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Business was business, and Roman Torchwick was always happy to steal a few extra shipments of dust, but this was a step too far. He wasn’t about to be told what to do on his own turf.
“Absolutely not.” Roman leaned one hand on the table covered in train schedules and maps and narrowed his eyes at Cinder. “I am not bringing any White Fang in on this job. They’re sloppy. Not happening. I’d be better off hiring more of Junior’s goons than them.”
Cinder stared neutrally back at him.
“That wasn’t a suggestion.”
Roman straightened up.
“That’s not how this works. This is my town. I’m always happy to invest in a new business venture, but here you do it on my terms or you can take your business to the Grimm.” Roman was already pretty fed up with Cinder’s attitude. He wasn’t about to be bossed around in his own territory. He hadn’t come to Vale and spent years building up his operations to be anything less than in charge.
“You know,” Cinder started to slowly circle the table, her fingertips dragging along its surface. Roman turned as she moved to ensure she never left his line of sight. “I passed through Mistral on my way here. Had the most fascinating conversation with a little spider.”
Roman took a drag on his cigar and fought to keep his expression unimpressed.
“Did you now?” he drawled, ignoring the ice settling in his stomach.
“Mmm. She told me about a former second-in-command she had. Ambitious fellow. Creative. Good in a fight. But that wasn’t the interesting part.” Cinder had reached Roman’s side of the table and was now starting to encroach on his personal space. “No, the interesting part was that this second of hers not only hadn’t discovered his Semblance, yet.” Cinder leaned in uncomfortably close. “He couldn’t even access his Aura.”
Fuck.
Roman refused to lean back. He took his cigar out of his mouth and blew out a stream of smoke.
“Interesting story.” Cinder must have paid the Spiders a massive stack of Lien for that information. That or Lil’ Miss Malachite was holding even more of a grudge than he’d realized. Lil’ Miss Malachite had been holding that card close to her vest for so long that Roman hadn’t even been sure that she actually had it.
“Yes. She also told me that she gave that second of hers a little something to remember her by when he finally double-crossed her.” Cinder’s hand darted out. Roman caught her wrist but not before she flicked his bangs out of the way of his right eye. It was a good match for the original, but without the distraction of his hair, it was still obviously fake. “A reminder of what happens when his eyes get too big for his stomach.” Roman shoved her hand away. Cinder just smiled.
Roman just clenched his teeth.
“What rumors will they come up with next?” It was a weak bluff, and he knew it. Cinder knew it, too. She had him. A blind eye was a liability that Roman could compensate for. It wasn’t information he wanted getting out, but he could handle it. But a boss at Roman’s level with no access to Aura? If that got around, every upstart looking to make a name for themself in Vale would go into a feeding frenzy.
Her smile widened.
“I’ll send the contact information for the White Fang to your Scroll.”
“You got it, boss,” Roman gritted out, forcing his face into a rictus facsimile of a grin.
“That’s what I like to hear.” Cinder turned and sashayed away. Fire flickered above her palm, adding strange patterns of shadows to the warehouse floor and walls. “I’m glad we understand each other, Roman. I’d hate to think you might need another... reminder.”
Roman waited until he was well and truly sure that the bitch was gone, and then he allowed his knees to go a little weak and his shoulders to slump. He leaned both hands on the table.
Fuck.
He was back to where he’d never wanted to be again – somebody else’s lacky. One conversation and his empire had been ripped out from under his feet in all but name. He needed to update Neo. His partner was the only weakness Roman had left that Cinder didn’t already have her thumb on. Neo was more than capable of taking care of herself, but that was no reason to let Cinder stack the deck even further in her favor.
Roman straightened up and combed his bangs back into place with one hand. Well, Vale was officially a lost cause. Roman knew when to fold on a bad hand. Mistral was clearly still off the table, and Atlas had never been an option. Vacuo it was. Roman and Neo just had to stay useful and play along with Cinder’s plans until they could disappear. They just had to survive.
Roman had always been very good at surviving.