Criminals And Codenames

Gray now owned the White Fang.

All of them.

His words, spoken with some measure of fear, had come out in a whisper. He didn’t really think about it. He just spouted that out in an attempt to make them a lesser threat to him. Now that he had said those words, he was able to think about the repercussions.

All members of the White Fang would take orders from him. Every single one. How many were there? Not just in Vale either, but in the other Kingdoms, too. The terrorist group caused so many problems all across the world with assaults, thefts and even murders. And now, they were under Gray’s control.

That caused him a similar heady feeling as when he learned about Salem and the plot against Vale. Only, this was a little closer to home with a known dangerous organization. With a few orders from Gray the White Fang would cease all activities across the world. Or they would fight in his name.

All this power could go to his head.

Gray took a few breaths and studied the people in the large spacious room. He had control over Cinder and her two followers. He had control over the White Fang now. And he had control over Torchwick and Neo. Who he didn’t have control over were the men in the suits by the door or in the car outside. Who were they? Did they work for Torchwick?

Gray walked over to the men in the corner behind the door. They were still silently playing cards and would look over at the White Fang at the corner of their eyes. Gray stopped by one of them and looked over the garish red fashion of the tie and sunglasses. Sunglasses indoors. In a dimly lit warehouse.

Try-hard much?

“Who do you work for?” Gray addressed one man, his voice not quite a whisper but hushed all the same.

The man closest to him looked up and answered.

“We work for Junior, the boss of the Xiong family.” The man said.

“Why are you here with these people?” Gray pointed over his shoulder at the other criminal elements in the room.

“Roman Torchwick needed men, so our boss loaned us out.”

Ah, they were just hired goons then. Hired goons from a crime family. Gray was encountering many of societies rejects today.

“What’s your boss’ full name?” Gray asked.

“Hei Xiong.” The man in red sunglasses replied.

“Hei Xiong, head of the Xiong criminal family, and all his subordinates, are all secretly loyal and obedient to me.” Gray said, catching the Xiong family in his net. He briefly wondered how many organized crime families there were in Vale.

Now that he had full control of the room's occupants, he could very well deactivate his Semblance without any worries. Of course, he was still apprehensive though. How could he not be? Up until yesterday, all he had to deal with was a bunch of girls and his greedy hormones. Now he was about to juggle some dangerous egos in an attempt to keep Vale safe.

But how should he deal with these lowlifes? Should he show himself to them? Or should he hold his identity back? His Semblance should protect him from pretty much anything, but if there was even a chance that some powerful individual in the criminal underworld looked into him, despite his Semblance, then his family and his girls might be caught up in something dangerous. They shouldn’t... but who knew what might happen?

So, he needed a codename. And he needed to hide his face. Fortunately, for that second priority he had something that could help. This warehouse was dark and murky, and he had a skill and proficiency with Aura. He could use the Aura around his body to slightly affect how light hit him to appear shadow-like in dark places. He had done the very same thing on that day Ruby and Torchwick had fought almost a week ago, and he had done it again when seeing Torchwick during his shopping trip with Goodwitch.

Gray lifted his hood and covered his head and felt out his Aura, letting it flow around him and willing the dim ambient light from Cinder’s flickering dress to help cover him in shifting shadows. He lifted his hand to see the effects up close. His limb had a general silhouette and even showed his clothing if he looked closely, but the details were difficult to make out.

“How do I look?” He asked the goon playing cards with his colleagues.

He looked up again and gave Gray a once over.

“You look like a blurry shadow. I can’t even see your face.”

That was good enough for him.

Gray walked back into the middle of the room, thinking about what name to go by. He needed something anonymous, but also mysterious and cool. He thought about his real name and the color it represented. He went through some of the various names associated with it but couldn’t come up with something satisfying. He then thought about his Semblance. It allowed him to practically be nothing in the eyes of people around him. In a sense, he didn’t exist.

That thought brought an old memory to mind. He once learned that there was a word for coded messages used during the Great War. Cypher.

That word also meant nothing. Literally nothing, or its value was zero. It could also mean empty or unimportant. A word like that described his power in a weirdly poetic way. From the perspective of others, he literally became unimportant, so much so as to be unnoticeable.

“Those that are in this room will know me as Cypher.” He said, still with Semblance active. “Those that are in this room will know that I can sometimes appear as a shadowy silhouette. No one here in this room will try to uncover my identity.”

That should keep him safe.

He took a deep breath and readied himself for possible combat. Then, when he felt ready, after eyeing Cinder against the wall looking somewhat impatient, he let go of his Semblance.

For a long second it seemed like no one had noticed him standing there yet. Granted, he hadn’t moved a muscle and appeared like a shadow in the murky warehouse, but surely, even the Faunus’ would have noticed him.

Perhaps his disguise was too good? Maybe he needed to speak first.

“Good after–” He said in as low a voice as he could manage without breaking his voice. At his third syllable everyone moved at once. The White Fang all jumped, reaching for their weapons while Adam gripped the sword scabbard at his hip and stared hard at the newcomer. The goons playing cards all jumped to their feet, some cards fell to the floor forgotten as they also reached for their weapons. Roman Torchwick went still, his cane paused in its circular motion and Neo stopped swinging her legs atop her crate. And Cinder stepped away from her place against the wall and held a hand up with a fireball at the ready. Gray now stood there in the middle of the large space with guns pointed at him from all around. “–noon.” He finished.

A cold sweat dripped down his back, but he tried to ignore it. This was perhaps the dumbest thing he had ever done. He might die before he ever got to realize his harem dream, but at least he got laid a few times before the end.

He put on a facade of calm as he addressed them.

“Ladies and gentlemen. I believe you all have been waiting for me.” He said and waited.

Their tense silence was broken eventually by Cinder herself.

“...Cypher.” She said his codename with what Gray thought he heard as slight hesitation. She wasn’t certain he was who she thought he was, but also didn’t want to appear like she didn’t know.

Notably, the others all looked at her sharply or glanced at her with some suspicion. The most aggressive one was Adam Taurus.

“Wait, you know Cypher?!” He demanded with alarm. His men all looked between them with some confusion and lowered their weapons with caution. The goon squad by the door also hesitantly lowered their guns.

“Yes?” Cinder looked over to him with a confused scowl. “What of it?” She then looked over to Gray. “Master, I wasn’t aware that you had a connection with the White Fang.”

Her words for Gray were smooth and silky, if a little questioning. Very much in stark contrast to how she addressed Adam. Gray also noticed Roman and Neo glancing at each other. They must also be wondering about all the connections here.

“My apologizes for not informing you, but I have been very busy behind the scenes.” Gray said in the low voice he had been using. Cinder hurried to give a small bow, really just a nod, in deference. “And my friends in the White Fang, it is fortunate that you are here–”

“Sir.” Adam stood up straighter, followed suit by his men. Gray almost thought the man would salute.

“I would have planned a meeting with you, but it seems that won’t be necessary.” Gray saw the complicated look of frustration on Cinder’s face and turned back to her. “Peace, Cinder. Do not fret. We will speak privately soon.”

He didn’t remember ever saying the word “fret” before. Did he use it correctly here?

Cinder gave a small jolt, but bowed lower this time.

Gray then looked over to Roman Torchwick and Neo. “Hello Roman, Neo. Thank you for coming today.”

“Sure thing, Boss.” Torchwick nonchalantly touched the rim of his bowler hat in greeting. Neo waved with a smile. A cheeky Cheshire cat smile, just as nonchalant as Roman.

Cinder now looked at those two with a small imperceptible frown. She was probably wondering how her master knew everyone here and how they knew him, and why she hadn’t been informed. Of course, all of this was fabricated by Gray.

“Now that we are all here, let us get comfortable. There is no use in standing around when we could be sitting. Junior’s men,” Gray turned to the goons by the door. “Could you help us set up some seating arrangements?”

The goons, looking more certain than before, jumped up to do as Gray asked. Before long, folding chairs were set up in a circle in the middle of the warehouse. Everyone was seated in this circle except for the goons as they were asked to keep an eye on every exit.

Gray sat down, still in disguise, with Cinder to his immediate right. Her two followers, Emerald and Mercury, sat to her right. Adam sat to Gray’s left, with only one of his men next to him. The other White Fang members sat back near the wall and kept watch. Presumably of the other bad guys in the room.

Being sat between Cinder and Adam Taurus made Gray feel a little boxed in, in a very chilling way. These two were very likely murderers. That wasn’t a very comforting thought for a student like him.

The rest of the seats were filled by Roman and Neo, with Neo to the left of the White Fang member and Roman next to Mercury. Eight chairs in a circle, spaced out a little to avoid being in each other's space. A small light bulb hung above, switched on for the purpose of this meeting.

Everyone settled down and looked to Gray. Under his facade and disguise, their attention made him feel very out of place. He held his nerves in place with the knowledge that he could simply use his Semblance to deal with them however he wished. It really did help.

“Once again, thank you all for coming today. I’m sure I must be interrupting some important work.” Gray began, trying to be courteous. The members of this little cabal gave various forms of acknowledgement. A stoic nod from the White Fang faction, and an amused scoff from Roman and a shrug from Neo. The Cinder faction stayed mostly silent, with the exception being that of Mercury Black.

With a sneering smirk he muttered to himself. It wasn’t loud enough for Gray to hear but he did notice Adam and his subordinate glance at each other.

“Mercury.” Cinder gave a low warning.

“Sorry, sorry.” He conceded easily with hands raised in surrender.

A moment passed by before Gray was looked to again.

“I called this meeting so I can be brought up to speed on all your efforts thus far. Hopefully things are moving along nicely. Cinder, would you like to start us off?” Gray asked the dangerous woman.

She glanced at him with an expression that Gray could only interpret as hesitant. Hesitant to talk about sensitive information in front of people she doesn’t trust.

“It’s alright.” He said to her. “No one here will betray this information to outside parties.”

“I... understand.” She conceded with ****. She was silent for a moment after that, gathering her thoughts, before she began to speak at length. She explained a great deal of her plans, given to her by... another employer, who was likely Salem. Cinder talked about the theft of Dust all over the Kingdom and how that plot served two purposes. Distraction and arming the White Fang. She spoke of plans for a failed city outside of Vale’s borders. Mountain Glen, a city that Gray had only heard about in passing in his old school. She then talked about the upcoming Vytal festival and her plans to infiltrate Haven Academy as some of its students, giving her access to Beacon’s campus grounds. “Much of my plans to infiltrate the school are in place. I just need our associates to do their part when the time comes.”

The Vytal festival wouldn’t take place until next year. During the summer break. So, Cinder was definitely planning ahead. This plot of hers would be a slow burn affair. Her explanation seemed to be over now. Or, at least the parts she was willing to share in the company of others. Gray had a feeling she had more she wanted to tell him. In fact, he counted on it since she hadn’t mentioned Salem by name yet.

“Thank you, Cinder. You’ve done good work.” He told her, not really knowing what good work actually meant for her here. Regardless, she seemed to preen a little under his praise. “We’ll talk more once things have concluded here. Roman, did you have any updates on your end?”

“Yes, actually. We’ve been giving the police the run-around all over the place and lying low when the heat became too much, but the authorities seem to be getting a clue. Dust banks and stores are heavily protected now...” Roman Torchwick gave his report of the Dust robberies taking place all over the Kingdom. He mentioned the prices hiking up and the black market in a relative buzz. Shady weapons dealers have been trying to get in on the whole thing and other crime families are making subtle moves to protect their stockpiles. Roman finished up by mentioning that his warehouses keeping the Dust he stole safe haven’t been found yet.

“Thank you, Roman. Continue as you were and make doubly sure that no one is caught. We don’t want anyone flapping their lips.” Gray thought he was sounding very much like an evil crime boss, if he said so himself.

“Got it, Boss.” He said, nodding his head. “What should I do with the weapons dealers sniffing around?”

Gray... wasn’t sure.

“Do you anticipate them making a nuisance of themselves?” He asked.

“Black market business men looking to make some cash tend to have ways of making nuisances of themselves.” Roman said, his tone revealing how annoying he thought they could be.

“Can they provide anything to our mission? Weapons and ammunition? Special order weapons and tools?”

“Oh, they can do all of that.” He said confidently.

At that moment, an idea came to mind. It formed as Gray glanced over at Adam and the other White Fang member with him. Weren’t they now his very own army? And this Salem woman had an army of Grimm, did she not? And the White Fang wanted to be seen as equals to humans...

What if, instead of fighting amongst each other, they fought the Grimm in earnest, proving their grit and value to the world as an organization that protects. Not one that terrorizes.

That was... certainly a thought. Gray would have to think it through some more. In the meantime...

“If they want a piece of the pie so much, then let's see what they can offer us. Set up a meeting with the most prominent dealers in a week's time. Hopefully they can be patient until then.” Gray noticed Cinder look to him after he said that, but she didn’t object.

“Right, I’ll set that up for ya.” Roman said.

“Thank you. Now, Adam, you have been waiting patiently. Do you have anything to report?” Gray asked, looking to the Faunus side of the circle.

“Yes, Sir.” Adam replied with a militant deference that made Gray want to squirm. “My men have been working on recruitment efforts in the city and our numbers have been steadily swelling. Though training has been slow with those used to civilian life.”

The masked Faunus explained in efficient detail what the White Fang had been doing since Cinder approached him a couple of months ago. Largely, they had been laying low and recruiting new members, but would also assist Roman with protecting and moving Dust shipments around and out of Vale. Plans for the future included this Mountain Glenn city that was mentioned before. Adam hoped to set up a base in the caves beneath the failed city.

Adam also mentioned having to lie to his superiors in the organization in his routine briefings about working with Cinder’s group. Apparently, all they have been told was that he was working with the city’s criminal underbelly. He omitted Cinder’s group entirely.

After giving it some thought, Gray asked, “When is the next briefing taking place?”

“This Sunday evening, Sir.”

“Alright, I’ll be there for that meeting.” Gray promised.

“Yes, Sir.” Adam nodded his head.

So, now he had a criminal schedule to keep. What was the world coming to?

Everyone had a round of explaining and now the big meeting was likely to conclude soon, and Gray was feeling incredibly exhausted. Who knew simply being in the company of dangerous criminals could be so draining.

Gray only had a few more questions here and there, to help him get an idea of all the goings on in the dark side of Vale. There was a back and forth now, but Gray knew that the real meeting wasn’t over yet. He still needed to get the full story from Cinder.

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