"A Prince must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves." Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian political philosopher, from his manuscript "The Prince" in the year 1513.
I made breakfast for Melanie after she spent the night with me in my apartment. I was grateful to her and it was honestly the least I could do. I was very glad that I learned Ren's recipe for pancakes before leaving Beacon. Unfortunately it was a rather messy meal since Melanie couldn't help herself but tease me with the maple syrup. Needless to say we needed another shower before I called her a cab so she could leave.
She offered to stay around and keep me company. I knew she wanted to help me feel better about the hit but I couldn't keep her around, so after breakfast and some fun I assured her that I was fine and needed to do a few things before heading out for work. She could tell that I wasn't alright but I eventually got her to reluctantly leave me with a promise to call her that night.
Unable to put things off much longer I pulled the burner scroll out from the broken outlet behind the couch and called Ozpin. Listening to it ring my heart was beating a mile a minute.
"Mr. Arc… I was hoping you would call me today," he greeted with a very serious tone.
"Good morning sir," I greeted him evenly.
"You sent Miss Adel to the Atlesians last night," he accused me, flatly skipping past any further formalities.
I wasn't surprised. If Junior could figure that out then it certainly meant that Ozpin could. And I figured that I knew how he managed to figure it out. "Coco told you about that didn't she?" I asked him, fully accepting my part in what had happened.
"No, you just did Mr. Arc," he said pointedly.
I cursed at myself for being such an idiot.
"Miss Adel was in fact quite tight lipped about the whole affair and swore that she herself had found the smuggling operation and took action. Even when I mentioned your name she stuck to her story." He explained to me.
I was both embarrassed that I had let myself slip to Ozpin but impressed that Coco had done exactly as promised and kept my name out of it. I was going to have to make it up to her in some way.
"Mr. Arc… you put one of my students in danger," he said evenly.
"For the record she wanted to do it," I explained to him. "I just had to mention the guys that tried to take Velvet and it made her trigger happy."
"What she wanted is besides the point Mr. Arc. You used one of my students like a hitman, you put her in the line of fire!" He told me.
"She's a huntress, one of the best in her class. I knew she could handle herself." I defended thinking that calling Coco a hitman was a little dramatic. As far as the news had told me no one had actually gotten killed.
"You took advantage of her desire for justice Mr. Arc," Ozpin accused me.
"And what the hell did you fucking do when Yang busted up Junior's club!?" I shot back at him a little louder than I had intended.
"I didn't send Miss Xiao Long there," he said, defending himself.
"Maybe not… but you took advantage of it. And you sent me to spy on the Clan when I was expelled." I continued on.
"You agreed to do this mission Mr. Arc," he reminded me.
"And Coco agreed to what I asked," told him, feeling that it wasn't really that different.
I heard Ozpin sigh on the other end of the line. "We can go in circles like this all day Mr. Arc, what's done is done. Just… I do not like my students being treated like pieces on a chessboard."
Except when you're the one moving the pieces. I thought bitterly to myself. "Alright, I have some other news to talk about anyways. Last night… Last night Michail and Ryu were whacked."
"Whacked?" Ozpin asked me as if the word itself was foreign to him.
"You know… whacked. Hit, dispatched, liquidated, executed, murdered! I fucking killed the two of them and now they're pushing up daisies!" I growled feeling my frustrations unraveling on him. Ozpin was the one person who knew about everything and I was more than a little pissed at him.
"I understand," Ozpin assured me with a deep sigh.
"Do you!?" I shot back to him. "I seem to remember you telling me in the beginning that my job was just to observe and report, no fighting or any need for a weapon."
"Circumstances changed Mr. Arc and I am sorry for that, but it is a part of being a huntsmen." he told me apologetically. He released a deep and mournful sigh, "tell me everything that has happened Mr. Arc."
I proceeded to tell him all about the last couple days. About the meeting with Kenzo and how we realized the only way to get the 24k Dragons back into the Clan's good graces was to eliminate Ryu and Michail in a single stroke. I told him about how I pitched the hit to Junior and O-Ushi and how they agreed to it. And then I described the hit to him. How I blew both their brains out while Cardin Kenzo and Neo handled the rest of the guys there. I even told him about burying the bodies out in the Forest of Forever Fall where it was unlikely anyone would find them.
"Why didn't you talk to me before the hit?" Ozpin asked me after I had finished telling him the story.
"Would it have changed anything?" I deflected. I honestly didn't tell Ozpin because I was worried that he might've somehow tried twisting the situation in the Atlesian's favor. Despite the distasteful business the Atlesians were involved with Ozpin had seemed to favor them since they were not tied to the dust robberies. Like stealing dust was somehow worse than drugs or human trafficking.
"I don't know Mr. Arc but I might have been able to help you," he explained to me. I wasn't really convinced he could have. From my end of things it didn't seem like the old headmaster had so much as lifted a finger to make my job easier.
"Things were moving fast, Junior was authorizing the hit before I could have even talked to you," I told him truthfully.
"I suppose you are right," Ozpin conceded with a sigh. "Is the Clan going to war with the Atlesians?" He asked me next.
"The Clan is certainly preparing for it," I told him. "The Atlesians got hit hard and now it's their move."
"They are certainly at a disadvantage now," Ozpin told me. "I managed to keep the police from thoroughly questioning Miss Adel but between her actions and the media coverage law enforcement is turning their smuggling operation inside out."
I was happy to hear that. It meant that if the Atlesians did start a war it would be one on two fronts. No amount of bribes would be able to get the badges to ignore them. The corrupt ones would of course help whoever they could slip through the cracks sure but the operation was a bust. Michail's replacement would have to find other avenues to smuggle drugs into the city and people out of it.
"Well hopefully the Atlesians don't try anything too rash," I said, "apparently have a reputation for being trigger happy when war comes."
"Just be ready for things to get ugly," Ozpin told me. "Until then I suggest you capitalize on what resources and trust performing this hit has earned you, if war comes then the Clan is going to want what dust they can for the fight."
"I'll keep my ear to the ground," I promised him.
"Good… and Mr. Arc… you are doing very good work here," he said to me.
"Thank you," I told him flatly.
"I mean it Mr. Arc. You have pushed yourself far in this mission and I want you to understand that I am not only appreciative of what you are doing, I am impressed." He praised me.
"Really?" I asked him, feeling my spirits lift by his words. As much as I was beginning to loathe Ozpin I felt starved for the praise. He was the only person that knew the truth about what I was actually doing with the Clan. I hardly cared about what Ozpin actually thought about me but my dream of becoming a huntsman was the only thing I was holding onto. It was like a rope that I clutched to avoid sinking into this life I was forging as a gangster. Ozpin's praise was a welcome reminder that I was still holding that rope.
"Really, even if this incident with Miss Adel has put us at odds," Ozpin assured me. "You have faced danger time and time again and endured hardship. This path I set you on has had its difficulties and surprises and I am sure it is far from over. But you could have quit at any moment and here you remain. I will be proud to welcome you back through Beacon's doors when this is over."
I was like a parched man being promised water. Beacon was becoming a distant memory to me. As much as I had struggled through it it now seemed so easy in retrospect. Cardin's bullying seemed so inconsequential compared to the brawls I had with the Dragons. Trying to charm Weiss into a simple date just seemed silly to me now. Worrying about grades and homework seemed like nothing. Having fights where the only thing to get hurt was pride. Beacon seemed so soft and simple to me now.
"Thank you sir," I told him sincerely. "I… I needed to hear that."
"I am sure you did," Ozpin said sadly. "Keep me informed as things progress. I might need to interfere if it does lead to a war."
"I'll call you when there are any developments," I assured him.
"And once a week," he reminded me. "I still want to stay updated."
"That too," I promised him.
I hung up and took a heavy sigh. This whole mission was taking a heavy toll on me and I couldn't see an end anywhere. I hid the burner scroll and poured myself another cup of coffee with a shot of whiskey before calling Coco.
"Hello Jaune," Coco greeted me evenly.
"I saw your handiwork on the news," I told her." That was very good work."
"Don't mention it, stopping that kind of stuff is exactly why I decided to become a huntress," Coco said confidently.
"Well I just wanted to call to compliment your handiwork and let you know that I appreciate what you've done." I told her hoping that I could keep this conversation short.
"Jaune… what's going on with you," Coco said to me her tone becoming gravely serious. "You know after that night you helped Velvet and I out at the club I tried talking to your old friends. When I mentioned that club and... Yang told me it was owned by some bigshot gangster."
I suppressed a curse and tried to think about what I was supposed to say next. All I could do was voice my concern about it. "Did you… did you tell them about me working there?" I asked her with a sigh.
"No… I wanted to talk to you about that first, besides Velvet isn't too keen to talk about what happened," she told me. "And last night after the police arrived I had a little chat with Ozpin, he asked me about you, he asked me if I had talked you into this."
"I know," I told her.
"You know?" She asked back.
"Yes, and I appreciate that you kept quiet about me, but Ozpin was able to put the pieces together easily enough by himself." I told her, sincere about being grateful for her silence. But I figured that I couldn't very well expect Coco to keep quiet about me to my old friends if I kept her completely in the dark about what was going on. She deserved a few answers at least.
"You spoke with him?" She asked me.
"I did," I told her. "I'm… I'm on a mission for him but … it's secret and I can't say too much. But you did me a solid and you at least deserve to know this much."
"Y-you're serious!?" She said, surprised by me. "You're really serious."
"I am," I assured her. "And if you have any doubts then you can go talk to Professor Ozpin yourself. But please… don't talk about this with my old friends."
"Jaune… I still don't know what the hell is going on," she said to me. I could hear the worry in her voice.
"And you're better off being ignorant," I assured her. "The less you know Coco the better, believe me. When the time comes I'll tell you and the rest of my friends everything, but at the moment what is happening is between me and Ozpin. If you want to know more than you can go to the headmaster's office and ask him yourself."
Coco sighed with apprehension. "I don't like this Jaune."
"I'm not asking you to like anything," I told her. "Just keep quiet about this, I don't want my friends knowing about all of this."
"Why!?" She asked me. "Why is it alright for me to know what I know but not your friends?"
"For one I never planned on you or Velvet to stumble into that nightclub and need help," I explained to her. "And second I know that if Ruby or Nora or Pyrrha get worried that I'm in over my head then they won't waste any time to rush in and help me. I can't have that."
"Are you?" Coco asked me. "In over your head I mean."
"Not yet," I said, lying to her and to myself. "But if I am then I can call Ozpin."
"And me," Coco promised. "I still owe you a favor for helping Velvet. And if you're working for Ozpin then rest assured I'm on your side."
"Thanks," I said. "Just… keep your distance for now. When this is all over I'll explain everything to you and my friends."
"I'll also make sure Velvet doesn't say anything. Just… be safe Jaune… plenty of people here at Beacon would hate to see anything bad happen to you" she said with genuine concern in her voice.
"I will," I promised knowing that I was far past safe at this point. "Believe me when I get back I'm going to have stories you'll never believe."
The call ended and I finished my coffee, With nothing else to do I decided to get back to work and keep myself busy.
I called up Cardin and maged to get him and the rest of his team to meet up. With the hit over I decided that I should finish cleaning my own business up. Cardin managed to tell me about the rest of my bootleg sellers that Jun and he had coerced into selling drugs for the Atlesians. We managed to clear them out and give up the drugs with some idle threats and a few back alley beatings. The five of us managed to clean Toshi and I's operation up in just a couple of days.
I had a few meetings with Kenzo to see that he was getting a handle on the 24k Dragons. With Ryu out of the picture Kenzo had little in the way of opposition. His supporters had given him a strong front to take control of the gang and with Junior's help he was settling the gang's accounts with the Atlesians. Unofficially the 24k Dragons were being welcomed back into the fold of the Kuroi Kuma Clan. There was still plenty of bad blood between the gang members and the Clan but it was a start.
The Clan was prepared for a war to break out. Kaiu made sure that everyone was properly armed. He insisted that I throw out the cheap sawed off shotgun that I had used on Cardin and his team and got something better. He sold me this sleek black semi auto shotgun with an adjustable stock. It wasn't as compact but it shot like a dream and Kaiu sold it to me at a discount. With war on the horizon Kaiu was selling iron to the Clan cheap, he said he would be damned if he let his Clan be outgunned by the Atlesians.
My weekly range visits soon were joined by the rest of team CRDL who I insisted carry handguns at least since their huntsmen weapons weren't always practical to carry around. I wanted my whole crew to be armed and ready.
I didn't really know what to do with the fat envelope of cash Junior had given me for the hit. I tried giving some of it to Cardin for his role but he reminded me that the help on the hit was to settle the debt I helped him pay off. He didn't want the money and I didn't blame him. But throwing it out wasn't going to do me or anyone favors so I kept it for a while.
I continued with my collections for O-Ushi and she had me making sure that most of the businesses under our protection knew to be on their guard. We assured them that we would protect them no matter what and to prove it we had wiseguys patrolling the streets as a show of strength. I had thought the 24k Dragons were a problem but clearly they were nothing compared to what people expected from the Atlesians. For several days we practically had a wiseguy on every street corner with either a sword in their hand or a gun in their jacket.
Five days after the hit I got a call from O-Ushi.
"Hello?" I said picking up my scroll.
"Are you home?" she asked me.
"Yeah," I said, turning off my TV and setting down Hana's leftovers that I had just microwaved.
"Put on your nicest suit we have a business meeting to get to," she told me, "I'm picking you up."
"A business meeting?" I asked her, "I don't attend business meetings."
"You do tonight, I'll be there in ten Jaune," she told me before hanging up.
Not one to question O-Ushi I went the whole nine yards and dressed in my best black suit with a red shirt and a gold tie. I put on my finest watch and cufflinks and shoes. Marcello would be proud to see me in his suit like this. I combed my hair back so I would't be showing up with my usual blonde mop. I completed it with a black trilby hat before stepping outside where O-Ushi pulled up and let me in.
"What is this about?" I asked her, knowing full well that she didn't tell me to get dressed up for the fun of it.
"Junior and Nicky are having a sit down," she told me as we drove through the neighborhood.
"Really? Who called it?" I asked her, finding this to be surprising. Roman having a sit down with Junior was normal but having it with the Prince himself seemed ridiculous. We were on the verge of a war and a sit down was happening.
"Really," she confirmed with me, "what happens next may very well be decided by what is said tonight."
"So why am I going?" I asked her.
She gave me a look like I was stupid. "You're the one that spotted that prick who drugged that girl and taught him some manners. You're the one that ran that drug dealer Jun out of town. Jaune… you're in the thick of all of this."
Fuck, I thought to myself. "So what do I do? What do I say?" I asked her.
"Only talk if Junior tells you to talk, be honest and tell the truth. But don't you dare mention that you were the one that killed Michail and Ryu. Understood?" She said.
"Got it," I told her. If I had so much as a toe out of line tonight I was going to be in serious trouble and I naturally had no interest in letting the Atlesians know that I was the one that pulled the trigger on Michail. "Should I hand over my gun?" I asked her, patting it in my holster.
"Keep it, everyone else is going to be armed anyways," she suggested to me.
"Is that wise?" I asked her.
"What's the point of asking everyone to come unarmed when we don't trust anyone?" She asked me. "If anyone decides to start shooting then it's going to turn into a bloodbath with the head honcho's right in the middle. Nobody wants that, it'd be suicide."
"It still seems like a potential recipe for disaster," I said thinking of numerous ways someone could decide to risk everything on willing a fight.
"Well the meeting is going to be in Roman's side of town. He's the one that made arrangements for the meeting and he certainly has the advantage." She explained to me. "If the Prince does try something at the meeting then he's going to be on the wrong side of town to try it."
"He trusts Roman enough to have this meeting in his territory?" I asked him. "I mean… Roman is hardly a neutral party in this, he'd side with Junior if anything did happen."
O-Ushi chuckled at that. "Yeah well that's what the Prince gets for being such a prick and collecting enemies like they're baseball cards." She explained, "He has to risk being with his enemies and trust Roman's vow that nothing will happen tonight."
Soon enough we were in downtown Vale. O-Ushi pointed out one of the sky scrapers and told us that this would be where the meeting was to be held. We parked in the garage and took the elevator up to the thirty eighth floor. We got out and spotted a couple of Roman's guys.
"O-Ushi!" A tall broad man exclaimed, opening his arms wide and approaching her to put his hands on his shoulders and laying a kiss on both her cheeks.
"Paulie!" O-Ushi said with a wide grin giving him two cheek kisses in return. "How are you dear? How's the union?"
Paulie chuckled. "We might have a strike on our hands," he said with a shrug. "Those damn Schnees never learn I tell you what."
"More fun for you?" O-Ushi asked him.
"You better believe it doll," he said with a satisfied grin. His dark eyes turned down to me.
"Is this your new associate?" He asked her.
"Paul Petrillo, this is my associate Jaune Arc, but you can call him Gentleman. Jaune Arc, this is Paul Petrillo but you can call him Pudgy." She introduced us as we shook hands.
He gave me a friendly smile and a respectably firm grip. "Pudgy?" I asked, returning his smile, "Pudgy Paul?"
He laughed and slapped his rotund belly. "Well Pencil Paulie didn't exactly make sense," he laughed, "you can also just call me Paulie."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Paulie," I said honestly. "You're with a union?" I asked, remembering O-Ushi's little history lesson about how the Torchwick family had jacked labor unions when they were building Mountain Glenn. It seemed that the racket was still alive and well.
"That's right, I'm with Mulo Trucking. If you got anything that needs to be shipped in we're the guys you should be talking to." He explained handing over a business card with a comical image of a pack mule dragging a trailer.
"I'll keep that in mind," I promised him. We stepped into the conference room together where we saw that both Roman and Junior were already there and seated while other wiseguys from both families remained standing behind their respective bosses. Tonen was there along with a couple others and the Malachites stood directly behind Junior's chair to either side. They gave me a nod but remained glued behind Junior the entire time. They were his personal bodyguards tonight and had no room to mingle with me.
Neo stood directly behind Roman and met my eyes. I smiled at her and she smiled back but I could see that the smile didn't reach her eyes. She was very clearly uncomfortable. Usually she carried herself with a predatory grace, she usually seemed relaxed whatever her environment. Tonight she was rigid in her posture.
I looked over to the one other empty chair at the table where I assumed that Nicky was expected to sit. Sitting respectfully behind that chair so far was a man and a woman. The woman had her platinum blonde hair pulled up in a severe bun and was dressed immaculately in a grey dress suit. The man next wore a simple black suit and stood statue still beside her. A pair of sunglasses concealed his eyes.
"Who are they?" I asked Paulie motioning to the two sitting behind an empty seat.
"That's "Clever Girl" Sophia," he explained speaking low to me. "She's one of the Prince's top captains, and that's her lieutenant "Bazooka" Boris."
"They're the only ones who have arrived?" I asked him, finding it strange that one captain and her lieutenant was all I was seeing of the Atleisans so far. "I thought the Atlesians were the ones who called this meeting?"
"Sophia and Boris are a part of the old guard," Paulie explained to me. "She and her right hand may be Atlesian but they know to mind their manners. This little Prince is probably trying to be fashionably late."
O-Ushi scoffed. "That little prick, I'm surprised that anyone of the old guard even follows him." She commented crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall.
Paulie shook his head. "People bend the knee to muscle and connections. It's the same no matter where you go."
I looked back to the table and actually spotted Roman looking over at me. I met his gaze for a moment as he talked to Junior and smoked his cigar. Having his attention, if even for a moment felt strange. I felt a sense of amusement from him as he looked at me.
More and more wiseguys filed in and took place behind their respected bosses. A handful more stood with the rest of the Atlesians. They certainly seemed less that pleased to be here and kept to themselves. I was fine with that, I had no interest in getting acquainted with the likes of them. Sophia and Boris on the other hand were stoic as they waited compared to their mostly younger counterparts, there were no sneers or pointed glares from them.
I took my place behind Junior and waited as we watched various guys from the different families take their places for the meeting to start. I kept looking to Neo as I waited standing behind Junior obediently. She occasionally looked back and caught me staring at her.
The doors opened and her eyes moved. Her gaze hardened immediately and I followed to see the newcomers. He was young, I had heard that the Prince was young but I hardly expected that he was so close to my age as a boss. He had bleach blonde hair with the tips dyed an icy blue and behind him trailed a half dozen of his men including a much older man with a bushy black and grey beard.
I looked back at Neo who's hard stare turned into an icy hateful glare directed right at him. I was honestly a little taken aback to see this woman who usually seemed so calm projecting so much hate with just a glare.
The Prince didn't seem to care. I saw him look in Neo's direction and flash her a smug little smirk. I was almost worried that Neo would leap across the room and attack him but she remained where she was as if her gaze alone could kill him.
Junior stood up from his chair and approached him offering a bow of respect. The kid just looked at him until the bearded man sitting behind him gave him a nudge. He eventually returned to bow of respect and the two bosses clasped hands in a respectful shake.
"Thank you for coming Junior," he said, releasing his hand. He turned to Roman who also offered him a respectful handshake.
"I am glad to be here so we might put this dreadful business behind us Nicholas," Junior said to him.
"Quite right," Roman agreed, releasing Nicky's hand. "It is always a shame to let a little feud get in the way of good business. Please… take a seat so we might get started."
Nicky looked at the leather chair that was seated across from Junior's and frowned. "I would like a seat for my advisor," he said simply.
O-Ushi clenched her fists right next to me. No one else had a second chair for their advisor to sit with them. The meeting was arranged so that only the bosses would be sitting at the table together. Everyone else had their subordinates sitting behind them to be called upon if needed. Essentially Nicky was suggesting that his advisor was on the same level as Junior and Roman. It was an insult to say the least.
The willful breach in etiquette barely gave Roman any pause as he motioned to one of his guys behind him. "Tony, go fetch a chair for his advisor."
The guy named Tony left without a word and returned with a humble metal folding chair setting it up. I suppose that was in protest to the blatant disrespect he showed. If it had been anyone else insulting Roman and Junior like this they would have been a dead man. But the goal tonight was peace so they overlooked the slight. Roman and Junior certainly weren't going to let it distract them.
Nicky took his seat with his advisor next to him.
"If there aren't any more delays I say we get right to business," Roman said, cutting the tip of a fresh cigar and lighting it. "We need to clear the air together so I suggest we all remember why we are here. We're businessmen and war is bad for business. We need to look past what has transpired and think about the future and what is most profitable."
"Very well," Nicky said, folding his hands in front of him.
"Agreed," Junior said to Roman. "I am ready to begin."
Nicky looked right at Junior. "Did you kill Michail?" He asked him flatly.
"He died on my orders," Junior admitted to him without skipping a beat.
"Along with four more of my own guys," Nicky said with a sneer. "You admit you were the first to shed blood!"
"Michail was in clear violation of our agreements," Junior explained to him evenly. "He was dealing drugs in our territory."
"He was selling drugs to the 24k Dragons," Nicky's advisor said speaking up with a rough gravelly voice.
"You are here to advise your boss Grigori," Roman spoke up to the advisor. "Not speak on his behalf."
The admisor, Grigori, gave Roman an icy stare before leaning close to whisper in Nicky's ear. "Forgive Grigori for speaking out of line," he said with a fake smile. "But he has a good point. Michail only sold to the Dragons. I, nor he can be held accountable for where they decided to sell our product. Your inability to handle a simple street gang is not my fault."
Roman looked at Junior. "Junior do you have anything to say to that?" he asked him.
"If Michail had only been selling drugs to the 24k Dragons then indeed it would have been my problem to settle." Junior agreed. "But we know for a fact that Michail also had a number of street dealers operating in our territory. One named Jun even tried using one of our associate's businesses to sell them."
Junior looked back at me and motioned for me to step forward. I obeyed and bowed to them all respectfully to keep my manners.
"An associate!?" Nicky scoffed at me. "These meetings are for made members only."
"This associate has been witness to many of Michail's transgressions. It was his racket that Jun tried using to push the drugs, he was the one who caught Michail's man trying to kidnap a woman from my club, and he witnessed an attempt on the lives of my underbosses. I insist that he be allowed to attend tonight." Junior explained looking to Roman.
"Considering this associate's level of involvement in the affairs at hand I think that it is only appropriate that he be allowed to attend and speak in such matters." He said, giving me an approving nod.
Mel and Mil both smirked at that and I even saw Neo suspend her deathglare to Nicky to give me an approving look. It felt good to know that I had their support at least.
"Thank you Roman," Junior said motion to me, "This is Jaune "The Gentleman" Arc and he will be willing to answer you about any of these incidents and more should you wish."
"Gentleman?" Nicky chuckled. "I did not think this was a business for gentle men." He said making a joke at my expense. I noticed Melanie flinch at the insult. But I just let it pass by. I wasn't going to embarrass Junior by looking like a hothead. If Roman and Junior could look past petty jab so could I.
"A pleasure to meet you Nicholas," I said respectfully to Nicky. "I am happy to answer any questions you may have for me." Watching him go red from my calm demeanor was quite rewarding.
"This is pointless!" Nicky spat. "I don't have time to listen to whatever lies your associate has cooked up about Michail."
"Mr. Arc is not a liar," Junior said calmly but firmly. He looked at me and motioned for me to speak, "tell everyone here about Jun."
"Jun coerced a number of my bootleg sellers to push drugs for Michail, he told me so himself. I even had to deal with some of his hired muscle defending him." I explained to him calmly and respectfully.
"Can I speak to this Jun?" Nicky asked me.
"I ran him out of town. But-."
Nicky cut me off before I could even finish explaining to him. "You see… how can I be expected to believe-."
"Let him finish!" Roman said, cutting Nicky off with a dangerous voice. "I want to hear what he says."
I nodded to Roman. "Thank you Don Torchwick," I said with a nod, addressing him by his official title. "As I was saying I have been spending the last several days dismantling the dealers within my own racket. I have numerous names and people that will verify my claims. Including the muscle Michail himself hired. I can call them here if you do not believe me."
Junior and Roman both stared at Nicky. Grigori leaned in to whisper something in his boss's ear.
"Well?" Junior asked. "Would you be willing to wait for these witnesses to arrive Nicholas?"
Nicky waved off the suggestion. "I don't have time for that. I'll humor you Junior, even if Michail was out of bounds then dealing with him should be left with me." I stepped back against the wall since my role had currently ended.
"I tried giving you the opportunity to bring your subordinate to heel. After we caught one of his soldiers trying to kidnap a faunus girl from my own club." Junior explained to him.
"That man was as you said was Michail's soldier. I left the punishment to him." Nicky explained noncommittally.
"If he works for Michail then Michail is the guilty party in that trespass." Junior insisted. "Instead he sent me the head of his soldier instead of receiving any punishment from you or going to me to make amends. If I had wanted the head of his soldier then I would have taken it myself."
"So you took matters into your own hand," Roman said, "Considering the list of offences it seems reasonable, especially considering the attempt of the lives of two of Junior's underbosses."
"I committed no such thing!" Nicky spat almost leaping across the table in anger. Grigori touched his shoulder to calm him.
"Perhaps not," Junior agreed. "But nonetheless a hit was attempted on my people and I have three people here that were there, one was even wounded."
"There is no shortage of enemies in this life," Nicky said to him.
"But the timing is certainly suspicious," Junior pressed him.
"What do you want me to say Junior!? I had nothing to do with that attempted hit and I know nothing about it!" He protested loudly with a bratty voice.
I didn't believe him. I don't think a single person there believed him. But continuing to accuse Nicky of a hit we had no proof he was behind would get nobody anywhere and only serve to undermine our goal of avoiding a war. Unlikely as that seemed with this little shit acting like a toddler.
"Let's move on," Roman suggested to him. "We are here to clear the air Nicholas, your subordinate was violating our agreements and thus Junior took matters into his own hand."
"I never told Michail to sell drugs or poach girls in your territory," Nicky told Junior.
"But he did," Junior said flatly. "I was within my rights to put out a hit on him."
"And the rest of my operation!?" Nicky spat as Grigori's eyes widened next to him. "Was that within your fucking rights!?"
Junior raised an amused eyebrow. He had been waiting for the Price to bring that up. "Whatever do you mean Nicky?" He asked calmly.
Grigori moved to whisper something in Nicky's ear but he pushed his advisor away to speak. "Don't play dumb! Did you have anything to do with that fucking huntress bitch shooting up my operation at the railyard!? Did you!? I have a dozen guys behind bars another dozen either indicted or under investigation and I'm up to my ass in badges who're pulling apart my operation!"
Junior remained placid. "Did you have that blonde huntress smash up my club?" Junior asked him back pointedly.
I hadn't been expecting that at all. Junior of course knew that I was behind Coco shooting up the operation at the railyard. But otherwise I had kept the Clan's hands completely clean of it. But Junior of course had to know that Yang was in no way connected to the Atlesians. It was a bluff. If Nicky could accuse Junior of using a huntress of doing his dirty work then Junior could suggest that Nicky crossed that line first. It was a trap and Nicky had charged right into it.
"You insult me by even suggesting it," Nicky hissed at him.
"And you insult me by suggesting that I struck your operation," Junior fired back.
"Well whoever pulled that stunt needs to pay!" Nicky swore looking over to Roman. "I lost my primary shipping route into and out of the city."
"That is not what this meeting is about or Junior's concern," Roman chimed in.
Nicky flashed him a hateful gaze. "So then let's talk about you Roman, your little dust heists have been brining down all kinds of fucking heat on the city. Even before that huntress bitch I was dealing with nosy cops. Not to mention those train heists that cost me product, I assume that was your work."
"We settled this before Nicky," he said dangerously. "The White Fang was the one who robbed those trains."
"It cost me a fortune! And I know you do business with them!" Nicky insisted, waving off his advisor and digging himself deeper into this hole. I kept thinking that this dumbass kid should shut the fuck up before this got any worse.
"There is no insurance in this business Nicky, you know that. And if my business has been giving you trouble from the law then I apologize but we all handle our own affairs with the badges." He blew out a cloud of cigar smoke. "But… I do have some friends in the Vale Narcotics Bureau that I could talk to about maybe loosening some of these charges. Would that make you happy?"
I felt like I was watching a little kid in a store getting offered a candy bar just to shut the hell up. I could hardly believe that this fucking pretty boy brat was the one heading the Atlesians in this city. It was a joke. His men behind him for the most part didn't seem to have a problem but I thought I had seen Sophia scowl behind him.
"That would be most appreciated," Nicky said to Roman. He flashed him a friendly smile, like he had slipped on a mask in front of everyone and expected everyone who saw it to be fooled.
"Then let us move onto other concerns as fellow businessmen," Roman said with a pleased grin.
"Agreed," Junior said, relaxing to have his enemy so easily defanged with a simple offer.
"In the interest of moving forward I would like to report the 24k Dragons under the new leadership of Togashi Kenzo have resworn themselves to the Kuroi Kuma Clan and are once more under our protection." Junior motioned to another one of his guys that placed a briefcase on the table opening it to show stacks of cash filling it.
"This is everything the 24k Dragons owe you plus interest," Junior explained to him. "With this money I officially sever any ties the gang have with you and your business."
Nicky looked at the cash. It hardly even helped with his losses but money is money and refusing it would have been accepting further losses.
This was all Nicky was going to get. Some political strings pulled in his favor by Roman and Junior paying him what the Dragons owed. Nicky was allowed to take what was offered and fuck off or leave empty handed to march into a costly war. A war that hadn't even started and he had already taken a hard blow from it.
"Very well," Nicky said, accepting Junior's offer.
The rest of the night became more orderly as various slights were mentioned and either forgiven or promises made for amends. Thankfully Nicky was able to remain cordial the rest of the night and listened to Grigori as he whispered into his ear. It seemed that everything went smoothly when Nicky was actually listening to his advisor. I was starting to think that letting Grigori sit next to him wasn't actually done as a sign of disrespect, but that he really needed his cool head and advice to remain in control of the situation. If anything letting his advisor whisper in his ear was making him look weak in front of his own people.
In a few hours of mostly standing behind Junior and listening to the meeting Roman called for it to be adjourned. Nicky wasted no time in leaving with Grigori and the rest of his entourage followed behind.
Junior pulled himself up and sighed. "That went far better than I expected," He admitted to Roman.
"You worry too much old pal," Roman said, patting Junior's shoulder and tucking a cigar into his front pocket. "Give the kid something and he'll back off."
Junior scowled. "For now," he said. "We didn't build anything that'll last tonight."
"What do you expect?" Roman asked with a shrug. "Toes get put over the line, a few people die and then we have a sit down before we do it all over again. It's the way it's always been."
"It wasn't that way when your old man was calling the shots in this town," Junior reminded him.
Roman shrugged. "Yeah well... those good old days are long behind us."
Junior only sighed sorrowfully at that. "Unfortunately," he said, shaking his head.
"By the way Junior you should be careful," Roman said moving right past me and flashing me a grin.
"Of what?" Junior asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"Of me stealing this Gentleman out from under you," Roman jibbed, slipping another cigar into my breast pocket.
He looked right at me with a pair of green eyes. "Nice hat by the way," he complimented before leaving the conference room. Neo flashed me a friendly smile as she trailed behind him. I could only wonder what she had been telling him. Roman doubtlessly knew that it had been me who pulled the trigger on Michail and thus was the reason for this meeting.
"How about you ride with me Jaune," Junior suggested, motioning to O-Ushi who was talking with Paulie.
"Yeah thanks," I said, following him out of the conference room and into one of the elevators.
"You did well Jaune," he said to me as we descended down into the parking garage.
"Uh… thanks," I said to him, stepping and navigating the garage till we reached his rather humble black sedan. Junior didn't feel the need to flaunt his wealth with exotic cars it seemed.
"I don't just mean tonight… you've been doing a lot of good work for me since you arrived. Tonight's success is owed to you and your actions. I'm pretty sure that if it wasn't for your little trick with that huntress we'd be at war already. Nicky came here tonight all bark and no bite." He explained to me as we got into the car together.
"Does Roman know about that?" I asked him.
"Not unless you told him," Junior said to me. "I think it's better if that just stays between the two of us. And I suppose that beret wearing huntress. Are you sure she will keep quiet about all of this?"
"I know that she will," I promised him. "She's kept my name out of it so far and I trust that she'll continue to do so."
"Good," Junior said, pulling out of the parking garage. "Have you had dinner yet?" He asked me.
"Nope," I admitted to him.
"Then let's go get some," he said with a smile. "You know… seafood pairs best with cigars."
"Sounds good," I said with a grin.
We went over to this little place. I got a nice grilled halibut and I tried oysters on the half shell for the first time. Afterwards the two of us walked the piers smoking the cigars Roman had given us. And the whole time Junior told me all about being a boss.