Disclaimer: This chapter contains mature content. Read at your own risk.

Author's Note: Alright, fine, here, have another chapter as an actual ending. It's still a shit one.

This chapter only exists because of u/Unjax and u/lightninglink4, and something called the "The Qrow's Nest Discord" which apparently featured the story.

Please enjoy.

Cinder's eyes slowly opened. The low-risen morning sun was bleeding through the bedroom's dark curtains, coating the room in a soft, pale light. She was still tired, her eyelids begging to shut and coax her back to slumber, but the cut in her side was aching. Pressing a hand to her side, Cinder could feel wetness and knew that the scabs had opened in her sleep once again. And so today's beginning was no different from the last or the ones before, since the night of the fires. What had seemed so inconsequential that frenzied night had become a source of immeasurable frustration.

Gingerly she peeled off the covers and examined the site of the wound. A patch of pinkish fluid glistened on her skin, with a fresh red droplet already forming at the bottom of the thin gash, and on the sheets a dark spot lingered. Purple and yellow bruising encircled the red cut, stretching from halfway up her ribs to her hipbone. Cinder had come to believe Ruby's bullet had not missed by as much as she had thought.

Cinder sat up, wincing as the movement agitated her injury, and turned to stand. The body sharing her bed stirred at the subtle disruption, and a pleased sigh whispered out from Cinder's bed-partner. "Good morning, Cinder," Emerald said quietly, yawning. Cinder said nothing. Emerald crawled across the bed and placed a light kiss on the older woman's neck, hugging her gently. "Is it hurting again?"

"Yes." Cinder grunted. "Always."

"Do you want me to-"

"I'll take care of it." Cinder stood, separating from Emerald's embrace, and walked the few steps forward to her wardrobe. "Go and check if Mercury is here. Have him get us something to eat. We're going to be busy today."

Emerald nodded behind her. "Okay." The younger woman climbed off the bed and padded out of the room, taking a bathrobe off a coat hook on the door to cover herself with as she went.

Cinder waited until she was gone then reached down to the bottom of the wardrobe and fetched the medical supplies she kept there. Pulling up a roll of gauze, a bandage, and a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide, she splashed a little of the liquid onto her side, her nostrils flaring at the sting. Even though she treated the wound every day – sometimes twice a day – it was looking sicklier and sicklier. She wiped away the excess drips, put the materials on a shelf for later, and walked to the bathroom to take a shower.

When the water was hot to the touch, and steam had started to collect on the vanity mirror, Cinder entered. The heat of the water felt refreshing as it flowed across her skin, the flood of sensation overwhelming and dulling the pain in her side. Cinder closed her eyes and submitted to the torrent, keeping a hand on the wall to help her balance. It wasn't long before she heard the bathroom door open and someone enter. She knew it was Emerald – Mercury knew to knock, something she'd have to remind Emerald of eventually – and soon she had company in the shower. Flesh pressed against her back, warm from the water, and hands roamed along her shoulders and arms, caressing, comforting.

With her eyes shut and the water muddying her senses Cinder could almost – just barely – imagine it was Ruby that touched her. She allowed this from Emerald for this sole reason. The hands that touched her, the lips that she kissed, the body that she held, the hair that tangled in her fingers – it was all Ruby. The short, sweet, redheaded girl was back with her, and the pleasure of that fantasy was greater than the hungering lust of her subordinate's desire. Such that, when things came to their conclusion, Cinder gasped out, "Ruby!" and there was an interruption of the fingers' touch. The warmth of the water suddenly reminded her of sticky blood smeared across her hands. Ruby's blood. Her wound itched, and her mood soured.

Cinder opened her eyes, the illusion vanishing. Emerald's grinning, heated face greeted her, green hair plastered to her cheeks. Ruby had never smiled so repulsively. Cinder straightened and set her mouth. "I'm done." she said curtly, "Don't take too much longer." She exited the shower and dried off quickly before returning to her room to dress, leaving Emerald in the bathroom. The air chilled the remnant moisture on her body.

Emerald, following instructions, did not spend much longer in the shower, joining Cinder in the bedroom a few minutes before the latter finished gathering her clothes for the day. Before Cinder donned the plain black shirt that served as her tattoo shop's 'uniform' she taped a bandage across her side. It itched still and the pain persisted faintly, but it would keep it clean and hopefully speed the healing.

Mercury met the pair of women in the living room as they came down the stairs, sitting cross-legged on a couch and sipping coffee while reading a magazine. Two more cups sat steaming on the coffee table beside a box of muffins and bagels. The young man stood when Cinder reached the last stair. "I'll start the car." he said, tucking the magazine into the back pocket of his jeans and walking out the front door. Cinder grabbed her coffee and a bagel then followed him, leaving Emerald to the task of locking the door behind her. The bruises on her side stung as she climbed her way into the back seat of the big, heavy SUV, causing her to grunt and huff. "You alright, Boss?" Mercury watched her in the rear-view mirror.

"Fine. Let's get going, we have a busy day ahead of us."

Mercury turned the key, the engine chugged before coming to a smooth idle, and, once Emerald entered and settled herself in the passenger seat, the car began its journey to the tattoo shop on the far end of town. Three blocks down the road they were joined by two other identical vehicles, forming a menacing motorcade that cruised at a responsible speed along the city's brightening streets. Few other cars were present, and Cinder enjoyed the quiet, peaceful drive. Her coffee was a little too hot but she went through it quickly regardless, finishing just as the motorcade made its final turn.

Since the night of the fires, police, fire department officials, and workers had flooded the street by the tattoo shop, inspecting, studying, and clearing the rubble of the burned-down flower store. Their cars and cruisers and trucks parked against the curb narrowed the roadway, forcing the motorcade to drive even more slowly and cautiously. The heads of the police officers standing in the rare spots of shade provided by the trees that lined the avenue tracked the imposing black cars as they drifted down the crowded road. Cinder could feel their anger and their fear.

The two follower SUV's parked in a large stretch of space left open in front of the tattoo parlor while Mercury pulled down an alley adjacent to the tattoo shop, parking near the rear entrance, and all occupants disembarked. The entourage Cinder had brought today was comprised of members from many of the different minor gangs that made up the Grimm syndicate, each wearing a black shirt similar to Cinder's. They gathered around Cinder and Mercury at the shop's entrance while Emerald unlocked the door. "Listen up!" Mercury shouted, quieting the murmuring among the members, "Everything in there," He shoved a thumb towards the shop. "needs to be packed up. Anything that you can't pick up or stuff in a box gets scrubbed and dumped. Got it?" There were nods and grunts of agreement. "Get in there, then." The members shuffled into the shop, each being handed a few bills by Emerald as they passed through the door.

"Some now, more when you're done. If you do a good job." she said.

Cinder was not paying attention. She watched the police on the other side of the street. Watched them stare at her and whisper to one another, turning so she couldn't see their mouths when they talked. She didn't recognize any of them, and wondered how many of them received an 'extra paycheck' each month. Did it still come from her? Was it enough? Were her enemies outbidding her yet? After another minute she turned and entered her store.

Roman had come to her a few days after the funeral and made the suggestion to relocate. It had taken a short time to find a suitable new spot and file all the paperwork, but now everything was in place for her to reopen in a fresh, less scrutinized area. All that was left was to pack up the store and ensure everything was cleansed of any incriminating evidence.

Cinder moved slowly through the store, making her way to her office in the back of the building. Mercury was supervising the front and the reception area, and Emerald was directing the underlings cleaning the separate rooms that broke off from the main hallway, but Cinder trusted no one to take care of the special items in her office. The room was dark and quiet when she opened the heavy steel door, and the air felt as if it was holding it's breath. She hadn't been in recently; a couple visits to remove any visually obvious evidence and once for a meeting of the senior lieutenants. It smelled like ink. Cinder turned on the light, stepped in, and began to go through her things. First she righted her drawers of tools and packed them neatly, rolling the chest into the hallway to be moved to the new headquarters, then went through her desk and filtered the papers into piles to be kept and a pile to be destroyed. The last drawer had all her favorite sketches, and at the top was the design of the rose that she had drawn the first day Ruby had moved in across the street.

Cinder stared at the paper for a long while.

The memories weren't painful, but neither were they pleasant. The picture of the flower was simply dry, flat, and empty.

It had had to be done, Cinder reminded herself, moving the sketch to the 'destroy' pile. If she wouldn't be hers, she couldn't be anyone's. There was no other option, no space for compromise. Ruby's friends had sealed her fate by revealing Cinder's identity. She had warned them. They had brought her fury down on an innocent. She felt no guilt. It had had to be done.

They had been such beautiful silver eyes.

There was a knock on the door. "Truck's here, Boss." Mercury said, poking his head into the room.

Cinder didn't look away from the paper. "Good. Start loading, and get them down here to move all this." she waved her arm to indicate the remaining objects in the room, now just her desk and the chair where she would work.

"Got it." Mercury left.

Cinder stood silently by her desk. Before long she heard multiple footsteps shuffling towards her office.

Her lips had been so sweet.

Cinder lifted the sketch, folded it, and slid it into her pocket.

The men Mercury sent wandered into the room. The first one in said, "Boss." and nodded in respect. The others followed suit.

"Take these," Cinder pointed to the desk and chair and box of papers she wanted to keep, then put her hand on the pile of papers to be destroyed, "and burn these. Clean everything else," She looked straight at the first man, "as if your lives depended on it."

The first man gulped and nodded rapidly. "Right, Boss." The others behind him did the same.

Cinder spent a moment meeting the eyes of each of the men then walked out towards the front of the store. Based on the state of the front, she hadn't needed to intimidate them – the lobby and reception areas were spotless, and everything that could be moved had been. All that was left was the front desk and two of the benches on the right wall. Mercury was relaxing on one of the benches, reading the same magazine as that morning. "Mercury?"

Her subordinate raised his head. "Hey Boss. Everything's wiped down, twice, and it's all on the truck. Did a pretty good job, for mooks."

Emerald joined the two, walking in from the hallway. "The back rooms are loaded up and getting cleaned now."

The men from Cinder's office began crossing through the lobby, wheeling and carrying her papers and tools out to the truck. Cinder followed them out, shielding her eyes against the sun as she watched them climb the loading ramp and deposit her things into the slowly filling trailer. Mercury and Emerald stood beside her and shared a glance, trying to guess her feelings.

"It's going fast, Boss." Emerald said, mistaking Cinder's silence for disappointment or displeasure.

Cinder glanced across the street. The opposite sidewalk was empty. The cars lining the road remained, but none were occupied.

"Where did they go?" she asked, turning slowly to face her subordinates.

Emerald gave Mercury a quick, confused look. "Who?" she asked.

"The police. The workers, over there." Cinder waved her hand at the rubble of the flower store, "Where did they go?"

"They cleared out a few minutes ago." Mercury said, looking at Emerald.

"All of them? At once?" Cinder's wound itched.

"...Yeah?"

Cinder's eyebrows drew downwards. "And you, somehow, didn't think that odd or important?"

The expression on Emerald's face indicated she still didn't understand, but Mercury's eyes widened. "Oh shit."

The sudden squeal of tires from down the road confirmed Cinder's rising suspicion. A white van, engine roaring, came hurdling towards the three criminals.

"Get inside!" Cinder bellowed, taking off towards the shop. Mercury and Emerald followed tight on her heels, but the henchmen, still working, all paused and stared blankly at the van racing down the street. Cinder made it through the door and halfway across the lobby before there was another screech of rubber on asphalt.

Behind them, the sliding door on the side of the van slammed open, and a dull gray gun barrel was thrust into the sunlight from the dimness of the car's interior. With a deafening chorus, automatic fire ripped into the sidewalk and storefront. The underlings outside dove for cover behind the cars and truck, dropping the boxes of documents and tools, or lay still and bleeding on the concrete.

Cinder threw herself to the floor and crawled as fast as she could towards the reception desk, keeping her head low. Bullets punched chunky holes in the tattoo shop's large windows and buried themselves in the far wall, raining bits of glass and plaster onto her back. She reached the desk and dragged herself behind it, wrapping her arms over her head. She could feel the impacts as rounds thudded into the wood, one even bursting through mere inches from her shoulder.

There was a pause in the assault, and Cinder dared to peek around the edge of her cover for a moment. She saw Mercury covered in glass and curled into a ball behind one of the benches. Emerald had wedged herself into a corner and had her hand clutched to her thigh. Red dripped down her fingers. Cinder turned her attention to the van - a bright blue snowflake was painted on the sliding door. Anger welled up inside her but then the barrage resumed and she was forced to hope her shelter protected her.

Several breathless seconds later the gunfire ended and the van took off with another screaming protest from its tires. The occupants of the store cautiously uncurled themselves, hesitant about coming out of hiding before knowing if the attack had finished. When she determined it was safe, Cinder stood and shakily walked out from behind the desk.

Splinters and shards of glass littered the floor of the tattoo shop. The windows had not survived, shattered down to thin nubs on the edges of their frames. The bodies of her henchmen lined the sidewalk, few escaping the wrath of the Schnees without injuries. The air stank of blood and gunpowder.

"Mercury!" Cinder was forced to shout over the ringing in her ears. Mercury looked up at her from the floor, his eyes darting and frightened. "We need to get out of here!" He stared at her, mouth hanging open, as though he couldn't comprehend her words. "We're leaving! Now! Go to the car!" She hauled him to his feet.

He nearly immediately collapsed back, but caught his balance and blinked several times. "We should leave!" he shouted at her.

Cinder dashed, as fast as she could on her trembling legs, across the room to Emerald. "Come on!" she yelled into the young woman's ear.

Emerald gave a jerky, tense nod, and said, "Yes!"

Cinder looked between her two subordinates, and then the three ran deeper into the store, headed for the rear entrance. Emerald lagged a step behind the other two, limping.

Mercury reached the door first and pulled it open and they scrambled into the alley and the waiting SUV. The trio climbed in quickly, Emerald struggling with her injury, and Mercury fumbled with the keys for a half second before jamming them into the ignition, cursing under his breath. "Let's go, you fucking piece of shit!" he screamed at the dashboard as the engine sputtered. Emerald whimpered in the passenger seat. The moment the spark caught Mercury shifted into reverse and slammed the gas pedal, throwing his arm behind Emerald's seat and steering one-handed as the car shot backwards. "Hang on! Hang on!"

Cinder, lying across the back seats, pulled herself up so she could peer out the back window. Another car was blocking the exit to the alley, and they were speeding straight towards it. She hunkered down and braced for the impact.

The SUV struck the front half of the car, sending it spinning into the middle of the street. The collision rocked the inside of the SUV, Cinder seeing stars as she was knocked between the forward and rear seats. "Hang on!" Mercury shouted again as he adjusted the gears and yanked the steering wheel. The SUV tore down the street, leaving the destruction of the tattoo shop behind. "Where am I going, Boss?!"

In the distance, Cinder could hear sirens. Her head was too rattled to think. Where should they go? If they dared to hit her in the heart of her territory, where was safe?

"The new shop!" Emerald gasped between groans. "They- they wouldn't know yet!"

Cinder weighed this option as carefully as her racing thoughts allowed. There were other stash houses closer, and warehouses that were better guarded and more secure, but the Schnees could be expecting her to flee to those locations. She doubted they would try anything this bold without planning to the smallest detail. The new shop had been kept within the inner circle and could have slipped their detection – only those divinely perceptive or truly dedicated could have traced the acquisition back to the Grimm through the countless fake names and fronts.

"Boss?" Mercury was still waiting for an answer.

Cinder decided. She looked at him through the rear-view mirror, "Do it! Get us to the new shop!" His eyes settled in the reflection and she saw his shoulders relax. With her order his path was made clear, and clarity brought confidence.

"How do I get there Emerald?"

Mercury's growing calmness seemed to spread through the car, and Cinder soon found herself less tense. She straightened in the back seat and reclined against the leather. She was beginning to feel-

Sharp pain in her side.

It was so suddenly intense she doubled over, gritting her teeth to keep from screaming. Gingerly Cinder peeled up the side of her shirt, feeling resistance; her shirt, bandage, and flesh had been pierced by a wickedly jagged piece of glass. It jutted out perpendicularly from her older bullet wound. Had she crawled over it and not noticed through the craziness and adrenaline? So many snaking cracks criss-crossed its surface it was no longer transparent – it was nearly solid white. Her blood was coating the edges and turning them pink. Now that she was paying attention, her arms were covered in thin stripes of red – small cuts from flying glass shards. They itched and stung.

"Boss?" Cinder looked up and found Emerald twisted around. She must have accidentally made a noise when the pain hit. Emerald's face was pale and sweat gathered on her forehead and under her eyes. "Are you alright, Boss?" Cinder reflexively glanced at her side, and heard Emerald gasp. "Oh shit! Step on it Merc, Cinder's hit!"

"What?" Mercury whipped around for a quick look then returned forwards. "How the fuck?" Cinder's head jerked backwards as Mercury slammed the pedal.

Emerald said breathily, "Don't worry, Boss, we'll get you patched up at the new place." She slumped in the passenger seat. "We'll get to the new place and... all be... okay..." Her breathing was growing shallow.

The car zoomed down the streets, Mercury rushing them toward the new shop. Cinder normally would have chastised him for the speed, not wanting to risk drawing additional attention while in such a vulnerable state, but between her and Emerald's injuries and the chance that the Schnees were still hunting for them she allowed the indiscretion. Corners were difficult, Mercury's haste forcing Cinder to strain her muscles and agitate her wound in order to stay upright. They roared around other cars and through intersections, ignoring the startled, angry honks that followed them down the streets, and before long turned onto the on-ramp to the highway. Traffic was not thick but Mercury brushed by on the shoulder, skipping the line and merging straight into the zooming cars. "Almost there, Boss," he said, his eyes tracking exit signs. "And no sign of those..."

Cinder glanced up. She could see Mercury's eyes in the rear view mirror – they were glued on the reflection, only flicking away to check the road for obstacles.

"Oh shit." her driver said.

Turning carefully to not disturb her side, Cinder peered backwards through the cracked rear window. She did not find the large white van she expected, instead spying two jet black motorcycles weaving through the trailing traffic. Each bike had two riders wearing black leather riding suits and white helmets, and they were just close enough for her to hear the high-pitched humming of their engines.

But they were quickly and purposefully gaining on the racing SUV.

"Where did they come from?" Cinder wondered aloud. How long had they been following them? Had they been laying in wait? How had they known they would take this route? Cinder thought for a moment. Had one of the Schnees' men put a tracker on their car before the attack? But that would mean...

The Schnees and the White Fang working together? It seemed impossible.

Cinder was a little impressed at how dedicated the two were to eliminating her, and laughed despite the situation. "Emerald," She shook her subordinate's shoulder and Emerald turned, drowsy and unfocused. "Emerald? Emerald. The gun. In the glove box." Emerald flopped forward and reached inside the glove box, then handed a black handgun to her boss. Cinder ejected the magazine and checked the chamber. Fully loaded. This time the Grimm would be shooting back. "Ready, Mercury?"

Mercury grunted as he reached underneath the steering wheel and retrieved a gray pistol. "I hate shooting while driving."

The bikes were nearly on them. The whine of their engines grated on Cinder's ears. She ducked low and braced herself against the backs of the front seats, readying her gun. The lead bike approached on the car's left, probably trying to reduce Mercury's firing angle. The passenger was rummaging in a satchel on their back but the driver raised their right hand, aiming a machine pistol at Mercury's window. Cinder fired.

The shot burst through the side window of the SUV's trunk and wind whipped through the cab, throwing Cinder's hair into her eyes. Her ears were ringing. Her bullet scraped across the motorcycle's windshield, surprising the driver and nearly causing him to lose balance. The bike dropped speed and drifted far to the left, then surged forward with a roar of the engine. The driver raised his gun and sprayed.

A barrage of nine-millimeter rounds thudded into the side of the car, breaking the two remaining intact windows on the left side. Cinder plunged into the cover of the seat, but heard Mercury shout "Fuck!" as the glass of his window spilled into his lap. There was a clean circular hole in the car's windshield that whistled shrilly. Cinder rose and returned two shots, forcing the rider to hunch over the handlebars, but the bike kept speed with the SUV.

There was an intermission in the conflict as both vehicles had to swerve to avoid a slower truck lumbering along the highway. Cinder tracked the sight of her pistol along the side of the trailer, trying to follow the sound of the engine, and when the bike reappeared she was aimed at the passenger. The passenger's arm was raised high, and in the leather-gloved hand was a small, round grenade. Cinder fired quickly but missed, screaming over the rushing wind, "Right, Mercury, right!"

The passenger's arm lowered at the same time that Mercury yanked the steering wheel. Cinder hunched behind the seats, covering her head, bracing herself for the explosion. But the throw was short, and a second later the grenade burst in the road sixty feet behind them. Cinder breathed a sigh of relief, wrapping her finger around her pistol's trigger. She had been underestimating the White Fang, but not any more. She popped upwards to get a quick glance of the situation.

The bike was about twenty feet behind her car, trying to catch up after a patch of traffic had separated them from their target. The passenger was reaching into their bag again searching for another grenade and the driver was aiming the machine pistol. Cinder ducked as another spray racked the SUV, then rose and fired three times in return. One of her shots impacted the bike's frame, sparking sharply against the metal, the second went wide, and the third hit the driver's right shoulder. She saw the driver recoil and a puff of red mist appear in the air. The machine pistol fell from the faunus' hand and bounced along the highway.

With their primary weapon disabled, Cinder expected the bike to back off and let their backup take over, but instead the driver sped up and started maneuvering the bike closer to the SUV. Cinder saw the passenger's arm raised again, and guessed that they were probably trying to ensure that, this time, they wouldn't miss. The bike drew up next to the car, creeping within a few inches, and the passenger leaned over in their seat, pulling their arm back to throw.

"Mercury!" Cinder shouted.

"I see them! Hang on!" Cinder didn't have time to brace herself before the car lurched to the left.

There was a jolt and a loud crash as the vehicles collided. Driver and passenger were both thrown from the bike, the former managing to wrap his arms around the window of Cinder's door. The bike flipped end over end twice before falling, skidding down the highway with a loud screech. The passenger was not far behind it, tumbling roughly for a couple seconds before the grenade went off. Cinder saw at least three separate body chunks fly from the explosion. She turned her attention to the faunus holding desperately to her door.

The rider's arms were shaking as he tried to pull himself up to a stable position. His fingers searched, slid, and slipped along the edges of the door's interior. Cinder could hear his feet scrabbling against the damaged bodywork of the SUV. Slowly, the helmet tilted up to meet her eyes, the faceless white visor's stare full of expression. She could feel his anger, his fear, his pain, his animal instinct to find his balance and escape. Through that blank plastic mask, she could sense the intense hatred that burned in his eyes.

Cinder raised her pistol and put a bullet into the center of the helmet. The head rocked backwards and the body scraped away from the side of the car. The world could always use less faunus.

In the midst of her small success, Mercury called out, "Boss, on the right!"

Cinder started to turn but was forced to take cover as bullets thumped into the car. Seeing their vanguard fail, the second bike had approached on the opposite side, and now the passenger was firing a large pistol into the cab. After a quick check forwards, Mercury threw his arm across Emerald's chair and returned fire through the rear passenger window. Cinder checked her magazine.

One round remained. Could she make it count?

The bike weaved between the cars on the highway, dodging Mercury's awkward shots, the driver free to concentrate on the road with the passenger on the offensive. As Cinder watched, waiting for the best opportunity to fire, the passenger, long black hair fluttering wildly behind her helmet, tapped the driver on the arm and pointed at the SUV. The driver nodded and soon the bike curved to the left to chase from directly behind the car.

"I don't have a shot!" Mercury yelled.

"Then give me your gun!" Mercury tossed his pistol to the back seat, and Cinder swapped it for hers. A check of the magazine revealed six rounds. Cinder smiled. "Keep it steady, no matter what!"

"Got it!"

Cinder raised herself and laid her arms over the back of the seat. Two more shots came from the bike but she ignored them, aligning her sights with the screaming motorcycle. Mercury was following orders and keeping the car straight. The bike was gently drifting side to side in the road. Cinder held her breath. Another shot from the passenger zipped over her head. Cinder fired.

The right-side mirror on the bike was obliterated.

Cinder scowled, shifting in her seat as the bike jerked to the left. She aimed and fired again.

Her bullet struck the bike's front tire and the rubber exploded into shreds. The wheel screeched and twisted, contorting the whole forward half of the motorcycle. The bike crashed to the ground, tossing driver and passenger into the air – the driver hit the road and tumbled like a doll, but the passenger rolled, landing in a sliding kneel with her gun still raised. The faunus girl fired three times at the quickly disappearing SUV. Two of the rounds punched through the back seat within inches of Cinder, and the third destroyed the rear-view mirror.

Cinder exhaled a long breath, settling into her seat. "We're clear! Get us out of here, Mercury!"

"On it, Boss!"

The SUV sped down the highway.

It wasn't long before the pain in Cinder's side returned, twice as insidious and distracting after all the motion during the attack. Concentration was growing more difficult, her thoughts interrupted at every small bump in the road, and taking the deep breaths her lungs longed for was viciously discouraged by stabbing agony. No new injuries scarred her after the engagement with the White Fang, the car's bodywork suffering the brunt of the assault, helped by Mercury's skilled driving, but her ears were filled with undulating ringing that worsened her distraction. And she needed to think. Think about how to be ready for the next attack.

Because the next one was coming, and soon. 'They're going to be coming for you' was what Roman had said. Each, alone and individual, Fang, Schnees, and cops, the Grimm could dismantle. United, driven by the death of innocent Ruby Rose...

She would need more resources. Starting with a safe place to lay low and plan a strategy. "How much longer, Mercury?"

"They made us miss the exit, I'm heading to the next one!" he said, "Ten minutes!"

"Good." A moment later, Cinder decided to add, "No more talking." If there was a tracker, there was no telling what other devices may have been hidden in or on her vehicle.

Cinder leaned forward, painfully, and checked Emerald. Her young subordinate was slumped and still in her seat, her hair flying in the wind, her mouth hanging open, supported by the seat belt. The rise and fall of her chest was only barely visible. Emerald's leg, uncovered as her hands lay limp at her sides, displayed a gruesome hole that oozed bright red blood. More red stained Emerald's hands, the car door, and seat. Cinder wasn't sure how she was still alive, but knew it wouldn't be long before she bled out. Ignoring her new rule, she said, "Mercury, give me your belt." Mercury complied silently, and Cinder tightened the leather strap around Emerald's upper thigh as a tourniquet.

With no need to drive inconspicuously – the bullet-riddled SUV was more than a little obvious – Cinder's crew quickly arrived in the quieter corner of Vale where the safe house was hidden. The streets were wider than the old shop, easier to drive down, and the uncramped rows of houses made observation of the approaching roads a simple task. When they were within sight of the lookout, Cinder leaned her torso out of the broken window and waved the young man towards the car. The man - a teenaged member of the Ursa gang, judging by the tattoos – had to jog to keep up with the slowly rolling car. Cinder had ordered Mercury not to stop so the tracker wouldn't lead their pursuers straight to the new hideout. She communicated her instructions to the lookout then clambered back into her seat, clutching her side. Behind them, the lookout spoke quietly into a hand-held radio he had had hidden in his back pocket.

Mercury circled the block to give the grunts time, then pulled to the side of the road a block and a half down the street from the safe house. Three Ursa members appeared from around a corner as Cinder and Mercury disembarked with their weapons and extricated Emerald. The Ursas climbed in without a word and sped off as Cinder and Mercury started carrying Emerald up the street. Two more members ran up to the pair to help, and Cinder let Mercury direct them in transporting her unconscious assistant while she took a quick look around. The other houses were still and quiet, their windows dark, blank, and empty. No other cars traveled the streets despite it being the middle of the day. She stood up straight, ignoring her injury, adjusted her shirt, and tucked her pistol into the back of her pants. If anyone was watching her, she wanted to look unconcerned, still in control, calculating. The imperious Red Queen was not fazed by her enemies' attacks. Cinder walked to the safe house, following back from the group carrying Emerald.

The house was a simple residence being repurposed for the Grimm's uses. It had a basement and two floors, and a back porch that led to an alley that ran the length of the street. The doors had been reinforced and the windows covered with thick shades or blankets, and guards stood watch on every floor. Once the front guard had let them in and shut the door, the relative silence was broken.

"What are you idiots doing?! Lay her down on the fucking table!" Mercury screamed at the pair holding Emerald. More goons, standing idly in a corner, jumped forward and swiftly cleared the table that sat in the adjacent room. "Faster! Put her down! Get some fucking bandages!" The house rattled as many pairs of feet scrambled to follow Mercury's orders.

Cinder watched for a moment, then found a chair and sat. Her side was numb with pain. She let her head hang. She felt... very tired.

A nervous man, not currently being shouted at by Mercury, approached her with small, uneasy steps. "B-Boss?" Cinder, reluctantly, raised her head. He was looking at her chest with great concern.

Looking down – a relieving excuse to let her head droop – she discovered her chest, side, and the front of her pants darkened with red. That wasn't hers, was it? Not from that tiny slice on her side, no, it wasn't possible. "It's hers," she said, nodding at the other room. The man looked reassured. "Is Roman here?"

The man pointed a finger at the ceiling, "Second floor."

Cinder sighed, "Damn," and groaned to her feet, wincing as her side stretched. "Help Mercury."

"Yes, Boss."

She stood and crossed through the frantic chaos, favoring her right side, a slight limp visible to anyone who could afford the time to watch her instead of helping Emerald. The stairs took her an uncomfortable amount of time, each step taking more of her breath and another large percentage of her dwindling energy. At the landing she had to shake off the urge to collapse. There were four rooms that made up the second floor, and Cinder didn't know in which one she'd find Roman. One was a bathroom, so she checked the next closest, and, for the first time that day, felt a little lucky.

Roman reclined in a metal folding chair by the far wall, beside a window that overlooked the street, his hat on his knee and a smoking cigar held to his mouth. To the left of the door were two Ursa members sitting at a folded-out buffet table, counting and wrapping large stacks of money bills. Roman was watching the door as Cinder appeared around the edge of the frame.

"What happened to you, Boss?" he gasped at the sight of her, nearly losing his cigar, "We heard the commotion downstairs, but... Do I need to call Dr. Watts?"

Cinder grimaced at the name of the Grimm's underground doctor but waved her hand to dispel Roman's worry. "I'm fine, it's just a scratch."

"You're covered in blood, Boss."

"It's Emerald's."

Roman slowly returned to his laying position in the chair. He dragged on his cigar before asking, "Is she going to make it?"

Cinder leaned on the door frame. "Mercury's doing his best, but I don't think so." She searched the room for an open chair. "I need to sit down."

"Of course, I'm sure you do. Hey," Roman snapped his fingers at the two gangsters at the table, "give us a little privacy, will you?"

The pair quickly stood and left, one even turning his chair around for Cinder, and went downstairs. A couple moments later Cinder could hear Mercury yelling, "Where the fuck were you two? Get the fuck out of here! Go watch the corner or something! Idiots!"

Cinder took the seat, lowering herself down with care, but the wound still flared hot with pain.

"What happened, Boss?"

"This? It's from that night. It's not a problem."

Roman's eyebrow twitched but his face remained neutrally concerned. "Right. And this morning?"

Cinder took a deep breath and sighed. "Schnee drive-by. We're down a few, no one important, and they got whatever was on the truck. Emerald got tagged in the leg. Then on the way here the Fang ambushed us. They had grenades, but we took them out." She shifted to relieve some pressure on her side. "We'll have to lay low for a few weeks, then hit back twice as hard." She started listing targets and necessary resources, but paused when footsteps sounded on the stairs.

Mercury appeared in the doorway, wiping his hands with a bloodstained rag. "Em's dead." he said quietly. Suddenly he turned and threw the rag against the wall, leaving small pink splotches on the dirty white paint.

Cinder turned her gaze to the floor. She waited for the feelings of sadness, as one would expect to feel after losing their lover or a close colleague, or for the feelings of rage at having her friend taken, like Mercury, but nothing in her heart changed. She felt nothing at this news. Could it even be called news? She had known Emerald wasn't going to survive. She felt nothing, but there was a thought that crossed her mind – that at least now it might be quiet.

Mercury grabbed the third chair, spun it around, and planted himself in the seat, gripping the backrest tightly. "When are we going?" He fixed an angry, demanding stare onto Cinder. "When are we going, Boss?"

"Mercury, we are not equipped-" Cinder tried to say.

"When?They need to pay."

"We need to plan-" Cinder tried to stand but the pain kept her seated. "We need to plan-!"

Mercury rose, shouting, "We need to get them back for what they've done! We look weak!"

Roman tapped his cane on the floor. "Quiet,"

Mercury's head swiveled to face Roman, the tendons in his neck jutting up underneath the skin. "You don't get to order me around, you weaselly prick. You're always so haughty and think you know everything, why didn't you know this shit was coming, huh?! Boss," he turned back to Cinder, "I'll take five guys and some guns and Junior's little friend and-"

"I said quiet," Roman said. Cinder switched her attention away from Mercury and found Roman's head turned toward the window, cocked to the side, listening, his eyes roaming as he thought deeply.

Mercury took two steps towards the sitting man. "Yeah, and say it again and I'll kick you through that-"

"Mercury," Cinder said firmly. Despite his intense fury and restless frustration, Mercury froze, his jaw snapping shut tight. "What is it Roman?"

A second passed with the room still before he answered, "I think they're coming." Mercury and Cinder shared a glance, and then, just as Cinder was about to ask who he meant, Roman said, "No, they're probably already here."

Everyone turned as footsteps pounded up the stairs. One of the men from the lower floor burst into the room. "Boss!" he said, looking between Cinder and Roman, then settling on the latter, "Cops! Hundreds of them!"

Roman peered out the window. "Oh, yes, you're right. Boss?" He gestured to the window, "Care to see for yourself?"

It took two attempts for Cinder to stand, then she limped her way over to stand beside Roman. She pressed her face against the glass and looked up the street. White police cruisers, their lights and sirens inactive, were pouring onto the avenue from the side streets. Thick, bulletproof black trucks grumbled and roared down the road behind them, armored officers hanging like remoras off hand grips on the vehicles' sides. A small army of Vale's law enforcement was rapidly approaching the safe house.

Mercury joined her at the window and, at seeing the flood of police driving towards them, a wry grin twisted his lips. "This day just keeps getting better." He stepped back, cracked his knuckles, took a deep breath, and said quietly, "I think I'll go take a quick inventory." Cinder stayed at the window as he left.

The cars screeched to a stop in front of the Grimm hideout, driving up onto the lawn, and finally the lights began flashing. Officers huddled behind their doors with their pistols trained on the safehouse's front door. The special teams dropped to the ground and shuffled quickly behind the trucks for cover as they armed themselves for the inevitable assault.

Roman, standing nearby, whispered to her, "I doubt you have five minutes to choose if you're going to run or fight. I know how much you like making snap decisions."

She would have threatened him after that comment if she hadn't been so pressed on time. Or so weary, or in so much pain. Instead she sighed. "You were right, Roman. I made the wrong decision."

"Now that you've admitted it, I can finally die happy."

Cinder watched the black-suited armored officers start crossing the yard in a line behind a bulky shield and gather by the front porch. Her five minutes just shortened to one, she thought. "We should get ready. Got anything on you?"

Roman reached into his jacket and retrieved a silver handgun from a hidden pocket. "I feel naked if I'm ever without it. And yourself? We have an unsent shipment downstairs if you need anything."

"I have all I need," Cinder said as she pat her pistol, tucked into the back of her pants.

"Then let me show you our way out," Roman guided her away from the window.

The pair hurriedly descended the stairs, Roman supporting Cinder as she struggled with her injury on the steps, and began moving through the house's living room. Ursa members were spread around the first floor, checking their pistols, moving furniture into more defensive positions, making some final prayers, or taking a quick hit of Dust. Roman led them into the dining room and Cinder got her first look at Emerald's lifeless corpse, laying still on the table, haloed by red-stained towels like flowers around a casket. Mercury sat in a chair beside the body, silently loading shells into a shotgun. His face was blank, but there was a grim light in his eyes as he looked up at Cinder. He stood and joined them, positioning himself in the back as if he were a bodyguard.

Roman continued into the adjoining kitchen but Cinder lingered, standing by the body of Emerald. She felt that she should feel something – Emerald had been a comforting presence more than once, and she had been a dutiful subordinate, helping Cinder conquer and manage Vale's underworld – but there was nothing in her heart. It was going to be so inconvenient to replace her.

Maybe if she had had silver eyes, Cinder would have felt something.

Cinder touched Emerald's cheek and lips, because it felt like that was what she was supposed to do, and because Mercury was watching.

"Boss?" Roman called from the kitchen, curious about her hesitation, "We don't exactly have the whole afternoon."

It was at that moment that, from the direction of the porch, Cinder heard, "Two. One. Breaching!" and a loud bang. She, Roman, Mercury, and all the Ursas in the living room startled and faced the door as the topmost hinge was blasted off the wall, followed not too long afterwards by the bottom hinge. There was a 'thud' and bright sunlight flooded the first floor as the front door was knocked to the ground. "Go!"

The bulky shape of an armored officer filled the doorway. He raised a rifle and started shouting "Vale police! Put the weapons-", then caught a blast from Mercury's shotgun to his head. Blood, brain matter, and shattered ballistic glass splattered against the wall.

Mercury racked the slide and fired twice more, then turned to Roman and Cinder. "That'll slow them down. Let's get out of here."

Roman grinned. "Follow me," he said. The small group entered the kitchen, where Roman gathered them in front of the quietly humming refrigerator. "Mercury, if you could give me a hand?" Mercury handed Cinder his shotgun, then stood on the opposite side of the refrigerator from Roman and the two shifted the heavy appliance away from the wall. Roman then stood by the wall, peering into what Cinder was barely able to distinguish as a tiny peep hole.

"What is this, Roman?" she asked, casting a glance back at the living room. There hadn't been any further attempts by the police to enter, but Cinder knew it was only a matter of time. "This doesn't look like this will get us out."

"That's the point," Roman continued looking through the hole in the wall, "It's a false wall, invisible to the outside. I'm checking if there are any of Vale's finest waiting for us before we burst out into the open." A moment later he stepped back. "All clear. Here we go!" He leaned back and shoved his foot against the wall. There was a crack as the wood snapped and Roman's leg broke through. With a grunt he shoved his shoulder against the wood and, just as a second earlier, burst through easily. On the other side he dusted himself off and said, "Come on! The alley's not far."

Wasting no time, Cinder pushed herself through the hole, wincing as her side was agitated, followed by Mercury. The three criminals stayed low to avoid being spotted as they crossed the hideout's backyard in the direction of the alley. There was a short, rusty chain link fence in disrepair that marked the edge of the yard, and as they clambered over it Cinder heard gunshots from inside the safe house. Small caliber rounds at first, likely to be the Ursas firing at the police, then rapid, methodical bangs, and then silence.

The alley was paved with loose gravel that crunched underfoot as Cinder, Roman, and Mercury moved swiftly away from the police. The path passed behind all the houses in the neighborhood, bordered by high wooden fences that kept them out of view, and was convoluted enough that Cinder was confident that they wouldn't be tracked until they had found a means of escape. Eventually they came to a cross street and Roman held up a hand. "Wait here, I'll get us a car." He jogged off, leaving Cinder and Mercury hiding in the alley.

Cinder leaned against the fence, out of breath, sweating, and in pain, and watched Roman. The tall man approached a car parked near the end of the street, swiveled his head to check for observers, then used the butt of his pistol to smash open the driver's side window. In seconds he was sitting behind the wheel, bent over underneath the dashboard connecting wires, and Cinder felt relief spread through her chest. Her enemies had failed yet again. Roman started his stolen car and started driving towards the alley entrance.

Suddenly Mercury shouted, "Boss!" Cinder turned and saw him pointing up the street, where two police cruisers and a black motorcycle with a single rider were racing towards them. Panic rose to replace the relief inside her, and Cinder looked back at Roman. She met his eyes, saw him glance between her and the closing police, and knew his decision before he made it. The wheels of Roman's car squealed as he twisted the wheel and sped away from the alley.

"Fucking traitor," she hissed.

"Boss!" Mercury raised the shotgun and aimed it at the motorcycle, which had pulled ahead of the cruisers and was rocketing in their direction. "That's the same bitch from before!" Mercury fired, missed, re-racked, fired, and missed again.

The rider, bent over the handlebars, raised a pistol and returned a single shot, striking Mercury dead in the chest. He fell, abruptly and without sound, at Cinder's feet, blood immediately beginning to pool and soak into the dust. The bike whizzed by the alley entrance.

Cinder, her escape vanished, her sole remaining ally dead, turned and ran back into the alley. Her pace was awkward, her legs weak and tired and her breath ragged. The gravel beneath her feet shifted and she fell, landing harshly on her side. The pain was unbearable; Cinder screamed and collapsed to the ground, tears spilling from her eyes. For several moments there was nothing but the pain, the agony, and she couldn't muster the strength even to raise herself to her knees, but she knew she couldn't wait. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself up but was unable to stand – her legs wouldn't hold – and forced herself to crawl. She needed to keep moving. If she escaped, the horror she'd rain on Vale, the Schnees, that putrid blonde and the faunus bitch would be-

"Freeze, Cinder!"

Cinder raised her eyes as much as she was able. Standing in a split in the alley, using the fence as cover, was the younger Schnee girl in her full police uniform, pistol drawn and trained on Cinder's head. Cinder considered reaching for her pistol. They were alone, one shot and-

"If you make a move for that gun you're a dead woman." a different voice said. At the other corner was the blonde, right arm still in a cast, but in the left was her service weapon.

Then, from behind Cinder, a third voice, "It's over, Cinder."

Cinder risked twisting to see the speaker, but knew already that it was the faunus girl. She was surrounded. Her enemies had caught her. All her remaining energy disappeared in an instant. Her mouth was dry. She rolled so she was sitting, getting a small laugh at how the three girls tensed at the movement, and rested her back and head against the fence. The pain in her side was finally starting to diminish. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the sketch of the rose.

The paper's edges were stained red, either from her blood or from Emerald's Cinder couldn't know. Her captors started walking cautiously towards her. Cinder stared at the pencil lines. "She was a sweet girl." she said.

"Then why did you kill her, you monster?!" The Schnee yelled, her arms shaking with anger.

"Don't bother, Weiss," Blake said, keeping her eyes on Cinder, "You and I and anyone sane will never understand."

Cinder smiled a small smile. "No you wouldn't," she said quietly, "But I see now." She spent a moment longer looking at the rose, then set it on her leg. "It should have been you. I should have killed you. Then she'd be all mine, mine forever." She sighed and closed her eyes. "So, what now? You all shoot me while I sit here defenseless? Get it over with, then."

"No," Blake said, "Now you pay for your crimes. You'll spend the rest of your life in prison, where monsters like you belong."

Cinder pondered this for a minute, considered retorting, but chose instead to reach behind her and wrap her fingers around the grip of her pistol. She knew her movement wouldn't go unobserved. "I don't think so," she said, and whipped the gun up.

The weapons of her enemies blared, and bullets rocked into Cinder's chest.

Splashes of blood colored in the petals of the rose,

and Cinder's eyes slowly drifted closed.

Author's Note: What this story really needs is a total rewrite in the vein of The Wire, but I don't have the time, energy, or will to do so.

The story is over now. Really this time. I hope you liked it.

Thank you for reading.

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