"When I sell liquor, it's called bootlegging; when my patrons serve it on Lake Shore Drive, it's called hospitality." ~ Al Capone.
Luckily I wasn't forced to use that gun anytime soon. A couple of my coworkers however weren't quite so lucky when they had their run-ins with the 24k Dragons. A least four other cabs got thrashed along with their drivers. I was asked a couple of times to work double shifts since some of the guys were in the hospital, O-Ushi certainly made sure that I got paid well for the trouble.
I was honestly lucky that those thugs just tried smashing up my cab. One guy had one of the dragons drive up with a motorcycle and threw a molotov cocktail through the open window. Lucky for him the bottle didn't break but the burning rag certainly left him with a few scars. After that O-Ushi made it very clear that we were supposed to keep the windows closed at all times because of that.
And it wasn't just O-Ushi getting flak from these guys either. Tonen too had some trouble with some guys trying to bust up his shop and tag the place with graffiti. I was at my apartment enjoying some miso soup Hana had given me when he called.
"Hey Jaune!" Tonen said to me. I didn't even know that he had my number. "I'm working late here at the shop and I think I saw some 24k boys driving by, you got that gun O-Ushi gave you?"
"Uh yeah," I told him, looking at it laying on the table in front of me.
"You been drinking?"
"No," I told him.
"Then get your ass over here! I need some extra muscle and they should know not to fuck with you!" He told me, "I'll make it worth your time, all you gotta do is stand around and look tough."
Tough? I thought. Since when did I look tough? I was the guy who wore a Pumpkin Pete sweatshirt. But if Tonen wanted me to be his muscle for the night then that's what I needed to do, besides it wasn't like I had any plans for the night. I hardly had a social life so I was probably going to watch TV and think about what was happening at Beacon.
"I'll be right there," I told him, sticking my food in the fridge and grabbing a jacket that didn't have a cartoon bunny on it.
"Hold on I'm sending a car." Tonen told me.
Sure enough after five minutes a car pulled up by the laundromat being driven by this guy Toshi. "You Jaune?" He asked me. I nodded to him. "Get in."
I climbed into the passenger side and he drove me to the shop. Tonen was waiting outside when we arrived. "Thank you for coming," he said, shaking my hand and passing both me and Toshi a pack of cigarettes.
"Just smoke and walk around the place with me for a couple of hours," Tonen explained to me, "my boys are putting the finishing touches on some nice cars, we'll roll them out when we're done and then drinks are on me."
We did just that, we walked around keeping an eye on everything occasionally stepping in to get some coffee. Toshi and Tonen both had guns under their jackets and one of his guys inside had a shotgun resting on a table.
"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" I said to Tonen as I lit what was probably my seventh cigarette of the night.
"Sure," he said as we scanned the sidewalk together, spotting an old van driving by that we kept an eye on until it rounded the corner.
"Why hasn't O-Ushi done anything about these punks causing her trouble?" I asked Tonen, releasing a breath of smoke. "I mean she has people, she has guns and if these guys used to work around here with her then why doesn't she just go and take care of them?"
"Oh she's going to take care of them," Tonen explained, "but it's a little more complicated than that, so far the 24k Dragons are just trying to make O-Ushi cave and let them sell dope around the neighborhood, they're busting her stuff and roughing up her guys. And we're returning the favor. But getting guns and shooting them up would be crossing a line, the 24k Dragons are protected."
"By who?" I asked. I had thought that all of the Mistrali gangs were in Junior's pocket at this point so hearing that one was not only giving one of Junior's underbosses trouble but was protected came as a surprise.
"These fucking Atleasians," Tonen explained to me, "several years ago they cornered the city's drug market and have been pulling in the smaller street gangs to push it."
"So why not let the 24k Dragons deal some dope in the neighborhood and collect your cut?" I asked him. "It sounds a lot easier than fighting them like this."
"We don't do that kind of business!" Tonen said to me firmly. "Junior has made it clear that he doesn't want anyone dealing with that shit, the Atleasians have no honor so we don't mind they want to sell their souls but they better keep it out of our neighborhoods."
"I had no idea you had such a strong stance against drugs," I said to him, finding the idea that these crooks were concerned about the state of their souls a little hard to believe.
"Hey don't be like that," Tonen chided me, "it's not like we got a problem making a buck over a bag of grass or anything. But if you saw the shit these dealers have to put up with you'd understand. The law comes down hard on drug dealers and they're a nasty web of deadbeats who'll sell their mothers just to keep out of jail. The law busts one dumbass kid who wants to party and the next thing he's taking the stand in court and pointing to whoever sold him the pills and putting everyone at risk. There's a lot of money pushing that shit and everyone is greedy and wants a slice of the pie, it's a bad business."
I nodded as I listened to him. "So if O-Ushi goes after the 24k Dragons the Atleasians will step in on their behalf?" I asked feeling like I was able to understand how things were going.
"Exactly," he said to me, "we're hitting the Dragons back right now but we aren't gonna strike below the belt until they do, and trust me the Atleasians may play dirty but they won't risk war over one gang that's punching above their weight."
I finished the pack of smokes as the hour passed. No one tried making a move on Tonen's shop the whole night. We were pretty sure that some guys pass buy to maybe try something but watching us patrolling the area was deterrent enough. Tonen paid us with a roll of twenties and a couple cartons of cigarettes before we drove off for the bar, no one even cared that I wasn't old enough to legally drink, not even the bartender.
I ordered a beer like everyone else and did my best to stomach it. Tonen and Toshi complimented me on the cars I had managed to find for me and told me some of their funnier stories, Tonen for example told me he got the nickname Eight Ton after he stole a eight ton truck years ago, apparently the guy that called him saying there was a white truck to steal and when Tonen arrived the truck the was supposed to steal was gone so he mistakenly took the eight ton. His boss called him a fucking idiot until they opened up the truck and saw that it was full of DVD players, apparently they managed to empy and hawk them all off in an afternoon.
"What do they call O-Ushi?" I asked after my third beer, I discovered that they tasted a lot better after you drank a couple.
"You don't know?" Toshi asked me as he stole a couple of fries out of my basket.
"They call her The Hammer," Tonen explained trying to line up a shot on the pool table.
"The Hammer?" I asked, remembering the old rust one that rested on her desk.
"Yeah," he said, knocking one of the balls into the corner pocket. "About ten, fifteen years ago she was growing up here and barely had cash to her name, she took to mugging people with a hammer and had a real nasty reputation, then as I heard the story one day one of Junior's guys was going around making collections when like an idiot he walks into her alley. She tries to mug the poor sap and when he refused she busted him up with a hammer, I heard she shattered his knee cap and proceeded to give him one hell of a dental bill before finding more money than she'd ever seen in his coat."
"Fuck," I said trying to imange O-Ushi as a kid cornering someone in an alley with that hammer, it was a pretty terrifying thing to imagine. "What happened after that?"
"Junior found out that one of his boys had gotten beat up by a teenage girl and stole his week's cut," Tonen laughed, lining up another shot, "so he tracked her down and had some of his boys drive her to his club and offered her a job."
"Just like that?" I asked.
"Junior recognizes talent," Tonen said, knocking a striped ball into a pocket.
"For beating people?" I asked with a chuckle.
"Damn straight!" Toshi said, "it's a tough business and she was a tough gal, I heard he even let her keep the money."
They spent the whole night telling me all kinds of stories like that. Everyone in this business has a story and I learned more than a few that night sharing some drinks with Tonen and Toshi. It was actually a pretty fun night, I learned that I was actually pretty decent at shooting pool and Toshi could even sing karaoke. I actually forgot that I was Ozpin's spy that night, it was probably all the beer and the shots Tonen ordered but it was the best time I had since I left Beacon. Toshi even tried being my wingman to a couple of girls who were there. I didn't go home with anyone but I actually scored a phone number for the first time in my life.
The next morning however I woke to regret all the alcohol and cigarettes. I learned the truth about hangovers that morning. I honestly didn't even remember going back to my apartment that night and I called Tonen to learn that we called one of O-Ushi's cabs back. I spent the entire day in my apartment curing the laundromat below me and avoiding bright lights. Thankfully it was my second day off and nobody called me to do anything.
The next night I was back in the cab and my first customers were several VIPs all in a row. What's more, all of them had me drop them off at Junior's Club and they were tipping me even bigger than usual. So it was clear as day that something was going on.
I stopped off downtown and watched as these two really hot girls walked out. They were both green eyed and black haired. One was dressed in an elaborate white dress with a sharp pair of stiletto heels while her counterpart wore a similar red and black dress with evident bladed gauntlets. Both had fur stoles both white and black respectively to their outfits. Aside from the red one having shorter hair they looked almost identical and I realized they were twin sisters by the time they opened the cab doors.
"Junior's Club," they said in unison as they situated themselves in the back seat.
"That's a pretty popular place tonight, you're the fourth ride in a row I've taken there" I commented trying to make some small talk and figure out why tonight of all nights that was the place for Mistrali gangsters to hangout.
"It's the grand reopening," the red one said.
"Some blonde bitch tore the place up over a month ago and now it's finally fixed and better than ever," the white one explained to me.
I nodded along, this was the first I was hearing about some blond tearing up Junior's club or anything like that.
"Sounds like fun," I said, actually meaning it, so far the club looked like it was going to be packed.
"Oh it will be," the girl in white told me, "plenty of drinks and dancing and fun for all."
I chuckled a bit at that, "I'm surprised the two of you are taking a cab instead of having your dates chauffeur you."
The one in white giggled, "we're planning on playing the field tonight, see if we meet anyone interesting."
"Well happy hunting," I said to the two of them as we approached the club.
The street was crowded with cars dropping people off for the club and the sidewalk was packed with average people wanting to get into the club at the behest of the bouncer. A ton of O-Ushi's cabs were pulling up to drop off whomever while other guys drove up in their fancy sports cars with their loud engines and let their valets park. It was a hell of a sight, it was like a parade of gangsters outside the club.
"Let us off down the block over here," the red one said pointing down the street over my shoulder, "it's too crowded here."
"Yes ma'am," I said obediently pulling away from the overcrowded street and going down the road to a safe spot to drop the two of them off.
"Motherfuckers!" The one in white cursed behind me suddenly as I passed by an alley.
I turned back to see her turn around in her seat, she clearly didn't bother buckling up. "Is there a problem?" I asked her.
"Turn around," she said, "drive down that alley."
I didn't bother to argue or question her demand and proceeded to do an illegal U turn before heading down the alley. It was then that I saw exactly what had infuriated the girl so badly. A couple cars were parked down the alley where a small crowd of people clearly dressed to go clubbing were talking to a couple of 24k Dragons.
"Those fucking cocksuckers!" the white one said leaning forward to glare at them as they all looked down into my headlight casting long shadows down the alley. "Selling that shit less than a fucking block from the club!"
"We need to teach them a lesson Melanie," the red one said.
"Damn right we do Milta," the white one said, opening the door and stepping out to approach them, her stiletto heels clicking loudly on the concrete.
"Wait in the car," Milta instructed me before closing the door to follow her sister.
I did exactly as I was told and watched through the windshield. The several clubbers watched as the twin sisters strutted their way towards them glaring at the four dragons who were already pulling out lead pipes and chains for their weapons.
"Leave!" Melanie said to the clubbers with a very dangerous voice.
They obeyed scrambling to leave the alley before the trouble started. A blonde girl passed by Mel clutching a plastic ziplock bag with some pills inside. Mel snatched the little baggie from the tiny blonde's hand and threw it to the ground and stomped on them.
"Hey!" the blonde protested, "I paid for those."
Melanie grabbed the girl by her blouse and yanked her back, tearing it in the process. "Get the fuck out of here you druggie bitch!" She growled not bothering to even look back at her. "And don't you fucking dare let me catch you at Junior's club!"
I was on the edge of my seat watching this all unfold before me. And not in a bad way, seeing these two hot as hell girls strut down the alley towards those punks made me regret not having a bag of popcorn. Just seeing that these gals had huntsmen weapons and their cool demeanor told me they probably had the situation well under control.
The dragons were the first ones to make a move. The first guy charged in like an idiot and swung his chain at them. Milta caught the chain in her claws and used his momentum to throw him hard to the ground.
"Melanie, these guys have balls. Coming here, dealing drugs, raising their hands to us," Milta said as the guy on the ground groaned in pain.
"They certainly do Milta," Melanie responded, "we should show them what happens to punks ballsy enough to fuck with Junior!" Her shapely leg rose up and she slammed her stiletto heel down on the guy stomping on his groin.
The memory of that punk's shriek of agony echoing down the alley still sends shivers down my spine. Brave or stupid the other three charged the twins in a desprate attempt to gang up on the two of them. It went as well as could be imagined. I watched the two of them make short work of them, some rusty pipes and a chain were nothing to the flurry of claws and bladed heels they faced.
They didn't kill any of them. Melanie had left two with a couple broken ribs and a few cuts, while Milta had cut the other guy up enough to need a hell of a lot of stitches. But the fight didn't quite end there sadly. From the other end of the alley two lights shone back and the high pitched hum of a motorcycle announced that we had company.
Two guys sporting their 24k Dragon jackets drove right past, two more sat bitch clinging to their buddies waist. One took a swing at Melanie with a baseball bat with some nails while the other tried blasting Milta with a sawed off pump shotgun blasting a trashcan full of buckshot.
They reached the end of the alley and stopped their bikes to turn and let their passengers off. Melanie didn't let up and charged only for one of the bikers to spur their ride forward to meet her raising a machete while his buddy tried doing the same to Milta.
I may have been told to wait in the car but I wasn't feeling so comfortable watching this fight escalate. Don't get me wrong Mel and Mil certainly seemed capable of handling four more guys but I wanted to make an impression and show initiative like Ozpin told me. And I didn't want to explain to O-Ushi that her cab was hit by buckshot and I just watched from the inside.
I grabbed my tire iron and threw the door open. Sure I had a gun but it was the last thing I wanted to do to kill these guys. The first guy who had the bat turned and saw me and I charged him first. I parried his swing and reposted with a strike to his left arm, he screamed in pain as it dropped but he kept hold of the bat and swung it right at my face.
It was a good solid swing. My aura flared up and shielded me. The nails bent and the wood bat splintered against the aura leaving me unscatched. I hit the guy again in the leg sending him down.
I turned and spotted the thug with a shotgun who clearly noticed me knocking the shit out of his friend. He raised his sawed off to me ejecting the shell. I threw the tire iron at him in an act of desperation. It tumbled through the air and hit him in the shoulder. He flinched and the gun went off harmlessly blasting the ground. I charged him and grabbed the barrel of the gun with my left hand wrenching it away as I slammed my fist into his face.
His nose made a wet crunch as my fist impacted against it. I pulled my hand back and punched him again and again as hard as I could. He let go of the gun and I swung it at his face sending him down.
I turned to see the guys on the bikes racing down the alley for the twins. Melanie jumped and kicked the first guy off his ride letting it crash into a dumpster as he cried on the ground. Milta had parried one of the machete swings and slashed the tire making the guy crash.
"Fucking bastards!" Melanie cursed grabbing the first guy and smashed his head against the car. "You draw guns on us!? You fucking ruined my dress!" She cursed pulling the motorcycle helmet off before kicking him in the face.
"Calm down Melanie!" Milta said, "don't kill him!"
"We fucking should!" she hissed, "They pulled guns on us Milta!"
"You heard Junior, we're not supposed to escalate things," Milta explained to her sister.
Melanie snarled and dropped the poor guy, "fine," she said, turning her eye towards me.
"I thought I told you to wait in the car," Milta said, walking up to me.
I shrugged, "I wasn't about to let these guys make a mess of O-Ushi's cab, besides there were enough of them to go around."
Melanie laughed, "get a load of this tough guy Milta," she said looking at the two thugs I left on the ground in a world of hurt. "Listen up assholes! Get the fuck out of here right now before more of Junior's boys show up, they might not be so merciful."
Milta reached into the open trunk of their car pulling out a big bag of pills and tore the seal off before dumping the contents into a rain puddle. "And keep that shit away from our turf!" She said to them before falling into step alongside her sister.
I climbed back into the cab and they joined me. This time Melanie climbed into the passenger seat next to me. "Son of a bitch, that asshole got blood on my dress," she said looking down at her skirt as I backed out of the alleyway.
"I could drive you back to your apartment to change," I suggested to her.
"Yeah thanks," Melanie said to me and I turned down the road to retrace my drive back to their apartment building.
"Like this is bad Mel," Milta said, sitting behind her sister, "we're less than a block away from the Club."
"It's that fucking blonde bimbo's fault," she cursed knocking her fist against the dashboard, "ever since that bitch trashed the club everyone thinks they can disrespect Junior, but we'll have to show them better."
I just listened to them as I drove but Melanie looked over at me. "What's your name?"
"Jaune Arc," I said, "short sweet rolls off the tongue." I looked at her, "You're Melanie right?" I asked her.
Melanie giggled at that and nodded, "Melanie Malachite, and this is my sister Milta. Thanks for the assist Jaune, Like I didn't realize O-Ushi's drivers packed aura."
"Yeah," Milta said, "like if I knew I'd have invited you out to bust their heads with us."
"As far as I know I'm the only one of her drivers who does," I explained feeling more than a little flattered.
"Well Jaune you can be sure that Junior and O-Ushi are going to be hearing all about this from, we'll put in a good word for you." Milta said, flashing me a smile.
"You should come to the club with us," Melanie said to me grinning like a cat.
"That's a good idea sis," Mel said.
"I'm not exactly dressed to go clubbing," I said to them, looking down and realizing that I too had some spots of blood on me from punching the hell out of that guy. I thankfully wasn't wearing my Pumpkin Pete hoodie. "Besides, I'm working tonight."
"We'll owe O-Ushi a favor," Milta told me.
"Yeah," Melanie agreed, "and like we probably have some clothes that'll fit you, enough guys have left their laundry behind."
I blushed a little at that. The idea of borrowing some clothes from their old hook ups was awkward to think about. "I don't know," I said trying to think of a reason to protest as I pulled up beside the sidewalk for their apartment.
"Hey!" Melanie said, cutting me off, "You want a tip right?" She asked me, opening the door to step out onto the sidewalk.
"Uh yeah?" I said dumbly.
"Well your tip is getting a free suit and taking my sister and I out dancing tonight," she told me with a confident grin.
"Take it or leave it," Milta said, giving me a playful wink before they closed their doors and walked off for their apartment.
It took me a few seconds of watching their hips sway as they walked away to make my decision. "Fuck it," I sighed and opened the door to follow after them. I was supposed to be trying to get in with these crooks and if Junior was hosting a get together then that was where I wanted to be, and besides it wasn't like I'd ever had two gorgeous girls ask me to tag along and go dancing.
"Good call tough guy," Melanie said as we walked in and took the elevator up all the way to the penthouse.
"Wow!" I exclaimed stepping foot in their home and seeing the view of the city. "Nice place!"
"Thanks," Milta said moving past me.
I looked around idly as Melanie went to her room to change while Milta excused herself to look for something that I could wear. As nice and undoubtedly expensive as this place was, the twins were not exactly what I would call cleanly. They had plenty of junk and dirty clothes lying around and a kitchen that clearly didn't see regular use.
In a few minutes Milta came back with a black button up shirt and slacks and told me to change in the bathroom. I stripped off my bloody shirt and jeans and pulled the shirt and changed in a few minutes. The shirt and pants fit me well enough and I actually took a moment to check myself out in the mirror and try to make my mop of blonde hair somewhat ordered. I figured that if I was going dancing with a couple of girls I should at least try to clean up.
When I was sure that I did the best I could for my hair I stepped out to find the both girls waiting on me. Melanie had changed into a white short skirted silk dress with cyan flowers embroidered on it. It showed off her shapely legs and she still wore her pair of bladed heels. To my surprise Milta had also changed into a similar red and black dress but with a slightly longer more conservitive skirt. I wondered if they always coordinated their outfits.
"He actually looks kind of sharp Melanie," Milta said, stepping forward to hand me a black blazer to complete the look. I blushed silently as I accepted the jacket pulling it on.
"He certainly does Milta," Melanie agreed scanning me up and down with her emerald eyes like a predator, "those threads agree with him."
I scratched the back of my head nervously and chuckled, "thanks," I said following as we left out the door and took the elevator down. Within a few minutes we were back in the cab driving for the club once more.
We parked down the block like they had wanted me too and a glance down the alley showed that the 24K Dragons we had left there had left. I opened the door for Milta who smiled happily at me stepping out and grabbing my right arm. Melanie let herself out and did the same holding my left arm leaving me flaked on both sides as we walked to the club.
Having a girl on my arm for everyone to see felt strange, it was a good feeling but a foreign one for me at the time. Having two on the other hand was almost more than I could take. We passed the long line of people trying to get into the club and I could feel them all staring at me. The bouncer took one look at the twins and motioned for the three of us to go in. For maybe the first time in my life, I felt like a bigshot, it was a weird feeling I'll tell you that.
We stepped through the doors and my senses were assaulted by the flashing white lights and lasers above as a steady beat sounded from the DJ booth. I had never really been someone to frequent nightclubs but once my eyes adjusted to the flashing lights it actually looked nice. The music was certainly nice and wasn't too loud and the checkered tiles of the dance floor glowed illuminating the dancers as they moved to the beat of the music.
Melanie took me by the hand to lead me immediately to the dance floor. I had expected that the three of us would ease into things with a couple drinks to start but the twins clearly wanted to lose themselves to the music.
Stepping onto that illuminated floor Melanie turned and looked me dead in the eye as she began moving to the rhythm of the music. We were in the middle of the throng of dancers and I tried my best to move with her.
I've always been a good dancer, years upon years of shared dance lessons with my siblings had certainly paid off. Honestly if I had known how much being able to dance well would have helped me down the line I wouldn't have complained so much growing up.
Milta danced too alongside us. The rhythm was easy to read and follow and I had no trouble mirroring the way the girls moved along with everyone else in the crowd. I was actually accustomed to far more elaborate dancing.
Melanie took my hands at one point and placed them square on her hips allowing me to touch her. We moved together, it was like the whole dance floor was a single entity moving as one to whatever beat the DJ laid down.
Milta slipped in beside her sister taking one of my hands and directing it to her as well. The motion was fluid and naturally blended with the rhythmic music. Sharing dance partners was clearly a natural thing for the two of them.
One of Milta's hands reached out and touched my chest running her slim fingers over me as if to feel what she could beneath the thin black shirt. Melanie turned around grinding her rear against me as her hands reached back and ran through my hair.
"Excited?" Melanie asked me looking back with a sinful grin.
I shuddered as her form slid against mine while Milta's hands explored my muscles. "I think you know the answer to that," I told her, feeling her butt wiggle against a particular part of my anatomy that should have told her exactly how excited I was.
Both of them giggled at my expense.
The dance continued on for several more songs. The three of us moved together into a form of harmony, communicating without words and saying more with glances and touches than anything else. Their moves and touches were certainly a lot bolder than mine, and they told me that they saw how nervous I was and they were enjoying every moment of teasing me.
As another song ended we left the dance floor behind and walked towards the bar. "Like you're a pretty good dancer," Milta complimented as I pulled out one of the bar stools for her and a second for her sister.
"I have plenty of practice," I explained taking a seat between the two of them leaning against the polished wood of the bar. "I took classes with my sisters growing up."
"Sisters?" Melanie asked.
"Yup," I said with a nod, "all seven of them."
"Seven!?" Milta said.
I chuckled and scratched the back of my head, "yeah."
The two of them laughed. Melanie motioned for the bartender to come over. "What's your poison Jaune?"
I shrugged, "surprise me, I'll have whatever you're having," I said. I wasn't really an experienced drinker and save for coming to stomach some beers I had with Tonen and Toshi.
"Three gin and tonics," Melanei ordered. The bartender ignored the rest of the patrons trying to get his attention as he fixed up the drinks.
I took the glass and took a sip enjoying the flavor as I looked out across the club enjoying the look of the place as the music continued to lay down a beat and the lights continued to flash and move to the rhythm.
Plenty of the patrons were of course regular civilians but there were a lot of gangsters hanging around too. And not just Mistrali gangsters either, I noticed more than a few Vale natives like myself sporting their customary suits and bling. It was like a convention for wiseguys here. I recognized more than a few of my VIP customers here along with a bunch of others. Over the last several weeks of driving gangsters around I had become rather skilled at picking them out of a crowd.
"Jaune!" I heard my name and turned to see O-Ushi along with Tonen and Toshi approaching the bar.
O-Ushi was dressed in her usual suit with a jacket covering the twin revolvers she carried. "What are you doing here kid? Aren't you supposed to be driving tonight?" she asked me.
"He's our date," Milta cut in setting a hand on my shoulder and setting her own glass down.
Toshi laughed at that looking at me, "careful kid, you get twice the heartbreak with these two."
"Speaking from personal experience Toshi?" I asked him.
"He wishes!" Both twins said in unison making Toshi grin guiltily at that.
"You should have asked me if you wanted to borrow him," O-Ushi said looking at the twins.
"He earned a night out," Melanie explained to her, "we spotted a group of 24k Dragons selling pills to a few clubbers less than a block away, we took care of them but when their backup arrived he stepped in, I think he's owed a night not."
O-Ushi looked back to me, "Is the cab fine?" She asked me.
"Not a scratch," I told her.
She nodded to me, "Alight enjoy the party," she told me looking back to the twins, "you two owe me a favor, ask me permission before you ask for forgiveness."
They both nodded and O-Ushi stepped away with Tonen and Toshi following behind.
"Thanks," I told the two of them, "for a minute there I was worried I was in trouble."
Melanie laughed, "Whatever, O-Ushi can be a tough bitch but at times but if she was actually angry at you then she would have said so."
Milta nodded, picking up her gin and tonic, "she's a big softy for her people."
I nodded, "that's good to know," I told them taking another sip of my drink. I looked out over the club again enjoying the atmosphere and searching the crowd for more familiar faces when I caught a flash of brown and pink hair. I did a double take spotting her looking right in my direction with her multicolored eyes.
They locked with mine and she blinked, sure enough the pink and brown switched somehow making them all the more alluring. I had idly thought about her since that one night, she was certainly hard to forget and that diamond ring had become a memento I had taken to carrying around like some sort of good luck charm. She walked towards me, hips swaying in an outfit that framed them quite nicely.
Melanie turned to me and noticed that I was staring. She followed my gaze and saw just who I was gawking at. "Neo!" she said recognizing her and hopping off her bar stool to approach, Milta wasn't far behind.
When Melanie reached her she put her hands on the short girls shoulders and bent down kissing her right on the lips.
I hadn't been expecting that.
It wasn't a long kiss but I could plainly see that it was heated. Neo ran a hand through Melanie's hair as they parted and turned to Milta who also claimed a kiss from her.
"Hey Jaune, come meet our friend Neo," Melanie called waving me over.
I hopped off the bar stool and approached. "Friend?" I asked her raising an eyebrow.
"With benefits!" Melanie said with a sinful smirk.
I nodded in understanding feeling my face go scarlet as my imagination went a little wild with that information. The twins giggled, they were able to see right through me. "Aww look Milta he's blushing!" She teased me.
"He's probably imagining the benefits of being our friend Melani," Milta said with a sinful smirk on her lips.
I ignored their teasing as best I could and turned my attention to Neo who was quietly watching with a measure of amusement. "Nice to meet you again," I said, offering her my hand.
She blinked at me and took it offering a friendly smile as she did so.
"You two like, know each other?" Milta asked, looking between the two of us.
"We met once," I explained with a chuckle scratching the back of my head, "on my first night driving O-Ushi's cab to be exactly."
Neo pulled her scroll out of her jacket and types on the screen with quick graceful hands. The twins clearly accustomed to the mute both pulled out their own scrolls and watched as the text message came through.
"You were her getaway driver!?" Milta asked, looking surprised at me, "on your first night?"
"I didn't exactly know that I'd be running from the cops," I explained, "things just sort of turned out that way, but hey we managed to lose the cops so I guess it turned out well."
Neo's fingers tapped across her scroll screen sending the twins another message. "She says you did well enough, she says you could work on your acting a little, that cop almost had you."
I felt a prick of embarrassment at that. "I'll be cool next time," I assured Neo who gave me a confident nod. How was it that every little thing she did was so alluring?
"Hey if we're going to swap stories we should all have a drink in our hands," Melanie said taking my arm as Milta took Neo's leading us back to the bar.
"Bartender!" Milta called out as she took her seat with Neo next to me. "One White Atlassian!" she ordered for Neo.
The bartender got to work making the drink, grabbing a bottle of vodka and coffee liqueur off the shelf. "How long have you been working for O-Ushi?" Milta asked me.
"A little over a month," I answered her.
"I see, she must like you a lot to let you carry a gun in such a short amount of time," Melanie said with a grin.
I wondered for a moment how Melanie knew I had a gun on me until I remembered how her and her sister were grinding against me on the dance floor. "It's probably because I have aura and showed that I could deal with the 24k Dragons giving us trouble."
Neo's fingers danced across the screen of her scroll as it rested on the bar and the twins looked to it. "Neo says her good word about that jewelry job also probably helped with that."
I chucked and raised my gin and tonic to Neo, "yeah thanks for that," I said, "and thanks for the tip." I fished the diamond ring out of my pocket letting it glitter in the club's flashing lights. Neo smiled and winked at me, I blushed like an idiot.
The bartender set down Neo's drink, I watched white clouds of cream swirling in the back like a storm as the pink and brown haired girl picked up the glass and took a sip. She gave the bartender a satisfied smile and a nod of approval.
The bartender lingered leaning in close to the girls. "Junior has business to discuss," he told them, "I suggest you all go back now."
Both twins sighed and tipped back their drinks downing the last few sips and leaving their empty glasses behind. "Oh well, if figures we'd have a meeting," she said looking at me and leaning in and planting a kiss upon my cheek before getting up, Milta leaned past Neo and gave my other cheek a matching kiss.
"Like, this will probably be a while so don't wait up for us Jaune," Milta said.
"But like call us sometime," Melanie told me as they walked away with Neo in tow, "we should go out again."
"I don't have either of your numbers!" I called out to them watching them go.
"Yes you do!" both twins said in unison as Milta pulled out my scroll and tossed it to me. I hadn't even noticed that it was missing. They probably lifted it off of me while we were dancing. I opened it and saw that sure enough they both had given me their numbers. I looked back to watch them walk away, Neo looked back and gave me a wink.
Why was I suddenly so attracted to thieves? I wondered, feeling more amused than annoyed that they had pickpocketed my scroll and unlocked it. I couldn't deny that those girls had style.
I stayed at the bar to finish my drink and decided to order another. I asked the bartender to surprise me with another gin cocktail.
"Enjoying the top shelf stuff?" Toshi asked, patting me on the shoulder and taking a seat next to me.
I nodded setting down the gin martini the waiter had made me down. "I heard Junior called a meeting," I said to him, "You should probably go back."
"Nah that's not for me," Toshi said, "this meeting is for official clan members only."
"I thought you were a member of the clan," I said, feeling a little loose lipped from the alcohol.
He shook his head, "Not like that," he explained, "not yet at least, I'm what you might call… an associate, I work directly for Tonen but I have no say in clan affairs."
"But you will one day right?" I asked him.
"I fucking hope so, but for now I'm just making my way earning for the clan and proving that I got something to offer Junior," he told me looking into his glass of whiskey.
"Well here's hoping you make it one day," I said, raising my glass for him.
"Here here!" he said, clinking his drink with mine.
We drank for a while together talking a little here and there about the gang and about the cars I had helped Tonen's boys lift. "Can I ever be a part of the clan?" I asked after drinking what was probably my second gin martini.
Toshi gave me a look, "afraid not," he said, "It's a Mistrali clan, meaning only Mistraians get in, the best you could ever hope to be is an associate like me."
I nodded drunkenly at that. I should have figured, criminals flock together on what binds them. As much as I had begun carving out a little place for myself here I was still very much the outsider. And that wasn't ever going to really change.
"You said those twins are twice the heartbreak," I mentioned, "is there a history there?"
"Not with me," he clarified, "a friend of mine took them out a couple of times and let's just say that he couldn't understand the concept of casual sex very well."
"Got ya," I said, understanding his meaning. I already figured the twins were just being fun and playful, but I couldn't help myself but wonder how things could have gone if Junior hadn't called a meeting and things progressed.
"Woah!" Toshi said, pointing across the club.
I followed his gaze and saw a ginger haired man strutting across the club in a white jacket and a black bowler hat and a cane in hand. "Who's that?" I asked, trying to recognize him.
"That's Roman fucking Torchwick," Toshi told me, "he's the head of the Torchwick crime family, if he's here for the meeting something serious must be going down."
I looked at the man striding across the club. This was the man that Ozpin suspected of being behind the dust robberies. Despite that I couldn't help but admire the swagger with which he walked and the cut of his suit and the cool but determined look in his eye. For a moment I pondered what it must have felt like to be him.