They were air-lifted to the nearest settlement with a hospital, accompanied by several squads of Schnee Militia. Most at the mine had to stay to ensure the peace amongst the roused workers, and to safeguard the mine for fear of whoever it had been to attack them.

All in all there had been three deaths, and four injuries. The Foreman, his driver, and one of the Schnee Militia that was standing too close to the explosion. He had been assigned to collect the grievances of the protesting workers. Among the injured was Grey Roberts, along with Reina Schnee, and two Schnee Militiamen who sustained burns trying to rescue those caught in the explosion.

As soon as they reached the hospital Grey was taken into intensive care, and the Schnee Militiamen who accompanied them were stationed at all the doors. No-one had any idea who was responsible for the attack, or what was the motivation. News was bound to circulate quickly through the continent, and from there to the rest of the Kingdoms.

The prognosis was… mixed. Reina and the Schnee Militiaman escaped with just some minor burns, only a few would scar. Grey would survive with proper medical treatment, and thanks to the vast resources of the SDC Grey received the best treatment possible. But even with that Grey would remain crippled for the remainder of his life. The right half of his body had sustained the most damage. There was nothing to be done for his missing arm. One of his legs had been likewise shredded, while the doctors salvaged it Grey would require a knee-brace, a crutch, and therapy in order to walk again. They had to remove one of his eyes it was so damaged, and one of his ears had been burnt to a crisp. Grey was so full of Painkillers he was rarely conscious for more than an hour at a time.

Reina tried to console her daughters after what they had witnessed. She did an admirable job of comforting them, but even she struggled to explain what had happened.

Within a week the SDC launched an official inquiry. The fact that their CEO was almost killed in a car bombing sent shockwaves of fear to everyone in the company with a high-enough paygrade. Most took a leave accompanied by a squad of SDC Militiamen.

For once however the media was not trying to tear down the SDC in the public's eyes. There was no need to manufacture disaster, for it was already in plain sight. Moreover they just wanted the same answers everyone else did. The Militia ensured that the paparazzi and reporters didn't break down the doors of the settlements hospital. Mr. Marley gave an official word to the press, which was basically the least information that they could get away with, that there was an attack of unknown origins, and they were looking into it. Basically what anyone observing could surmise themselves.

Mr. Marley himself was almost as taken aback as the Schnee family at all this. After all, these were surprise checkups that were being conducted, and Mr. Marley had been in the middle of such an inspection himself when he heard news of the attacks. For now he'd been instructed to take care of the SDC during the crisis while the Schnee family tried to recover.

It only occurred to the Schnee patriarch weeks later that it had been his birthday.

It was the first time he had met Grey's relatives.

They had been mentioned often enough by Grey. He sent a large portion of his paycheck to them and their family. The head of the SDC got little information besides that, mostly because he never asked. He had gathered some details, such as Grey's relatives were partly the reason he maintained his job even under his father. Whenever Grey was given leave of time off, he usually spent it travelling to visit his Relatives, who lived in a smaller town not far outside of Atlas Proper.

A Schnee Militiaman informed him of their arrival. There was a rather loud Faunus demanding entryway, claiming one of their relatives was in the hospital from the incident. They had been turned away of course, but kept insisting, and stated that Herr Schnee would admit them. They claimed to be Grey's relatives, so he allowed them to be admitted. They immediately went to Grey's room, where the faithful butler was currently unconscious and probably would be for the rest of the day.

He went to see them himself. Looking back later, he could find no reason for why he did. He didn't know them. He had no answers for them. He couldn't reassure them. But he went regardless, perhaps simply because it was what he was supposed to do.

They were a large family. All Dog Faunus of course. He was given the rundown of the family. Only one of them was actually related to Grey, at least by Blood. The son of one of Gray's cousin, the only member of his family still alive. Everyone else had passed away in some form or another. He had married a young woman, and had five children with her. Only one of them had become old enough to be a teenager. Along with them was his brother-in-law, and his family, his wife and two children.

The head of the group, Grey's only true relative, was the only one to rise to meet him as he came up to them. The rest looked up at him, with fear, shock, horror, and sorrow in their eyes. Some of it coming from him.

"Herr Schnee." Grey's relative said. "It is- an honor to meet you."

He simply nodded back, words caught in his throat. They were in Grey's room, where he lay on the bed, incredibly still.

"Perhaps we should talk outside." Grey's relative said, and so the two stepped just outside the room while the rest of the family stayed by Grey's side.

Finally, the man was able to gather some words to give to Grey's relative. "I'm… sorry."

Grey's Relative simply nodded. "I… don't like to admit it, but… Grey's money is the only way we get by sometimes. I work hard for a living. We maintain a small store. It's a, well it's a Dust store actually. A rather modest one. We live just far enough to be harassed by the occasional Grimm. It's a lot safer than most other places in the Kingdom, but people put a high price on safety. That said, there are… well I'll just say it, your company can reign hell on families like mine, and I don't mean about the fact that we're Faunus, I mean because we're a small business, and you are a very, very large business. Of course we're both a small business and Faunus. In other words life kinda sucks. So, if I'm able to support my family despite such hardships, well it makes me very proud. That said, I can't afford to inconvenience my family because of my pride. Grey makes more money than I ever will, serving you tea, and fluffing your pillows. He's never once complained about his job, and insists I take his money. To be honest, I sometimes feel like he's a stranger I'm supposed to know. The only reason we know each-other is that I'm the only family he has left. I've worried for him sometimes. But only rarely." He sighed, and stared at the hospital wall.

"... I can't overstate Grey's value to me." He told him. "I have no right to complain to you. But Grey was there for the hardships of my life."

"He's important to you too then."

"Of course."

The two men stood there for a while, simply contemplating.

Eventually things returned to normal. They had to. The world kept turning whether they cared or not. All the stockholders and chairmen stuck their heads out of their panic-rooms, and returned to work, albeit with more security than they had been before.

Still though, even though violence was not new in the history of the SDC, the atmosphere remained charged. Sure, they had withstood riots, Grimm attacks, marauders and bandits, even the odd execution, but never had someone so high on the totem pole been so directly threatened, brought within an inch of death's grasp. It made people ask uncomfortable questions.

The official inquiry came back eventually, a month after everything was said and done. The official conclusion it had brought was that it had been malcontents within the protesting workers. Explosives after all were readily available to them, considering they worked and mined the materials used to hunt monsters. The work done on the wrecks came back with indicators that the explosives were hand-made Dust explosives. The one used for the foreman's car was more well-made, while it seemed the one used for the Schnee Limousine was more-haphazard, more remnants of the actual explosive were intact, hence Grey was merely subjugated to a large fireball than the explosive force that killed the others.

The information was given to the press. It was a convenient explanation, the workers had been known to lash out at their employers, and there had been a protest at the time. It would have been easy enough for a malcontent, or a group of them to have prepared an explosive before-hand, as the protest had been planned and organized before hand, to use on the foreman when he inevitably came to investigate. News that the SDC CEO was in for a surprise inspection? Too good an opportunity to miss, even if they had but a moment's notice. Hence they cobbled together a secondary explosive in the scant amount of time they had that day. The only thing that had spared the Schnee family was that the malcontents jumped the gun while they were outside the Limousine.

As a result, paranoia was on a new high throughout the SDC. What good were their old measures if even the CEO was at risk for his life? New policies were swiftly enacted to ensure safety. The workers needed to be observed, controlled. The Militia needed more tools to ensure safety. The employees needed more protection.

All of which the CEO of the SDC opposed. But all force and might in his objections were rendered hollow at how it had been his life at risk, surely after all he of all people understood the board's concerns. It wasn't just for the sake of the company after all, it was for the safety of the lives of their employees, for which they justifiably worried. And the ball was already rolling after all, when Mr. Marley was temporarily put in charge of the company he agreed with these statements wholeheartedly, it had almost been his life at stake after all, and he passed many of these motions in the name of safety.

The CEO was…. suspect.

"You believe the attacks were orchestrated from within the SDC?" Hugh Donnet quickly surmised.

"I strongly suspect it." He responded. "After all, violence in the mines has gone down since I've taken over from my father. And the protest was organized by a Faunus Rights Group, who have made nonviolence one of their core-ideals. I keep an active eye on the ledgers, it is my job after all; yes with the rise of Faunus Rights Activism we've seen more protests, and cases of what are innocently listed as 'incidents' in our mines and outside our facilities, but nothing such as this. What the SDC wants the world to believe is that they are victims of what could not be called anything else but an act of terrorism by our workers, by the Faunus. An act of genius that has turned everyone in my company into reactionary zealots, fearing for their lives. Men and women not prone to reason, lashing back out against them, reigning them in so much I fear they'll suffocate."

"A rather melodramatic way to put it." Hugh Donnet said.

"Really?"

"Well, I think you can be forgiven since this would be a highly personal matter after all."

"I've never thought of myself as melodramatic before." He muttered to himself. "Anyways- for these reasons, I've hired a detective."

"You hired me."

"Yes." The Schnee said. "I've done my research on you. You are of some renown, but not very well known by the public. You've helped crack several cold-cases for various police departments across the Kingdom."

"You know I'm good at what I do, but not so good that I will catch wayward attention for investigating for you." The Detective cut in.

"Correct. You will be doing this in an unofficial capacity after all."

"Of course." Hugh Donnet said. "Why would I expect the most prominent employer in my career to employ me in an official capacity?" The detective shuffled around in his chair for a bit, toying with his cane. "May we go over the details of the case? What do you think may have happened?"

Herr Schnee sighed, collecting some of his thoughts. He had been thinking this over for the last six months since the official inquiry came back.

"My personal thoughts? I think this may have been a plot from within my company."

"Really now?" The Detective said. "An assassination plot?"

"It's not a secret that I'm not well-liked." He explained. "Not by anyone really, if were to die? The board members would line their pockets, and I'd be a footnote in the eyes of the masses."

The Detective mulled that over. "But you can't act on suspicion alone."

"Hence why I've hired a private investigator."

"Hence why you hired me." Hugh Donnet said. "Are there any leads you have for me?"

"Mr. Marley." He said. "He's been the one man in my company that prefers working with me to working against me. However: He was also the one man who knew where I'd be when the bombing occurred."

"So you suspect him?"

"I'd prefer not to. I've considered him a… friend, for quite some time. Something I've found myself in chronically short supply. But in my absence he passed many procedures through my company, despite knowing my stance on them. And as I mentioned- no-one else was informed of my trip."

"Pardon me Herr Schnee, but I doubt that to be entirely true." Hugh Donnet said. "I did some research. Your family and your Butler accompanied you, no?"

His gaze hardened at the man. "You are not suggesting-"

"I'm not." The Detective swiftly assured him. "However you hired me for my expertise, and I've found often times the reasons that crimes remain unsolved, is because there is some information that is willingly ignored. I will be sure to investigate this Mr. Marley for you. But at the same time we must consider the whole picture. Your family, your Butler, they accompanied you. I trust your faith in your family, and your Butler was someone personally injured. However- someone organized transportation- someone handled the particulars."

"... my Secretary. Hazel. She handled the… particulars."

"Rest assured Herr Schnee-" The Detective said, taking a sip of his warm drink. "This is merely for the sake of thoroughness. I would cast suspicions on no-one at the moment. Your Secretary, how much information did you give her?"

"Pretty much all of it. She handled every detail, she's very capable."

"I see. And I'm assuming she handed orders down the chain. Do you know how many details were spread?"

"Unfortunately no."

"Then I'll have to find that information myself." The Detective put down his drink, and fiddled with his cane. "Well then… I feel I must give this disclaimer to you, Herr Schnee, I don't know where my investigations will lead. I don't know if I'll find an answer you enjoy, or if I'll find an answer at all. And I don't know how long my investigation will last."

"I understand." He said. "... My family was at risk. I've had to suffer many things to get where I am. And I suspect I'll suffer many more. But whoever is at fault here- they endangered my family. Those who are precious to me. And that is something that I can not suffer. I will give you whatever tools I can. And whether you succeed or fail, I will get to the bottom of this.