strode over in tactical gear, an assault rifle strapped across her chest.
“You good?”
Blake held out her arms, checking for any injuries besides the bumps and bruises from the crash, and said, “Think so.”
“‘Course you are. You’re tough as nails.” Mel grinned and tapped Blake’s shoulder before heading over to Yang. “Holy shit, Yang! What happened to your hand??”
While Mel fretted over Yang’s missing digits, Blake glanced to the side as Weiss joined her.
“Good job,” Weiss said, dipping her chin. “I was a little worried for a second.”
“You and me both.” The two of them then stood there for a moment, surveying the activity. One officer in particular held Weiss’ rapt attention as they issued confident orders to the men and women shuttling the White Fang to the precinct.
Ruby took charge of the situation like someone who had been here and done it before, and everyone listened to her as if receiving orders from a higher power. As soon as there was a miniscule break in the commotion though, Ruby flew to Weiss as if pulled by gravity.
“Are you ok?” Ruby’s arms looped around Weiss’ waist as she scanned Weiss up and down, but Weiss waved off the concern.
“I’m perfectly fine. And I didn’t shoot him. Are you proud of me?”
“‘Proud of you??’” Ruby kissed all over Weiss’ cheeks and forehead and lips before pulling away and shaking her head. “We’re never doing that again. I was scared out of my mind.”
“Please,” Weiss scoffed. “Adam Taurus might think he’s some criminal mastermind, but he’s a minnow swimming with sharks.”
“Still. There are guns -”
“I know how to use a gun.”
“And bad guys everywhere!” Ruby waved her arms at the White Fang members still being led to squad cars. “Did you see what they did to Yang??”
“Of course I did. Sissies. A real villain starts with her good hand.” Blake’s brow shot up while Ruby stared at Weiss with wide eyes, so Weiss waved a perfectly manicured hand and added, “At least, that’s what I’d assume based on…experience.”
Though Weiss was alarmingly serious, Ruby laughed and kissed her cheek. “Well, I’m going to check on her anyway. Since someone cut off her fingers with bolt cutters and all.”
“I’m sure she’ll play that up for years…” Weiss grumbled while Ruby raced over to Yang, who was receiving quite a bit of attention from other officers and a medic patching up her cuts. When she laughed at something Ruby said, Blake’s heart soared.
The temporary elation dwindled when two officers marched Adam past. He saved one last scowl for her, who gave him nothing more than a steely expression in return.
“I should’ve shot him…” Weiss grumbled under her breath before shaking her head. “Don't worry. I know plenty of people in prison. Tell me what you want and I’ll make it happen. Break his knees? Cut out his tongue? Gouge out an eye?”
Blake’s mouth fell open but, when she failed to come up with a verbal response, Weiss waved a hand and said, “Just let me know.”
As Weiss’ attention moved away, Blake sent her a second glance before focusing on the young woman meaningfully striding over to them. Her pure white hair resembled Weiss’, but her tanned complexion set her apart from the fair-skinned Schnee. Her black jacket, emblazoned with “RIA” in one corner, also differed from Vale P.D.’s navy blue.
“Robyn Hill,” she introduced herself, extending her hand to Blake, which Blake tentatively shook. “Thank you for your help. We’ve been building a case against Jacques Schnee for a long time, and this might’ve finally done it.”
Facing the author of the other part of the plan - the complicated part that put Yang and herself in more danger for ‘the greater good’ - Blake glanced at Weiss and then crossed her arms over her chest.
“You couldn't have shown up before Cinder cut off Yang’s fingers? What if I hadn’t gotten the safe open in time? What if they shot Yang instead?”
“Yeah, Robyn, you promised no one would get hurt,” Weiss tagged on as Robyn’s brow steadily rose. “Is the RIA buying Yang a new arm?”
“That’s…something we can discuss.”
“It’s the least you can do,” Blake huffed.
“And what do you mean this ‘might’ be enough?” Weiss added, crossing her arms to match Blake. “You said this was a slam dunk. We have an entire safe full of stolen shit sitting there.” Weiss gestured to the safe, which several cops practically crawled over as they took photographs of the contents.
“You know it’s never a sure thing, Weiss,” Robyn tried to explain. “We have more than enough for a warrant, but the judge has a say and the attorneys will tear through everything that happened…” Robyn paused, sighed, and then met Weiss’ gaze. “You know I’ll do everything I can.”
Somehow, that response mollified Weiss. While that, in and of itself, seemed like a miracle, Robyn turned to Blake and said, “And I’ll get Yang a new arm. Don’t worry.”
When Blake haltingly nodded, arms still crossed and brow furrowed, Robyn glanced at both of them before backing away. “We need to move fast if we’re going to be ready in time,” was her only explanation for ducking out of the conversation as quickly as she’d entered. Weiss watched her go before sending Blake an amused smile.
“You do have claws.” She then paused for a half-beat before adding, “That’s my sister-in-law, by the way.”
Blake’s brow shot up as she waited for Weiss to admit that that was a joke. When Weiss resolutely nodded, Blake gaped at her, then glanced after the RIA agent, then fumbled for something to say.
“Why is everyone in your family married to law enforcement??”
“Curious, isn’t it?” Blake motioned with her hands for more information, but Weiss glanced around the warehouse and sighed. “I’ll admit though…it was nice to be the bad guy for once.”
“You’re good at it.”
“You mean I’m great at it,” Weiss corrected, but her haughty aura lasted no longer than a heartbeat. “Everyone expects it from me anyway,” she muttered, tugging at her sleeve as if it had just offended her.
“Except for Ruby,” Blake pointed out. And, like the sun coming out on a warm day, Weiss melted into a smile.
“Except for Ruby,” she repeated, her blue eyes finding Ruby issuing more instructions to another group of officers. A smile crept onto Weiss’ lips as she watched the SWAT captain in command of her team. “When we started dating, my dad congratulated me for bagging an ‘inside man.’” Weiss scoffed and shook her head. “Bet he didn’t think that ‘inside man’ would convince me to dismantle his empire piece by piece. Now, he can sit in prison for the rest of his life. All thanks to you.”
“I didn’t do anything. I’m just…trying to make things right.”
“We all have shit in our pasts, Blake - don’t let it define you. You came up with a plan so wickedly smart that our bumbling police department might bring down three criminal rings in one go. Own it.”
Weiss gave the advice as if it should be easy to heed, but she must know that it was anything but. They both, in different ways, had pieces of themselves that they wanted to be rid of. Maybe now that Blake had helped Weiss exorcize one of those demons, or at least begin the process, their own relationship could slowly heal.
That small bud of hope stuck in Blake’s chest as Yang rejoined them.
“I’m sorry…”
The missing fingers were impossible to miss, but Yang waved away the concern.
“Don’t worry about it. Was time for an upgrade anyway. I’ll probably have some serious nightmares about bolt cutters though…” Yang exhaled and then lightly slapped the back of her hand on Weiss’ shoulder. “Glad I don’t have to kill you though.”
“Please,” Weiss huffed. “You’re lucky I was supposed to let you grope me like a giant oaf. Otherwise, you’d be in a world of hurt.”
“What were you going to do - stab me with your stilettos?”
“Among other things,” Weiss cooly replied, though her eyes sparkled when Yang laughed and nudged her elbow. The small gesture prompted Weiss to relax, and she smiled when Ruby bounded over.
“Yang! Did you see??”
“The Eternal Embrace or Atlas Ascending?”
“Both!!” Ruby practically levitated off the ground. “He’s even got Dust Dreams and Whispers of Vacuo!”
Blake’s brow furrowed while Weiss looked at Ruby and said, “And those are…?”
“The paintings!”
“Oh.” Weiss shared a commiserating glance with Blake before smiling adoringly at Ruby. “Do you want them?”
“Weiss!” Ruby yelped. “They’re stolen! They’ve been missing for years.”
“Those are some of the biggest cases Mom never solved,” Yang explained. “She always suspected someone big set up the hits, but she could never prove it.”
“But now they can finally go back to their museums for everyone to enjoy.”
Blake’s heart warmed at the proud smile that Ruby and Yang shared. Weiss, meanwhile, glanced between the sisters and then rolled her eyes.
“Art dorks.”
“You love it,” Ruby teased.
“I do,” Weiss admitted, sighing as she slipped her hand into Ruby’s. “I’d love it even more if you told me all about these paintings before some stuffy museum gets them.”
“Which I’ll totally do, but we actually need to get you out of here pronto.”
“Ah, right.”
Weiss glanced at Blake but, when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.
“I can do this,” Blake assured her. She studied Blake closely, searching for intent as well as motivation, before nodding and letting Ruby hasten her away. As Weiss was bundled into one of the black SUVs, Blake looked at Yang and experienced seemingly every emotion at once. Adam had loomed over their relationship for as long as they’d known each other, but now…his influence over their lives was gone - for good.
“I know,” Yang said before Blake mustered a word. “We have a lot to talk about, but we’re not through this yet. We need to clear everyone out of here, get SWAT changed, then hook you up with a mic and a vest or something.” Yang’s eyes flitted around the room, observing everything already in motion, then she blew a big breath through her lips and ran a hand through her hair. “And now it’s my turn to freak out…”
Blake set a hand on Yang’s cheek and gently turned lilac eyes her way.
“What happens after that?” she asked softly. “Once this is all done…what happens with me? With…us?”
Her excitement for the future only grew when a spark of understanding lit in Yang’s eyes. Then Yang picked up both of her hands, stared down at them for a moment, and finally met her gaze.
“Well…now that the White Fang are done, the DA will probably work out the details of your deal. I’m hoping probation based on a glowing review from your commanding officer.” Yang puffed out her chest before deflating a little. “And once that’s taken care of…maybe I can take you out to dinner sometime? If you’re bored, hungry, or just…want to look at something pretty?”
When a sly smile slipped onto Yang’s lips, Blake kissed her.
“I’d love to,” she said after pulling away.
“Don’t you need to think about it?” Yang teased, but Blake shook her head.
“Not this time. There’s nothing I want more than to go to dinner with you.”
Blake wanted so much more than that, but she didn’t say it out loud. She smiled as Yang beamed at her, momentarily forgetting the small detour lying between them and that hopeful future. Ruby’s return reminded her, but she calmly stepped away when Ruby helped her snake a hidden microphone through her jacket.
“Yang, you gotta get out of here,” Ruby advised, her no-nonsense tone inviting no argument. Yang pressed a long, loving kiss to Blake’s lips before backing away.
“I’ll be listening the entire time. And I’ll only be a block away, so you say the word and I’m here - got it?”
Blake nodded and said, “Got it,” earning Yang’s resolute nod before she hurried off with the rest of the officers who weren’t remaining behind.
“Remember, we need them to admit to hiring the White Fang to steal the safe,” Ruby said while making sure the microphone was fully obscured. “Or admit to hiring them to commit any crime. Anything we can take to a judge.”
“Got it.”
Ruby stepped back, nodded at her work, and finally met Blake’s gaze.
“I know we’ve had our differences…but this is important.”
“I know, Ruby. We need to know who’s after Weiss’ family and make sure they go to prison. I’ll do everything I can to make sure that happens.”
“I believe you.” The vote of confidence hardly registered in Blake’s mind before Ruby was on her radio. “All units, we’re a go for Operation Shadow. Bravo, Charlie, and Delta meet me at Rally Point A. Radio silence until we get the signal. Over and out.” Ruby put her radio away and nodded to Blake. “Good luck,” were her last words as she rushed over to the last SUV waiting to leave the warehouse.
While the vehicle disappeared, Blake took a deep breath and returned to the safe. The door was unlatched but closed, obscuring the contents from view. Street clothes officers roamed around the warehouse, lounging like the White Fang had done just moments prior. Their standard-issue sidearms had been replaced with an assortment of street weapons, which they hopefully wouldn't have to use. Hearing heels tapping towards her, Blake turned around and found Mel, now wearing a dark red dress and heels, joining her.
“What do you think?”
Mel flipped her dark brown curls over one shoulder and smirked.
“Cinder would be jealous.”
Mel laughed and handed Blake a red and white mask, which Blake stared at while nerves bubbled in her chest. The next few minutes passed in a tense, quiet silence as they prepared for the storm to arrive.
Her heartbeat rose when that storm appeared in the form of a sleek black town car. It paused at the sentries before pulling into the warehouse, followed by four more armored sedans and SUVs that looked like something out of a movie. Behind one of those tinted windows was the person who thought that going after Jacques Schnee was a good idea. That person posed a threat not only to Vale, but to Weiss, Weiss’ family, and maybe even Ruby or Yang.
Blake had never considered herself to be much of an actress, but could she pretend if Weiss’ life depended on it? Ruby’s life? Yang’s?
“Don’t worry,” Mel whispered as the first door opened. “We’ve got your back.”
After taking a deep breath, Blake somehow found it in her to smile. She then put on her mask and prepared for the conversation to come.
Adam was right about one thing - Shroud was back.
But only for today, and only to tie up a few loose ends. As soon as this was over, she was going back to Yang’s apartment to eat leftover pancakes.