Three days since their last breakthrough. Three days of stake outs, lousy burgers, and cramped cars. They had been following a string of crimes for quite a while now. At first they had seemed unrelated, but the more Ren looked into it, the more suspicious he started to become. Jaune trusted him, and even though he wasn't really seeing it himself, he would stick with his partner 'til the end. After three days they had had enough of waiting around for the next report to come in and had decided to go see an old friend to see if they could find out anything new.

Jaune drove, and Ren observed. It was how they operated, and it seemed to have worked out for them so far. As calm as Ren was, his desire to constantly be 'doing' something to help the city made him a poor choice for a casual looking driver. And as much as he wanted to help, Jaune would get too hung up on minor details and miss something big with their surroundings. So Jaune drove, and Ren observed. They took what Jaune liked to call the 'scenic route,' winding through town to keep an eye on the streets, while Ren made sure that no one was following them. It wasn't as though they were trying to hide where they were going, but nothing good ever came out of being followed. They pulled up to their destination without incident, and Jaune parked, trying to ignore the growing sense of impatience in his chest. It was a nice enough place considering the neighborhood, but it wasn't someplace the two wanted to stay for very long.

Jaune exited the car first, wearing his brown suit and keeping his hands in his pockets. His clothes were somewhat wrinkled and it was certainly not the newest looking suit in town, but that suited him just fine. The dark rounded glasses he wore had been a gift from a friend upon his graduation, and with each step, the detective badge that hung around his neck bounced off his chest. Ren exited next, his black suit in sharp contrast with his partner's. Perfectly clean, not a wrinkle in sight, and well fitted, though still allowing him a full range of motion. While Jaune's was definitely an off the rack purchase, Ren's was A custom order, insisted upon by Nora. The detective badge that sat next to his hammer buckle on his belt gleamed in the sunlight, as if both had been polished that very morning (which they had). As they stood in front of the door to the bar, Jaune turned to his partner.

"Do you want to do the honors, or should I?"

Ren only smiled. "Has my opinion ever stopped you?"

"Well, I suppose you're right, let's get started then" Jaune answered.

As the door flew opened, the owner took a step backwards, already knowing that today was not going to go nearly as smoothly as he had hoped. The two detectives stepped in, Jaune leading the way. He had learned a long time ago that being obnoxious at first and then getting serious with them would do the trick most of the time. If not, Ren's calm manner and reasonable offers would certainly win them over. Some people called it 'Good Cop, Bad Cop.' Jaune had taken to calling it 'loser's choice.' As the two detectives made their way further inside, they looked around, as if trying to take the whole thing in. It was a practiced show, and one the owner was familiar with. As the larger man looked down at the two, all he could think about was wanting to punch the smug look off the blonde's face. But that wouldn't work. He had tried that, and all he had gotten himself in return was a new set of bruises and a few days in jail. He glared as Jaune smiled up at him. "So, Cardin. I hope business is going well."

"What do you want, Arc? I already told you everything you wanted last time. Or don't you remember?"

"Oh I remember all right, Cardin my my boy. You see, my memory's just fine, it's yours I'm worried about. Are you sure there isn't aaaanything else you might have...forgotten to tell me about last time we were here? Things like that do happen, I'm afraid."

Cardin watched as Jaune turned away from him and headed towards the bar. With a slow movement, Jaune slid his fingers across the bar top and brought them up to his face, as if inspecting for dust. He rubbed his fingers together and stared at Cardin with a smirk on his face, as if daring the larger man to try something. He picked up the towel that Cardin had been using to clean the bar before their arrival. With a smirk, he used it to wipe his hands, as if touching Cardin's property made him feel dirty. Cardin couldn't help the snarl that came across his face, and it only made matters worse when Jaune seemed to enjoy watching him get angry. With a swagger and confidence not thought possible only a few years earlier, Jaune walked back towards the owner and reached an arm around the larger man's shoulders. With a grunt, Cardin felt himself hopelessly fall under Jaune's arm, forced to hunch over. "C'mon now, Cardin. We go way back don't we? Surely there must be something else? I'm sure you've noticed the crime spree that's been going on for a while now. I know you well enough to know that you're better informed than this. So just tell us what we need to know and we'll be out of your bar and on our way."

Cardin looked to Ren for a little help, but the detective just stared back impassively. They all knew their part in this game, and his hadn't come up yet. Cardin sighed, knowing he was just prolonging the inevitable. "Fine. You want the truth? Here it is: there's someone new in town. Makes Torchwick look like a common thug. I'm not sure what his deal is, but he's been snatching up all the dust he can get his hands on. Even raided a few gang hideouts to get what they had. No one too big.. yet , but they're coming. The only one who might know more is that freak from the White Fang. You know the one, Violet; and no one's seen her in days."

Jaune let out a smile and patted Cardin on the back before letting him go. "Thattaboy, Cardin. I knew you wouldn't let me down."

Cardin stared as Jaune started walking towards the exit, and though it's what he wanted, he couldn't let him leave just yet. "Hey, You know the rules, nobody gets info for free!"

Jaune didn't even bother to look at him as he waved him off. "Nobody but me, Cardy. Nobody but me."

"One of these days Arc. One of these days I'll-"

Jaune was back on him in a flash, grabbing his tie and pulling him down to look him in the eye. He lowered his sunglasses a bit with his other hand so there was nothing in obstructing his view of his prey. There was a strange look in his eye as he stared Cardin down. It wasn't anger, or resentment. It wasn't even irritation. He didn't view Cardin as a threat at all, or even a nuisance. It was a look Cardin had come to hate.

"You'll WHAT, Cardin? Give me some false info? Send me to my death? No, wait, I know. You'll set a trap for me here. Grab some guys, wait in ambush. No... Not that, that's not like you at all, is it? No, you're more likely to send a few goons to my place when you think I'm asleep. That's more your style isn't it? But let's not forget, you've tried all of those things before, and how did those turn out for you, Cardin?"

There was a long silence as Cardin tried to hold Jaune's gaze for a few moments, but ended up looking down. Jaune patted Cardin's face twice, gently, mockingly, and all Cardin could do was ball up his fist. "Good to know we still understand each other, Cardy, my man. I'll be seeing you around."

This time, as Jaune headed towards the exit, Cardin said nothing to stop him. It was Ren who approached him next, holding out a folded piece of paper. On it were two pieces of information they weren't too concerned about sharing. That was the way Cardin's bar worked. You could get the info you wanted, but in exchange, you had to give up two pieces of valuable information to the bar. He may have been a bully, but he wasn't an idiot. People gave up a lot when they thought they were being careful, and placing two seemingly random pieces of info together could give you something unexpected. Even Ren and Jaune knew that they were likely giving more than they would like, but that's the way the world worked. Until they could take down the crime people liked Cardin fed off of, they would use every resource at their disposal. Cardin glared down at the detective, but snatched the paper out of his hand anyway. "Get out of my bar." Ren obliged.

As the two detectives got back in the car, they stayed silent, neither wanting to give anything away. It wasn't until they were a few blocks away that Jaune let out a huge sigh of relief. "Geez, that never gets any easier. I swear, one of these days he's gonna snap and kill me right there, badge or not."

"We certainly seem to be heading down that road yes. Still, it is a necessary deception. For someone like Cardin, strength is all they'll understand."

"Tell me again why it couldn't be you that acts like a jerk to the terrifying criminals?" Jaune asked, still a bit jittery, as he was after every time he had to act like that.

"The first reason is that because it's more unexpected coming from you, it's more believable. The second is that, if you'll remember, Nora ended up having the final word."

Jaune sighed. The night they had been deciding who would fill what role, they had decided to flip a coin. Not waiting for fate, Nora had grabbed the coin out of the air and declared that Jaune would be the one. She most likely had her reasons, but both men had the distinct impression that she just wanted to see Jaune act like an asshole.

"Nora won't be there to protect you forever, Ren. One of these days I'll-"

"You'll what, Jaune? Tell my wife? Tell the chief? No, that's not your style is it? No, you'll probably gather a few markers and draw on my face when you think I'm asleep. That seems more your style. But remember, you've tried all of those things before, and how did they turn out for you, Jauney?"

Jaune could only scowl as Ren interrupted him with a perfect imitation of his tone and speech. He even pretended to lower an imaginary pair of sunglasses. Ren would have made a decent asshole as well, if they had gone the other way, but once he finished, all Jaune could do was let out a small laugh. "Alright, alright. No need to rub it in. Let's just get going. I think I know who we can talk to about finding Violet. But Ren?"

"Yes Jaune?"

"This time, you go first."