![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spottois mutton really the only word that rhymes with button? surely there is something else
like
uh
hm.
well here's chapter seven
ALSO KNOWN AS, that chapter with SHINY NEW CHARACTERS WHAT
7
A couple months had passed and life inside the stint had gone without much incident. Aside from the numerous occurrences two months back and several arguments with a certain heiress peppered about through this timeframe, Blake found her work to be fairly smooth. She wasn't at the prison when that rare fight broke out back then either, which was either a good or a bad thing. The fight that had took place before that one, several months back was the one that led to her pepper-spraying herself. She knew how to use mace of course, but she was sleep-deprived, almost to the point of toppling over at any point. She had taken a few less shifts to get her sleep cycle back in order, but knowing her common night prowls it would never be fully normal. Regardless, Blake was at work in the prison just like any other day, though one would not have considered it such due to the chilly temperatures that racked this wintry morning. In fact several employees didn't even show up, excusing themselves with inconveniences like the ice on their cars or the roads being closed. Unlike most today, Blake was almost at one-hundred percent, having achieved five hours of sleep that night, which was more sleep she had in a night in a month. Sure that still wasn't ideal, but at least she wasn't going through numerous all-nighters she had been doing earlier in her career.
Even though it felt like any other snowy morning, today was a little different. They had been given a call from the local police academy. A few of the decorated veterans of the force, some instructors and a class were taking a field trip to the prison today. After all if they were to become officers they would need to see criminals of all sorts and sizes and learn not to be biased towards a particular gender or race, though the current officers weren't doing a very good job of that. If she had brought that up to them there would be hell to pay, so once again Blake learned to keep her maw shut. She wondered if she was unleashing her frustrations on Weiss who would always seem to side with them despite her current predicament, but then she'd remember all the rude and frankly offensive comments Weiss would make in the arguments, and Blake would no longer feel she was doing anything wrong. She had lost count of the number of times she had cuffed Weiss in these two months, and with the other guards spewing similar remarks about faunus in particular there was no reason to them why Weiss needed to be segregated. It infuriated Blake, and she thought back to her night prowls, recalling how vulnerable the heiress had been.
For the safety of the trainees and also because herding hundreds of inmates while a field trip was going on was too chaotic for the short-staffed correctional officers to attempt, they had decided to keep every inmate locked up for the day, only pulling them out if need be, perhaps in a demonstration for the students. The hour was 0600, which would normally be around the end of the night shift and the start of the morning shift, but considering what was happening today Blake decided to take all the shifts. She was genuinely curious how the police academy taught their students, what exactly they might be saying and how progressive they were. She kept an optimistic outlook for what they might be teaching, but knew that there was a very real chance even the students had sullied opinions and remarks on faunus. She'd want to the know the root cause of all this, and if it meant the older veterans were passing on their bigotry to the young up and coming generation, there would be no end in sight of the faunus oppression.
A co-worker exited her office and waved at Blake to come over. Usually in the beginning of each workday they would all have a meeting to ensure everyone was focused and prepared for the day. Even if the prisoners weren't maximum security levels of dangerous it was always good to keep up the focus and to stay alert. They wanted to minimize the violence as much as possible. Of course since these meetings did indeed occur every morning many employees thought of it more like an early morning break than anything; having to reiterate their slogans and mottos day-after-day would become tiresome.
"Blake! Boss wants to see you," she said, pointing her towards the warden's office. The warden was the one responsible for this entire institution and Blake had longed to unearth how he had kept the place running. Blake suspected that even though this was technically a public facility it was truly private behind closed doors. Every cell they managed to fill they would probably earn upwards of ten thousand lien a body, and that would be a terrible sign in terms of actual attempts of rehabilitation.
She was naturally not very fond of the warden, who rarely visited the facility except on special occasions like today. He would never show up to handle the inmates or talk to them personally. Wardens would normally wish for the well-being and redemption of those who have lost their ways, but this one didn't to seem to have any passion for what his job description should've been. With him not sticking around too often he would never hear the casually racist remarks his employees would have, and it wouldn't surprise her if he did nothing to rescind those behaviours even if he had overheard them.
Blake stepped into the lavish warden's office, extra roomy with the most expensive of furniture. All the wood would be mahogany and the sofas and chairs pure one-hundred percent leather. There was absolutely no reason for an office to be furnished this well, only furthering Blake's suspicions. Regardless, she kept her posture upright and her arms by her sides, keeping up the strict appearance in respect to her superior.
"Belladonna," He began, still sitting in his oversized chair, "As you know the academy and a few police officers will be arriving in a few hours. I called you here because I want you personally to show them around and answer any questions they ask."
"Me, sir?"
He continued, "Yes, as I can see from the files you have been the most devoted and efficient correctional officer of the past year. I see no one else more qualified than you to take this task. Please remember that the Captain of the ninth precinct is arriving as well. His father was an old colleague of mine, so I want you to treat them with the utmost of respect."
"I will do my best, sir."
"Good, I assume you have your duties to attend to. With this you are dismissed."
He smiled, the old man flashing a gold tooth. He had to be at least in his late sixties or early seventies, which once again was another troubling sign. A man of that age should've retired by now, so for him to still be in this profession earning who knows what sums of money was strange indeed. Blake nodded once and exited the office. The very idea she was the best officer in the facility was laughable as well. Blake knew she had covered up some shady practices, most particular pertaining to Yang and of course, there was again that pepper-spraying incident. The only reason he might have assumed she was the most fit for the job was that she took far more shifts than anyone else. Yet another side-effect of an employer who was never there to supervise.
She didn't mind of course. This allowed her as much observation as possible of these officers and how they were like. She took a routine stroll through the corridors, in particular Cellblock D where most of her work took place. Most everyone was asleep, except of course Yang who was sitting by the bars, a wide toothy grin appearing on her face the moment she saw the guard.
"Blakey! You're here today!" She called.
"I'm here most of the days," Blake reminded. If she could she'd work seven days a week, but unions and regulations forced her to have at least a day off.
Yang pressed her face onto the bars, "So I'm hearing from around that we're not being let out today."
"That is correct."
"Awww, but why?" Yang inquired, "Did something happen?"
Blake noted the time on the clock, "A field trip."
"Huh? What poor class would take a trip here?" Yang said, "This isn't like that one time a whole bunch of delinquents were brought in so we could yell at them to shape up, or else end up here is it?"
"Oh no, not at all. The complete opposite actually."
"Eh?"
Blake took hold of the bar, not feeling up to keeping her usual professional stance, "Students from the police academy."
"Wow, you do know most people here hate the cops right?"
"And that's exactly why you and everyone else aren't coming out today," She concluded.
Yang made a slight nod, "I see. That is a good point."
"I need to get back to work Yang, see you a little later," She waved and finished her walk down the aisles.
Yang on the other hand was looking forward to watching the baby officers. They were students, but not all of them would graduate. Some might decide that this wasn't the career for them and perhaps experiencing the people they must deal with on a daily basis was the best thing to do.
Once the hour struck eight, a bus full of passengers pulled up in front of the institution. Blake stood by the entrance, while a few other guards were preparing the gate to be opened for those to stream in. Various young trainees were marched single file inside. Behind this bus were a few police cars, one in particular parked in a reserved spot meant for employees. Seeing this, Blake headed towards the parking lot to confront the individual. She didn't care how important this person might be, they were to park in the designated visitor's spots no matter what. The man who stepped out sported a cropped, strawberry blonde hairstyle and stood almost half-a-foot taller than Blake. His badge was far more complex than the more common officer's badge. Was this the captain?
Before Blake could approach, a shaky, higher pitched voice called out to her.
"Ms. B-Belladonna!" He raised an arm, like he was trying to catch her attention, "Fancy seeing you here!"
Blake noticed he too was wearing an officer's uniform, but he didn't seem to be ranked higher than really anyone else arriving today, "Uh yes, I do work here. Who are you?"
"Oh! I guess, since we've never talked before, you don't really know me. Haha," He started to scratch the back of his head, "I'm Winton, Winton Whitaker. I'm the guy who drives all the prisoners here!"
Blake brought her gaze back to the parking lot, but the probably captain was nowhere to be seen. She glanced around the area and noticed he had already reached the entrance, "Uh yes, please excuse me."
She hurried up to the doorway and tapped the man on the shoulder, "Excuse me, are you the captain?"
"That's Captain Cardin Winchester to you, and who might you be?" He narrowed his eyes, examining Blake in her entirety and not being all too impressed.
"Captain Winchester, my name is Blake Belladonna. I will be guiding you and the class for today. I'm just wondering if you realize you parked in a reserved spot for employees. It's an honest mistake if you did, but we really need you to move your car."
The captain took one look at his car, but stayed put, "Would you not agree that for today, and today only, I am an employee of this prison?"
"No, I would say you are a visitor," Blake too stood pat.
"Hmph," He crossed his arms, raising his head so that his chin was much more prominent in Blake's face, "I do not see anyone else parking in that spot. The priority here is allowing the students to study the behaviour of disgusting criminals. Do your job Ms. Belladonna and I will do mine."
He didn't allow Blake a response, turning and entering the facility. Well, it wasn't the first time Blake wasn't fond of authority and sadly the trend continued. She watched as more students and other officers entered the building, and another officer, a woman this time with long-flowing red hair, approached her. She immediately held out a hand.
"Hello. I'm Lieutenant Pyrrha Nikos. I understand you will be our chaperone today?"
Blake took her hand, the shake was firm but friendly, "Yes, I'm Officer Blake Belladonna."
"Ah yes, it is very nice to meet you Blake. I saw you were talking to my captain just now. I have to apologize for him. He is a very strict and dividing figure," Pyrrha explained.
"I can see why," Blake added.
Blake led many of the students to a conference room, the one the prison guards would use for their almost-useless morning meetings. They had moved the classroom's chairs and desks over, and while using a classroom instead would probably make far more sense, the small size of the rooms were not ideal for the fifty or sixty students that had arrived. Cardin marched back and forth at the front of the conference room, waiting for the unruly students to calm down so he could explain the trip to them. There were four officers who also acted as instructors with the students; the two highest ranked were Cardin and Pyrrha.
"Students!" Cardin began, "I want to ask you all again, in case you for whatever reason forgot, why you are here."
One of them raised a hand, "Yes, you."
"To study the psychological behaviour of the common criminal?"
"No!" Cardin boomed, "We are here to find patterns! From first impressions you can see that in these cages house dangerous, rabid animals. That's the first pattern! That a majority of the rats on the streets are literal rats of the streets! Second, notice the unruly states of some of these prisoners. If someone is a mess on the outside they are most likely a mess on the inside! Suspect everyone, students, and do not let up no matter how little evidence you have at the moment! Your gut is your best friend."
Blake's fingers were restless the more and more this man spoke. She knew it was a high possibility the so-called enforcers of the law may have had bias, but this was absurd to the level of parody. She wondered how he even achieved the career he had now. She stood pat, watching the speech unfold. If she were instead the instructor she would describe criminals to be either everyday citizens or drug kingpins. There was one extreme and then the pool of people who were simply misguided, or perhaps in the faunus case, living in extreme poverty and growing up in a culture where crime was glorified. Cardin's take was far too simplified, far too wrong. In hindsight she should've seen this coming, alarm bells ringing the moment she noticed none of the students were faunus. On the other hand, there was a strong possibility a few of them were less visible faunus or even like her, hiding their identity. If there were any, they never refuted the captain's senseless barks, fear of being failed just as Blake feared of being fired.
Cardin eyed Blake, "Now, let me introduce to you one of the guards whose job is to handle these ruffians each and every day. Ms. Belladonna."
She watched the captain step out of the room the moment he handed the floor to Blake, "Hello, I'm Officer Blake Belladonna. I've been working at this facility for almost two years now. I know the ins and outs of this place to the back of my head. Do any of you have any questions?"
A man shot his hand up, "Yes, you with the blonde hair."
"How scary are the inmates?" A chorus of laughter broke out the moment he said that and he sank in his chair, "It's a legitimate question guys!"
"That's a good question," Blake assured, "Working here isn't as cartoony as you might think. Most people are fine with serving their time. There are troublemakers of course but we handle them just as an officer would on the outside."
One of the students kicked the chair the blonde was sitting in, "What a dumb question Jaune. This is a girl's prison you know."
What he didn't know of course was that the correctional officer was a faunus, so she could easily tell what he was saying. She purposely stepped up closer to the man sitting behind the one called Jaune. He had a wild mohawk on his head, not the type of hair that was normally allowed in a strict environment like a police academy.
"What did you say?"
The mohawked man nearly jumped, "N-nothing, ma'am!"
Blake turned to the female student sitting next to them, "Did you hear him?"
"Yeah, he said girls aren't scary!" She glared at him. It was his turn to sink in his chair.
Blake had her arms akimbo, "What's your name?"
"Uh, R-Russel, Russel Thrush ma'am."
"Well Russel, you should know we had an incident two months ago that left an inmate bloodied and missing a tooth. Though most inside are harmless, the dangerous part of the job is who. We do not know. That is why we must be prepared for any situation, from any individual," Blake pulled out a clipboard, "The captain will not be pleased with your behaviour."
Russel fixed his posture, pointing directly at the guard, "Ha! Joke's on you. I'm the captain's favourite student."
Why was Blake not surprised? She turned and gave a pleading look to the Lieutenant, who stepped in to involve herself as well, "That doesn't mean you are free to be rude, Russel. This is a warning. Also please do not kick the chairs."
The student frowned and clamped his mouth shut. Blake returned to the front of the conference room, just as Cardin stepped back into the room. He took back the class, gesturing for all of them to stand up, "Alright. Officer Belladonna, I'm going to take the students to the nearest cellblock, D, is it? We'll continue from there. Let's go maggots!"
Most of the students streamed out of the room in single file, with excellent posture to boot. One student, the same blonde from before named Jaune, was walking with Lieutenant Pyrrha to the doorway. She approached Blake as well, "Thank you for taking Jaune's question in stride. His road to the academy was a little rocky, so a lot of the students don't take him seriously."
"Do you two know one another?" Blake asked, her eyes darting back and forth between the two.
"Yes, Jaune here is actually Jaune Arc. He is the Police Commissioner's only son," Pyrrha introduced, "who is my highest boss. He asked me personally to look out for him."
Jaune pivoted his foot, looking away, "You don't have to tell her that Pyrrha. It makes it sound like I don't deserve to be here."
"Oh, but you do! You passed all your tests, and with a little guidance you'll get through the physicals too! Your father was very happy when you told him you wanted to follow in his footsteps."
The blonde didn't have nearly as confident an attitude like Pyrrha did. Blake directed them towards the cellblock they were going to see. The group huddled together, muttering small whispers when they were awed by the scene around them. It wasn't a wonder of the world or anything magnificent like that, but to these people whose jobs would likely involve people like these, and the same people considering the high re-offending rate, it was like the first look into their careers. Some inmates for their part were curious as well, taking a gander at the to-be recruits, but most of them carried on with their own business, uninterested. Before Blake allowed them to stroll by each cell, they were once again asked if they had any questions.
One student asked, "So if this is Cellblock D, is there an A, B, and C? What's the difference?"
The question didn't relate to the whole part about becoming an officer, but was a reasonable one all the same, "Hm, well Cellblock A contains our inmates with the briefest of sentences, shorter than six months. As you can see most of the inmates are grouped by twos, which wasn't what we had before. Due to a certain jail overflowing for some odd reason," she eyed Cardin, wondering if he noticed her passive-aggressive tone, "we had to take in the convicted inmates and separate them for those waiting for trial back at jail."
"B is protective custody, usually for those who are simply not safe anywhere else. Be it their crime or their nature," Blake explained, "It is our smallest wing."
"C is the complete opposite, segregation, housing those troublemakers who won't stop, or those who have violated our rules three times and are sent there as punishment. They are locked in their cells for most of the day and are only allowed out alone for upwards to an hour."
She extended her arm to visually represent her point, "Finally, D houses our usual inmates, those staying for longer than six months."
Meanwhile, in a particular cell at a particular corner, Ruby had just woken up, seeing new mail on the ground, having been slipped in by one guard or another in the earlier hours. She sifted through them, reading through the addresses and names and they were all for her, oddly enough. She had been here for almost three months, about half of her sentence, and was even given a hearing with the parole board should she be released early for good behaviour. Unfortunately the drug charge incident dashed all hopes of that happening, but Ruby didn't mind. She had expected to be here six months and well, it wasn't that big of a deal that she'd serve her time through. She noticed the unfamiliar group of officers and students, standing in the middle of the corridor, Blake in tow. Weiss was lying in bed, choosing to ignore the new crowd, preferring to go through a book with one hand, and writing yet again some sort of mysterious letter she had dared not to pry into in the other. They had so much time in here yet this girl still wanted to multi-task.
Of course, with the mail in her hands and her cellmate still after all this time writing those letters, one curious thought popped in her mind, "Hey Weiss. How come there's never anything for you in the mail?"
As expected, the first response was a glare. Ruby was beginning to become immune to these, so she wondered if Weiss was going to come up with some other sort of dirty look, to express to others 'how dare they ever speak to her or ask her anything ever', sort of thing, "I wonder that too sometimes, Ruby."
Her words were surprisingly benign instead of the underhanded insult that she'd normally have. Lately Weiss had been dropping those parts of her comments, perhaps softening to Ruby even more, or perhaps giving up to the fact that her words had any meaning. After all she had been calling Ruby all sorts of names that were all variations of idiot since day one, and not a single time did they phase her. Well, Ruby did dislike Weiss the day she met her, but the more those insults were flung the less impactful they were. Ruby glanced back outside the bars, seeing all those wide-eyed students whose near-futures were probably far more cushy and successful than the people inside. She noticed a familiar blonde in the crowd as well, causing her to get up and press her face to the bars.
"Hey! That's the bailiff who caught the stomach flu!" She pointed out.
This for once, brought Weiss' attention to the bars as well. She wanted to have a good look at that incompetent fool who decided cuffing Ruby to a doorknob was the smartest idea. Had Ruby been anyone threatening there could've been a courthouse shooting, though perhaps that was a tad exaggerated. Ruby appeared to point at a rather unremarkable man standing by with the students, but Weiss' stomach dropped the moment she saw another close by, or perhaps the person next to him. Ruby wasn't able to read who it was that caused Weiss to race back to her bed and hide under the covers.
"Uh Weiss, what are you doing?"
She shushed, "Shhh! If they come by tell them you're locked here alone!"
"But why? What's going on?"
"Just do as I say!"
Ruby wondered what Weiss was trying to do underneath the covers. If they did take a look into this cell, they'd notice that there was definitely a person underneath the blankets, so the whole idea Ruby was here alone didn't make sense unless she was being haunted in the mornings. After a few minutes Weiss' fears were founded, when the students began to scatter and walk around the corridors. She wondered how at all staring at people going through their day in a tiny cage was all that interesting, but Ruby knew that was probably why she was never going to be a cop. The most intimidating-looking man was the first to walk by, peering through the bars and looking at Ruby especially with his stern protruding brows.
"You! Where's the other filth?"
Ruby almost skipped a syllable, "Abuh, she's not—I mean, I'm here alone, kinda."
He narrowed his eyes, "Are you telling lies to the Captain of the Ninth Precinct?"
"No?" Ruby probably shouldn't have answered his question with an answer that sounded like a question.
"Belladonna!" He called, "You have some misbehaving inmates over here. Come reprimand them!"
Blake came over, though she wasn't all that happy to be following the orders of someone who wasn't even an employee in this facility, especially one who did not seem to respect others, "I see nothing wrong here, sir."
"This small one is telling lies to my face. That surely violates some rule. I expect to see some discipline. You are a correctional officer, are you not!?"
Blake grumbled internally, "Ruby, are you telling the Captain lies?"
"Not on purpose?"
"What!?" Cardin sneered at Ruby, "That's it. Belladonna, I want you to take the two in this cell, as well as various others, such as that one, that one, and that one," he pointed, "and take them to the yard. We will be having a demonstration! Students!"
Ruby gulped, "Uh oh."
"Ruby, what have you done!?" Weiss cried out as she lifted the covers, after the man was out of earshot.
"I did what you told me to!"
"You are the absolute worst liar in existence."
Ruby frowned, "What are you even hiding for? Sure that guy seems kind of scary but not to the point of needing to duck in holes or anything."
Blake contributed, "It's alright. He is a very controversial man. This would probably have happened sooner or later. Prepare to head to the yard."
On the plus side when the chosen inmates were taken out, Ruby was relieved to find Yang had been chosen as well, so she'd have some sort of comfort when this man was no doubt going to go into drill instructor mode onto them. Perhaps Yang too had made some sort of snide comment to annoy the Captain, she wasn't sure. Ruby certainly wouldn't have been surprised had that been the case. She did not need to wonder long.
"Wow, you comment on his eyes being too far apart and he goes ballistic!" Yang said as she was shuffled to the other side of the chosen group.
When they reached the yard the inmates were not dressed for the part, feeling chilled to the bone in subzero temperatures. This did not aid in their moods, all of them not only feeling the bitter cold, but bitter itself to the man who demanded them out here. While they mingled, awaiting the captain who had skipped out once again for whatever it was he needed to do, the people Weiss had recognized now had the chance to recognize her. She did all she could to be as small and unnoticeable as possible, but it was inevitable.
"Hey, is that Weiss?"
No. No. No no no no. Do not approach. Do not come near. Weiss stepped behind Ruby, holding her shoulders and trying to blend into the nature, which would have been very effective what with the weather had she not been wearing an outfit with a colour that stood out in every season, orange. Well, perhaps fall would've been the one time the colour would work.
Ruby for her part was still unsure as to what Weiss was trying to do, "Seriously Weiss, what's going on?"
"Hello," a tall, well-built redheaded woman with long flowing locks waved. She was wearing an officer's uniform that was almost as decorated as the Captain's, "I'm Lieutenant Nikos. And you are?"
"Uh, Ruby," Ruby responded briefly.
"Ruby, then," she smiled, "is the person trying to hide behind you, is her name Weiss?"
Ruby raised her brows, "How did you know!?"
"Why!" Weiss threw her arms up and stepped out, revealing herself, "What have I ever done to you, Ruby?"
"What!? You never told me what was going on!"
The blonde who stood behind Lieutenant Nikos made a fist pump, "Ha! I knew it was Weiss!"
"So it is me! Who cares!"
Pyrrha shared a sympathetic look with Ruby, "Weiss, I'm glad you're making friends."
Weiss turned away, still wanting to rush back inside not just because of the cold, which was for whatever reason subsiding perhaps because her brain was too busy panicking, but well, from this, "I don't want to hear that from you."
"Oh! You two know each other!" Ruby finally figured it out.
Weiss buried her face into her palms.
"Ah, I used to babysit Weiss when she was younger," Pyrrha explained, "Oh she was very cute. Did you know one time when I made her dinner, she declared she wanted to marry me when she grew up? Oh it was just very, very adorable."
"Bahahaha! That's so precious!" Yang sure turned up at a very opportune time.
Ruby rubbed on her shoulders, the cold starting to really feel its way up her body, "Yang, how are you able to wear that in this temperature!?"
Yang didn't even come out with a jacket or coat, still in her white tanktop revealing her many tattoos that ran down both arms, "Eh, sometimes it feels like I can just expel fire from my whole body. I don't know, maybe I retain body heat really well?"
Their small conversation did not allow them to notice Weiss slowly edging away from the group. She was about to step back inside when Blake noticed and blocked her from the entrance, "What are you doing? You can't wander off on your own. You do realize that could be grounds for escape?"
Of course, Blake wondered if Weiss' extremely red face was from her not reacting very well to the cold and if so she'd understand her need to return inside. Unfortunately for Weiss, while Blake understood she still didn't have a whole lot of sympathy for the girl, what with the lovely arguments that revolved around faunus around them. Blake was still not fond of Weiss even after all this time, and so she did not allow her to return. Weiss cursed the world as she was pushed back into the group with Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, and Jaune.
The lieutenant took a glance at the doorway and saw the captain returning, "Well, it was nice seeing you again Weiss. I wish it was on more desirable circumstances, but I hope you're back on the right path the next time we meet. Let's go back, Jaune."
Weiss frowned, face still a little red as she decided her shoes were far more interesting than this conversation, "Y-yeah."
When they were far enough away for any of their words to reach, Yang gave Weiss a pat on the back, "Wow, I never expected that from you. You are cuter than I could've ever imagined! Having a crush on your babysitter, that just sounds so normal from you."
"Shut up, she's only six years older than me. It could still work," Weiss was in too much of a rush to defend herself to realize the implications of her words.
"You still have a crush on her!" Yang started laughing again, "Oh man."
Weiss would have given anything to wipe the grin off of Yang's face and perhaps drop her off a cliff, but she was in no position to. She had to settle for a glare.
Yang's smile only grew wider, "Weiss, you know I'm gunning for you."
"Yeah, you have my support too!" Ruby pulled her arms that were glued to her sides to keep in warmth and balled both her hands to fists, lifting them up at Weiss, giving her the indication she'd fight for her as well.
"Forget it. She's into the blonde that was with her," Weiss informed.
Yang raised a brow, "That scrawny guy that was with her? Really?"
"Do you know him too?" Ruby asked.
"Unfortunately," Weiss grumbled, "For the longest time he kept pining for me. It was beyond irritating."
"Oh my god a love triangle," Yang didn't know how this story could get even more amusing but it did.
"Why am I even telling you all this if all you're going to do is laugh!?" Weiss growled.
"Oh Weiss, I'm not laughing at you. It's just so unexpected! You can't help but laugh!" Yang explained, "For what it's worth, I've a much better opinion of you now."
Weiss crossed her arms, "Can I trade in that opinion for you shutting up?"
"Silence!" A booming voice echoed through the yard. The Captain appeared ready to chew out the prisoners. He directed his people to line up the inmates next to each other, their backs facing the walls. The Captain made sure they all had soldier-esque postures despite their utmost desire to shiver and hold themselves in some way to keep their body heat from escaping. He marched back in forth in front of the inmates, looking down upon them with eyes that seethed.
"Students, these are just a sample of the people you must detain," Cardin started smacking his ceremonial baton in his palm, "I've chose these for three reasons. One, they dared insult someone as high rank as I. Two, some of them do not look like the typical criminal. And three, I would imagine whatever they are convicted for will be very surprising to you."
He stopped at the end of the line, thankfully on the other side of where Yang, Ruby, and Weiss stood, "You!" He aggressively pointed to a raccoon faunus, "Street animal, why are you here?"
Blake had to draw the line somewhere, "Captain, I hate to interrupt. But we do not regard the faunus as 'street animals' here."
"Really? How preposterous! You forbid me to speak the truth to the dirt that reside here?"
"It's not strictly forbidden, but it is very rude," Blake said.
The captain stepped up to Blake, towering over her, "And I cannot be rude to the filth who have tainted the earth like they have done so, for generations upon generations? The only way they could be stopped was when we, the dedicated force came into play and put them where they belong. The least they deserve are words that put them in their place!"
"I'm starting to believe you're referring to faunus as a whole!" Blake returned the glare, "Captain Winchester, I hate to accuse you, but it sounds like your inherently racist and skewed opinions seriously jeopardizes the legitimacy of your role!"
"And what if I am!?" He howled, "The faunus are able to take opportunities, with their sharper eyes and ears they can easily, and they do, take advantage of the hard-working humans trying to make their living! Why else are so many in here right now!? I may be showing these students an example of how there are humans who have gone off the right of way as well," he gestured to the five or six human inmates that were told to stand out here too, "but they were probably influenced by faunus friends or neighbours!"
"That is utterly asinine!" Blake could not believe what she was hearing.
Cardin gritted his teeth, "You do not believe me?" He turned to Ruby, "You!"
"U-uh, yes sir?" Ruby responded with obvious jitters.
"For what reason are you part of this awful, shameful group?"
Ruby gulped, "Are you asking for my—"
"I am asking what you committed to land in here, yes! Read between the lines, fool!"
"G-gun possession, sir!" Ruby blurted out.
Blake began tapping her foot, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Do you not see? This young human girl here, who no one would expect in a place like this was given dangerous weapons by faunus gun traffickers!"
"That is pure speculation!" Blake countered, "What is wrong with you!?"
She turned and gave a look to Lieutenant Nikos wondering if this man was serious. Pyrrha could only mouth to her an apology, hoping the argument to tide over or for Blake to let it go. The lieutenant was a rank below, and was not at all happy to be chosen by Cardin to accompany him to this field trip. The one time Pyrrha did try to rebel under his authority she was almost thrown out of the force. Cardin Winchester held that much power.
Ruby too, though she initially feared the man, was not letting what he said go, "Excuse me sir, if I can have a word."
"Well, an inmate being polite. What a rare sight," Cardin nodded, "Fine, you have the stage."
"I'd just like to correct you sir. I did not obtain my weapons from any gun traffickers of any sort, faunus or not. I do not appreciate you excusing my crime by directing the blame to an irrelevant group of people," Yang knew Ruby was offended for Cardin not taking her passion seriously, "Though not a single person of authority has believed me, I provided myself with those weapons. I am well aware it was in the wrong, but even if you too do not believe me I refuse to allow you to explain my actions away with something else entirely. That would undermine my own efforts and time put into those weapons, so I think you owe the faunus an apology."
Cardin immediately regretted allowing Ruby a chance to speak, "You little—you will not speak to me in such a tone! I am your superior! You are nothing, filth, you are the scum on the bottom of a bucket! Learn your place, girl!"
He raised a hand to strike Ruby, but knew many others were watching. Ruby stood and watched him, not flinching for a moment. Cardin turned towards Blake, a look of fury in his eyes, "Why do you not practice corporal punishment on these pieces of trash!? You know they deserve it!"
"Corporal punishment would never work on people smarter than you," Blake couldn't help but smirk.
"Why you—"
"Oh will you stop already?" Weiss never did have much patience, "Seriously, you're just making yourself look worse the more you speak. You do realize no one likes you, right?"
Blake was taken aback that Weiss had even said a word.
"What? Another one of you going out of your way to insult me!?"
Weiss rolled her eyes, "I'm serious. Us, the guards, the students, even your fellow officers. I guarantee you they hate you to the bottoms of their souls, and who can blame them?"
"That's a lot coming from you, a disgraced inmate at the lowest point of their life!" He yelled straight in Weiss' face, bits of moisture landing on her cheeks. It was disgusting, but Weiss continued.
"Funny, when I see you I see a vulnerable pathetic little boy who can only feel validated by belittling others. You believe that gains you respect? You think you even have respect? You're here at a prison and you see all these people who have nothing compared to you, but somehow you still feel as if you're beneath them. That's the only explanation for your childlike behaviour. At least someone like me has nothing to lose and no face value to risk by speaking my mind. After all, I'm already here. This may be my present, but from what I can tell it feels like the your future. How sad."
Blake was at a loss to decide whether or not Weiss was the biggest hypocrite in the world, or doing God's work putting this man in his place. Unlike the officers or the guards, an inmate did not have much to lose feuding with the Captain of a police force. Cardin's face was already red with sheer rage, and he grabbed Weiss by the collar, picking her off the ground. This was dangerously close to something that should never happen between an officer and a felon, and Blake was about to intervene.
"You—!" His face was scrunched to the point that it was hard to see if he had vision through those squinted eyes, "How about I charge you with assault on a police officer?"
"Oh no, did I hurt your little feelings?" Weiss smirked, "You officers are always like this. We do nothing but damage your pride and you somehow misconstrue that as an attack. In the end it's nothing but empty threats."
For a moment Blake wondered if Weiss was referencing someone in particular, like her.
"You think I'm joking!?" He squeezed her collar harder.
"Well if you're serious about this, how about I spare you from the long and drawn-out court case?" At this height, Weiss had prime opportunity to strike, and strike she did.
Her knee went straight into Cardin's groin.
Weiss was back down to ground level immediately, the captain having fallen to his side, cringing in horror at what had struck upon his nether regions. This time Weiss had actually done something that Blake could not ignore, though she really wished she could because she felt so vindicated that the man had gotten what everyone thought he rightfully deserved. This moment of hesitance did not go unnoticed.
"W-what...are...you doing....detain her!" He grabbed at his crotch, still reeling, voice a whole octave higher than before.
Blake took hold of Weiss and pulled her hands behind her back, though not at all in the same force she did all those other times. She tried to say something to lecture Weiss, but none of her words came out in any sense of sincerity, "Oh no. That was bad of you Weiss. You should not have done that."
"Nice," Yang gave Weiss a thumbs up as Blake escorted her pass. The rest of the inmates began cheering in response to Yang's gesture. This led to the uneasy students clapping as well just as Blake and Weiss disappeared into a separate building across from the yard. Cardin was furious, but too in pain to say anything to the majority that enjoyed his downfall. When the man finally got up, he told his lieutenants and officers to pack up and that this trip was over. No way any of the students learnt anything through coming here and he would never recommend them come again. Not a single person currently at the facility found this loss to be all that significant, even the guards who shared a little of his philosophy found he was far too abrasive.
Since the field trip ended prematurely, the day was allowed to go as the routine would normally be, which was welcomed by the inmates. Ruby's cell was far more roomy now that Weiss wasn't around. She wondered how long she'd be gone for, or what other consequences she might face. The short-term for everyone else was a normal day inside, away from the cold, and without that hated police officer. Another consequence was that Ruby was free to jump off the walls to climb the bunk as much as she pleased. She was determined to achieve this feat before Weiss returned because so long as the heiress had confidence in her, she could do anything.
-
Just as Blake slammed the door shut on Weiss' face, a loud and most certainly livid voice called out, "Belladonna!"
The guard faced the warden stomping down the halls, "How did you allow my nephew to be assaulted by one of the inmates!?"
"Wait what?" That was new information.
"Answer me!"
"The captain, that captain," Blake emphasized, "is your nephew?"
His fists were balled so tightly the veins were threatening to pop, "You are on a fine line, Belladonna. Answer or would you prefer being suddenly unemployed?"
"I apologize sir," Blake straightened her back, "It won't happen again. The offender has also just been segregated."
The warden peeked into the cell, only to see two icy blue eyes in the most judgmental stare possible in return. Weiss was standing right up to the door, not having moved any deeper into her new place of indeterminate time. He jerked his head back, startled at the rebellious nature of the inmate. What was he expecting, for her to cower the moment he took a look? What about this elderly man was so intimidating? Weiss had never seen this man once in her life. He wasn't the warden was he? That would have been highly disappointing. Weiss was beginning to think Blake was the warden considering how often she was here, but if the person-in-charge was someone who was never here, well that certainly tested Weiss' tolerance of fools who didn't do their jobs properly.
Nonetheless, the man kept up with his threats, "You will be punished severely for that despicable action, on a decorated veteran high-rank officer no less! Belladonna, what is this sorry excuse of a human being's name?"
"Weiss, sir."
"Weiss what?"
"Weiss Schnee, sir," Blake added.
The warden turned back to the door, "Schnee, you will rue the—Schnee?" A moment of clarity came over the man, "She does not happen to be related to Kohle Schnee, CEO of the Schnee Metalworks Industry, does she?"
"Oh, I see you've met my father. I'm so sorry," Weiss said.
Blake felt like she was in a cartoon, visible steam escaping from the warden's ears, "He will be hearing about this, child!"
He did not stay to give a chance for Weiss to refute, storming out of the building faster than he had arrived. Blake on the other hand lingered for a while longer. She too was not fond of Weiss, but curiosity kept her in place. Weiss was still standing by the door, Blake's inaction not going unnoticed.
"What on earth do you want?"
"The better question is, why would you even do that?" Blake was well aware everyone would have been willing to line up to crush that man's nether regions if consequences allowed, but Weiss went ahead and did so in spite of the many reasons. She was going to take a huge fall just for a short moment of pain, excruciating pain yes, but still short and not all that significant in the long-run.
Weiss huffed, finally starting to step closer to the bed and other essential yet plain furniture in her cell. At least she had her own desk this time, "I simply weighed my options. The last thing I need is another endless trial that ultimately goes nowhere."
"He gave me an opening, so I took it," She pulled a chair off from its desk and took a seat, "I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand."
It was an explanation Blake took because well, Weiss did just kill two birds with one stone. She drove off the bigoted man, and put herself, the bigoted girl, into segregation. Blake wouldn't need to deal with either of them for some time, hopefully never again in terms of Cardin. There was one more bird Weiss had inevitably killed, and what the heiress didn't know was that the bird was Weiss herself. Blake nodded and stepped away, walking with purpose down the corridor and out the building. After a few days it was determined Weiss would not be allowed back for almost three weeks. Blake had all the time in the world to enact her plan, but she was, perhaps sadistically so, curious with how Weiss would handle an infamous building like Cellblock C. Considering Weiss' nature she figured she would thrive in an environment free from the onslaught of those undeserving her attention, but even so Blake was going to take her time. She was going to be conveniently ready in twenty days.
like
uh
hm.
well here's chapter seven
ALSO KNOWN AS, that chapter with SHINY NEW CHARACTERS WHAT
7
A couple months had passed and life inside the stint had gone without much incident. Aside from the numerous occurrences two months back and several arguments with a certain heiress peppered about through this timeframe, Blake found her work to be fairly smooth. She wasn't at the prison when that rare fight broke out back then either, which was either a good or a bad thing. The fight that had took place before that one, several months back was the one that led to her pepper-spraying herself. She knew how to use mace of course, but she was sleep-deprived, almost to the point of toppling over at any point. She had taken a few less shifts to get her sleep cycle back in order, but knowing her common night prowls it would never be fully normal. Regardless, Blake was at work in the prison just like any other day, though one would not have considered it such due to the chilly temperatures that racked this wintry morning. In fact several employees didn't even show up, excusing themselves with inconveniences like the ice on their cars or the roads being closed. Unlike most today, Blake was almost at one-hundred percent, having achieved five hours of sleep that night, which was more sleep she had in a night in a month. Sure that still wasn't ideal, but at least she wasn't going through numerous all-nighters she had been doing earlier in her career.
Even though it felt like any other snowy morning, today was a little different. They had been given a call from the local police academy. A few of the decorated veterans of the force, some instructors and a class were taking a field trip to the prison today. After all if they were to become officers they would need to see criminals of all sorts and sizes and learn not to be biased towards a particular gender or race, though the current officers weren't doing a very good job of that. If she had brought that up to them there would be hell to pay, so once again Blake learned to keep her maw shut. She wondered if she was unleashing her frustrations on Weiss who would always seem to side with them despite her current predicament, but then she'd remember all the rude and frankly offensive comments Weiss would make in the arguments, and Blake would no longer feel she was doing anything wrong. She had lost count of the number of times she had cuffed Weiss in these two months, and with the other guards spewing similar remarks about faunus in particular there was no reason to them why Weiss needed to be segregated. It infuriated Blake, and she thought back to her night prowls, recalling how vulnerable the heiress had been.
For the safety of the trainees and also because herding hundreds of inmates while a field trip was going on was too chaotic for the short-staffed correctional officers to attempt, they had decided to keep every inmate locked up for the day, only pulling them out if need be, perhaps in a demonstration for the students. The hour was 0600, which would normally be around the end of the night shift and the start of the morning shift, but considering what was happening today Blake decided to take all the shifts. She was genuinely curious how the police academy taught their students, what exactly they might be saying and how progressive they were. She kept an optimistic outlook for what they might be teaching, but knew that there was a very real chance even the students had sullied opinions and remarks on faunus. She'd want to the know the root cause of all this, and if it meant the older veterans were passing on their bigotry to the young up and coming generation, there would be no end in sight of the faunus oppression.
A co-worker exited her office and waved at Blake to come over. Usually in the beginning of each workday they would all have a meeting to ensure everyone was focused and prepared for the day. Even if the prisoners weren't maximum security levels of dangerous it was always good to keep up the focus and to stay alert. They wanted to minimize the violence as much as possible. Of course since these meetings did indeed occur every morning many employees thought of it more like an early morning break than anything; having to reiterate their slogans and mottos day-after-day would become tiresome.
"Blake! Boss wants to see you," she said, pointing her towards the warden's office. The warden was the one responsible for this entire institution and Blake had longed to unearth how he had kept the place running. Blake suspected that even though this was technically a public facility it was truly private behind closed doors. Every cell they managed to fill they would probably earn upwards of ten thousand lien a body, and that would be a terrible sign in terms of actual attempts of rehabilitation.
She was naturally not very fond of the warden, who rarely visited the facility except on special occasions like today. He would never show up to handle the inmates or talk to them personally. Wardens would normally wish for the well-being and redemption of those who have lost their ways, but this one didn't to seem to have any passion for what his job description should've been. With him not sticking around too often he would never hear the casually racist remarks his employees would have, and it wouldn't surprise her if he did nothing to rescind those behaviours even if he had overheard them.
Blake stepped into the lavish warden's office, extra roomy with the most expensive of furniture. All the wood would be mahogany and the sofas and chairs pure one-hundred percent leather. There was absolutely no reason for an office to be furnished this well, only furthering Blake's suspicions. Regardless, she kept her posture upright and her arms by her sides, keeping up the strict appearance in respect to her superior.
"Belladonna," He began, still sitting in his oversized chair, "As you know the academy and a few police officers will be arriving in a few hours. I called you here because I want you personally to show them around and answer any questions they ask."
"Me, sir?"
He continued, "Yes, as I can see from the files you have been the most devoted and efficient correctional officer of the past year. I see no one else more qualified than you to take this task. Please remember that the Captain of the ninth precinct is arriving as well. His father was an old colleague of mine, so I want you to treat them with the utmost of respect."
"I will do my best, sir."
"Good, I assume you have your duties to attend to. With this you are dismissed."
He smiled, the old man flashing a gold tooth. He had to be at least in his late sixties or early seventies, which once again was another troubling sign. A man of that age should've retired by now, so for him to still be in this profession earning who knows what sums of money was strange indeed. Blake nodded once and exited the office. The very idea she was the best officer in the facility was laughable as well. Blake knew she had covered up some shady practices, most particular pertaining to Yang and of course, there was again that pepper-spraying incident. The only reason he might have assumed she was the most fit for the job was that she took far more shifts than anyone else. Yet another side-effect of an employer who was never there to supervise.
She didn't mind of course. This allowed her as much observation as possible of these officers and how they were like. She took a routine stroll through the corridors, in particular Cellblock D where most of her work took place. Most everyone was asleep, except of course Yang who was sitting by the bars, a wide toothy grin appearing on her face the moment she saw the guard.
"Blakey! You're here today!" She called.
"I'm here most of the days," Blake reminded. If she could she'd work seven days a week, but unions and regulations forced her to have at least a day off.
Yang pressed her face onto the bars, "So I'm hearing from around that we're not being let out today."
"That is correct."
"Awww, but why?" Yang inquired, "Did something happen?"
Blake noted the time on the clock, "A field trip."
"Huh? What poor class would take a trip here?" Yang said, "This isn't like that one time a whole bunch of delinquents were brought in so we could yell at them to shape up, or else end up here is it?"
"Oh no, not at all. The complete opposite actually."
"Eh?"
Blake took hold of the bar, not feeling up to keeping her usual professional stance, "Students from the police academy."
"Wow, you do know most people here hate the cops right?"
"And that's exactly why you and everyone else aren't coming out today," She concluded.
Yang made a slight nod, "I see. That is a good point."
"I need to get back to work Yang, see you a little later," She waved and finished her walk down the aisles.
Yang on the other hand was looking forward to watching the baby officers. They were students, but not all of them would graduate. Some might decide that this wasn't the career for them and perhaps experiencing the people they must deal with on a daily basis was the best thing to do.
Once the hour struck eight, a bus full of passengers pulled up in front of the institution. Blake stood by the entrance, while a few other guards were preparing the gate to be opened for those to stream in. Various young trainees were marched single file inside. Behind this bus were a few police cars, one in particular parked in a reserved spot meant for employees. Seeing this, Blake headed towards the parking lot to confront the individual. She didn't care how important this person might be, they were to park in the designated visitor's spots no matter what. The man who stepped out sported a cropped, strawberry blonde hairstyle and stood almost half-a-foot taller than Blake. His badge was far more complex than the more common officer's badge. Was this the captain?
Before Blake could approach, a shaky, higher pitched voice called out to her.
"Ms. B-Belladonna!" He raised an arm, like he was trying to catch her attention, "Fancy seeing you here!"
Blake noticed he too was wearing an officer's uniform, but he didn't seem to be ranked higher than really anyone else arriving today, "Uh yes, I do work here. Who are you?"
"Oh! I guess, since we've never talked before, you don't really know me. Haha," He started to scratch the back of his head, "I'm Winton, Winton Whitaker. I'm the guy who drives all the prisoners here!"
Blake brought her gaze back to the parking lot, but the probably captain was nowhere to be seen. She glanced around the area and noticed he had already reached the entrance, "Uh yes, please excuse me."
She hurried up to the doorway and tapped the man on the shoulder, "Excuse me, are you the captain?"
"That's Captain Cardin Winchester to you, and who might you be?" He narrowed his eyes, examining Blake in her entirety and not being all too impressed.
"Captain Winchester, my name is Blake Belladonna. I will be guiding you and the class for today. I'm just wondering if you realize you parked in a reserved spot for employees. It's an honest mistake if you did, but we really need you to move your car."
The captain took one look at his car, but stayed put, "Would you not agree that for today, and today only, I am an employee of this prison?"
"No, I would say you are a visitor," Blake too stood pat.
"Hmph," He crossed his arms, raising his head so that his chin was much more prominent in Blake's face, "I do not see anyone else parking in that spot. The priority here is allowing the students to study the behaviour of disgusting criminals. Do your job Ms. Belladonna and I will do mine."
He didn't allow Blake a response, turning and entering the facility. Well, it wasn't the first time Blake wasn't fond of authority and sadly the trend continued. She watched as more students and other officers entered the building, and another officer, a woman this time with long-flowing red hair, approached her. She immediately held out a hand.
"Hello. I'm Lieutenant Pyrrha Nikos. I understand you will be our chaperone today?"
Blake took her hand, the shake was firm but friendly, "Yes, I'm Officer Blake Belladonna."
"Ah yes, it is very nice to meet you Blake. I saw you were talking to my captain just now. I have to apologize for him. He is a very strict and dividing figure," Pyrrha explained.
"I can see why," Blake added.
Blake led many of the students to a conference room, the one the prison guards would use for their almost-useless morning meetings. They had moved the classroom's chairs and desks over, and while using a classroom instead would probably make far more sense, the small size of the rooms were not ideal for the fifty or sixty students that had arrived. Cardin marched back and forth at the front of the conference room, waiting for the unruly students to calm down so he could explain the trip to them. There were four officers who also acted as instructors with the students; the two highest ranked were Cardin and Pyrrha.
"Students!" Cardin began, "I want to ask you all again, in case you for whatever reason forgot, why you are here."
One of them raised a hand, "Yes, you."
"To study the psychological behaviour of the common criminal?"
"No!" Cardin boomed, "We are here to find patterns! From first impressions you can see that in these cages house dangerous, rabid animals. That's the first pattern! That a majority of the rats on the streets are literal rats of the streets! Second, notice the unruly states of some of these prisoners. If someone is a mess on the outside they are most likely a mess on the inside! Suspect everyone, students, and do not let up no matter how little evidence you have at the moment! Your gut is your best friend."
Blake's fingers were restless the more and more this man spoke. She knew it was a high possibility the so-called enforcers of the law may have had bias, but this was absurd to the level of parody. She wondered how he even achieved the career he had now. She stood pat, watching the speech unfold. If she were instead the instructor she would describe criminals to be either everyday citizens or drug kingpins. There was one extreme and then the pool of people who were simply misguided, or perhaps in the faunus case, living in extreme poverty and growing up in a culture where crime was glorified. Cardin's take was far too simplified, far too wrong. In hindsight she should've seen this coming, alarm bells ringing the moment she noticed none of the students were faunus. On the other hand, there was a strong possibility a few of them were less visible faunus or even like her, hiding their identity. If there were any, they never refuted the captain's senseless barks, fear of being failed just as Blake feared of being fired.
Cardin eyed Blake, "Now, let me introduce to you one of the guards whose job is to handle these ruffians each and every day. Ms. Belladonna."
She watched the captain step out of the room the moment he handed the floor to Blake, "Hello, I'm Officer Blake Belladonna. I've been working at this facility for almost two years now. I know the ins and outs of this place to the back of my head. Do any of you have any questions?"
A man shot his hand up, "Yes, you with the blonde hair."
"How scary are the inmates?" A chorus of laughter broke out the moment he said that and he sank in his chair, "It's a legitimate question guys!"
"That's a good question," Blake assured, "Working here isn't as cartoony as you might think. Most people are fine with serving their time. There are troublemakers of course but we handle them just as an officer would on the outside."
One of the students kicked the chair the blonde was sitting in, "What a dumb question Jaune. This is a girl's prison you know."
What he didn't know of course was that the correctional officer was a faunus, so she could easily tell what he was saying. She purposely stepped up closer to the man sitting behind the one called Jaune. He had a wild mohawk on his head, not the type of hair that was normally allowed in a strict environment like a police academy.
"What did you say?"
The mohawked man nearly jumped, "N-nothing, ma'am!"
Blake turned to the female student sitting next to them, "Did you hear him?"
"Yeah, he said girls aren't scary!" She glared at him. It was his turn to sink in his chair.
Blake had her arms akimbo, "What's your name?"
"Uh, R-Russel, Russel Thrush ma'am."
"Well Russel, you should know we had an incident two months ago that left an inmate bloodied and missing a tooth. Though most inside are harmless, the dangerous part of the job is who. We do not know. That is why we must be prepared for any situation, from any individual," Blake pulled out a clipboard, "The captain will not be pleased with your behaviour."
Russel fixed his posture, pointing directly at the guard, "Ha! Joke's on you. I'm the captain's favourite student."
Why was Blake not surprised? She turned and gave a pleading look to the Lieutenant, who stepped in to involve herself as well, "That doesn't mean you are free to be rude, Russel. This is a warning. Also please do not kick the chairs."
The student frowned and clamped his mouth shut. Blake returned to the front of the conference room, just as Cardin stepped back into the room. He took back the class, gesturing for all of them to stand up, "Alright. Officer Belladonna, I'm going to take the students to the nearest cellblock, D, is it? We'll continue from there. Let's go maggots!"
Most of the students streamed out of the room in single file, with excellent posture to boot. One student, the same blonde from before named Jaune, was walking with Lieutenant Pyrrha to the doorway. She approached Blake as well, "Thank you for taking Jaune's question in stride. His road to the academy was a little rocky, so a lot of the students don't take him seriously."
"Do you two know one another?" Blake asked, her eyes darting back and forth between the two.
"Yes, Jaune here is actually Jaune Arc. He is the Police Commissioner's only son," Pyrrha introduced, "who is my highest boss. He asked me personally to look out for him."
Jaune pivoted his foot, looking away, "You don't have to tell her that Pyrrha. It makes it sound like I don't deserve to be here."
"Oh, but you do! You passed all your tests, and with a little guidance you'll get through the physicals too! Your father was very happy when you told him you wanted to follow in his footsteps."
The blonde didn't have nearly as confident an attitude like Pyrrha did. Blake directed them towards the cellblock they were going to see. The group huddled together, muttering small whispers when they were awed by the scene around them. It wasn't a wonder of the world or anything magnificent like that, but to these people whose jobs would likely involve people like these, and the same people considering the high re-offending rate, it was like the first look into their careers. Some inmates for their part were curious as well, taking a gander at the to-be recruits, but most of them carried on with their own business, uninterested. Before Blake allowed them to stroll by each cell, they were once again asked if they had any questions.
One student asked, "So if this is Cellblock D, is there an A, B, and C? What's the difference?"
The question didn't relate to the whole part about becoming an officer, but was a reasonable one all the same, "Hm, well Cellblock A contains our inmates with the briefest of sentences, shorter than six months. As you can see most of the inmates are grouped by twos, which wasn't what we had before. Due to a certain jail overflowing for some odd reason," she eyed Cardin, wondering if he noticed her passive-aggressive tone, "we had to take in the convicted inmates and separate them for those waiting for trial back at jail."
"B is protective custody, usually for those who are simply not safe anywhere else. Be it their crime or their nature," Blake explained, "It is our smallest wing."
"C is the complete opposite, segregation, housing those troublemakers who won't stop, or those who have violated our rules three times and are sent there as punishment. They are locked in their cells for most of the day and are only allowed out alone for upwards to an hour."
She extended her arm to visually represent her point, "Finally, D houses our usual inmates, those staying for longer than six months."
Meanwhile, in a particular cell at a particular corner, Ruby had just woken up, seeing new mail on the ground, having been slipped in by one guard or another in the earlier hours. She sifted through them, reading through the addresses and names and they were all for her, oddly enough. She had been here for almost three months, about half of her sentence, and was even given a hearing with the parole board should she be released early for good behaviour. Unfortunately the drug charge incident dashed all hopes of that happening, but Ruby didn't mind. She had expected to be here six months and well, it wasn't that big of a deal that she'd serve her time through. She noticed the unfamiliar group of officers and students, standing in the middle of the corridor, Blake in tow. Weiss was lying in bed, choosing to ignore the new crowd, preferring to go through a book with one hand, and writing yet again some sort of mysterious letter she had dared not to pry into in the other. They had so much time in here yet this girl still wanted to multi-task.
Of course, with the mail in her hands and her cellmate still after all this time writing those letters, one curious thought popped in her mind, "Hey Weiss. How come there's never anything for you in the mail?"
As expected, the first response was a glare. Ruby was beginning to become immune to these, so she wondered if Weiss was going to come up with some other sort of dirty look, to express to others 'how dare they ever speak to her or ask her anything ever', sort of thing, "I wonder that too sometimes, Ruby."
Her words were surprisingly benign instead of the underhanded insult that she'd normally have. Lately Weiss had been dropping those parts of her comments, perhaps softening to Ruby even more, or perhaps giving up to the fact that her words had any meaning. After all she had been calling Ruby all sorts of names that were all variations of idiot since day one, and not a single time did they phase her. Well, Ruby did dislike Weiss the day she met her, but the more those insults were flung the less impactful they were. Ruby glanced back outside the bars, seeing all those wide-eyed students whose near-futures were probably far more cushy and successful than the people inside. She noticed a familiar blonde in the crowd as well, causing her to get up and press her face to the bars.
"Hey! That's the bailiff who caught the stomach flu!" She pointed out.
This for once, brought Weiss' attention to the bars as well. She wanted to have a good look at that incompetent fool who decided cuffing Ruby to a doorknob was the smartest idea. Had Ruby been anyone threatening there could've been a courthouse shooting, though perhaps that was a tad exaggerated. Ruby appeared to point at a rather unremarkable man standing by with the students, but Weiss' stomach dropped the moment she saw another close by, or perhaps the person next to him. Ruby wasn't able to read who it was that caused Weiss to race back to her bed and hide under the covers.
"Uh Weiss, what are you doing?"
She shushed, "Shhh! If they come by tell them you're locked here alone!"
"But why? What's going on?"
"Just do as I say!"
Ruby wondered what Weiss was trying to do underneath the covers. If they did take a look into this cell, they'd notice that there was definitely a person underneath the blankets, so the whole idea Ruby was here alone didn't make sense unless she was being haunted in the mornings. After a few minutes Weiss' fears were founded, when the students began to scatter and walk around the corridors. She wondered how at all staring at people going through their day in a tiny cage was all that interesting, but Ruby knew that was probably why she was never going to be a cop. The most intimidating-looking man was the first to walk by, peering through the bars and looking at Ruby especially with his stern protruding brows.
"You! Where's the other filth?"
Ruby almost skipped a syllable, "Abuh, she's not—I mean, I'm here alone, kinda."
He narrowed his eyes, "Are you telling lies to the Captain of the Ninth Precinct?"
"No?" Ruby probably shouldn't have answered his question with an answer that sounded like a question.
"Belladonna!" He called, "You have some misbehaving inmates over here. Come reprimand them!"
Blake came over, though she wasn't all that happy to be following the orders of someone who wasn't even an employee in this facility, especially one who did not seem to respect others, "I see nothing wrong here, sir."
"This small one is telling lies to my face. That surely violates some rule. I expect to see some discipline. You are a correctional officer, are you not!?"
Blake grumbled internally, "Ruby, are you telling the Captain lies?"
"Not on purpose?"
"What!?" Cardin sneered at Ruby, "That's it. Belladonna, I want you to take the two in this cell, as well as various others, such as that one, that one, and that one," he pointed, "and take them to the yard. We will be having a demonstration! Students!"
Ruby gulped, "Uh oh."
"Ruby, what have you done!?" Weiss cried out as she lifted the covers, after the man was out of earshot.
"I did what you told me to!"
"You are the absolute worst liar in existence."
Ruby frowned, "What are you even hiding for? Sure that guy seems kind of scary but not to the point of needing to duck in holes or anything."
Blake contributed, "It's alright. He is a very controversial man. This would probably have happened sooner or later. Prepare to head to the yard."
On the plus side when the chosen inmates were taken out, Ruby was relieved to find Yang had been chosen as well, so she'd have some sort of comfort when this man was no doubt going to go into drill instructor mode onto them. Perhaps Yang too had made some sort of snide comment to annoy the Captain, she wasn't sure. Ruby certainly wouldn't have been surprised had that been the case. She did not need to wonder long.
"Wow, you comment on his eyes being too far apart and he goes ballistic!" Yang said as she was shuffled to the other side of the chosen group.
When they reached the yard the inmates were not dressed for the part, feeling chilled to the bone in subzero temperatures. This did not aid in their moods, all of them not only feeling the bitter cold, but bitter itself to the man who demanded them out here. While they mingled, awaiting the captain who had skipped out once again for whatever it was he needed to do, the people Weiss had recognized now had the chance to recognize her. She did all she could to be as small and unnoticeable as possible, but it was inevitable.
"Hey, is that Weiss?"
No. No. No no no no. Do not approach. Do not come near. Weiss stepped behind Ruby, holding her shoulders and trying to blend into the nature, which would have been very effective what with the weather had she not been wearing an outfit with a colour that stood out in every season, orange. Well, perhaps fall would've been the one time the colour would work.
Ruby for her part was still unsure as to what Weiss was trying to do, "Seriously Weiss, what's going on?"
"Hello," a tall, well-built redheaded woman with long flowing locks waved. She was wearing an officer's uniform that was almost as decorated as the Captain's, "I'm Lieutenant Nikos. And you are?"
"Uh, Ruby," Ruby responded briefly.
"Ruby, then," she smiled, "is the person trying to hide behind you, is her name Weiss?"
Ruby raised her brows, "How did you know!?"
"Why!" Weiss threw her arms up and stepped out, revealing herself, "What have I ever done to you, Ruby?"
"What!? You never told me what was going on!"
The blonde who stood behind Lieutenant Nikos made a fist pump, "Ha! I knew it was Weiss!"
"So it is me! Who cares!"
Pyrrha shared a sympathetic look with Ruby, "Weiss, I'm glad you're making friends."
Weiss turned away, still wanting to rush back inside not just because of the cold, which was for whatever reason subsiding perhaps because her brain was too busy panicking, but well, from this, "I don't want to hear that from you."
"Oh! You two know each other!" Ruby finally figured it out.
Weiss buried her face into her palms.
"Ah, I used to babysit Weiss when she was younger," Pyrrha explained, "Oh she was very cute. Did you know one time when I made her dinner, she declared she wanted to marry me when she grew up? Oh it was just very, very adorable."
"Bahahaha! That's so precious!" Yang sure turned up at a very opportune time.
Ruby rubbed on her shoulders, the cold starting to really feel its way up her body, "Yang, how are you able to wear that in this temperature!?"
Yang didn't even come out with a jacket or coat, still in her white tanktop revealing her many tattoos that ran down both arms, "Eh, sometimes it feels like I can just expel fire from my whole body. I don't know, maybe I retain body heat really well?"
Their small conversation did not allow them to notice Weiss slowly edging away from the group. She was about to step back inside when Blake noticed and blocked her from the entrance, "What are you doing? You can't wander off on your own. You do realize that could be grounds for escape?"
Of course, Blake wondered if Weiss' extremely red face was from her not reacting very well to the cold and if so she'd understand her need to return inside. Unfortunately for Weiss, while Blake understood she still didn't have a whole lot of sympathy for the girl, what with the lovely arguments that revolved around faunus around them. Blake was still not fond of Weiss even after all this time, and so she did not allow her to return. Weiss cursed the world as she was pushed back into the group with Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, and Jaune.
The lieutenant took a glance at the doorway and saw the captain returning, "Well, it was nice seeing you again Weiss. I wish it was on more desirable circumstances, but I hope you're back on the right path the next time we meet. Let's go back, Jaune."
Weiss frowned, face still a little red as she decided her shoes were far more interesting than this conversation, "Y-yeah."
When they were far enough away for any of their words to reach, Yang gave Weiss a pat on the back, "Wow, I never expected that from you. You are cuter than I could've ever imagined! Having a crush on your babysitter, that just sounds so normal from you."
"Shut up, she's only six years older than me. It could still work," Weiss was in too much of a rush to defend herself to realize the implications of her words.
"You still have a crush on her!" Yang started laughing again, "Oh man."
Weiss would have given anything to wipe the grin off of Yang's face and perhaps drop her off a cliff, but she was in no position to. She had to settle for a glare.
Yang's smile only grew wider, "Weiss, you know I'm gunning for you."
"Yeah, you have my support too!" Ruby pulled her arms that were glued to her sides to keep in warmth and balled both her hands to fists, lifting them up at Weiss, giving her the indication she'd fight for her as well.
"Forget it. She's into the blonde that was with her," Weiss informed.
Yang raised a brow, "That scrawny guy that was with her? Really?"
"Do you know him too?" Ruby asked.
"Unfortunately," Weiss grumbled, "For the longest time he kept pining for me. It was beyond irritating."
"Oh my god a love triangle," Yang didn't know how this story could get even more amusing but it did.
"Why am I even telling you all this if all you're going to do is laugh!?" Weiss growled.
"Oh Weiss, I'm not laughing at you. It's just so unexpected! You can't help but laugh!" Yang explained, "For what it's worth, I've a much better opinion of you now."
Weiss crossed her arms, "Can I trade in that opinion for you shutting up?"
"Silence!" A booming voice echoed through the yard. The Captain appeared ready to chew out the prisoners. He directed his people to line up the inmates next to each other, their backs facing the walls. The Captain made sure they all had soldier-esque postures despite their utmost desire to shiver and hold themselves in some way to keep their body heat from escaping. He marched back in forth in front of the inmates, looking down upon them with eyes that seethed.
"Students, these are just a sample of the people you must detain," Cardin started smacking his ceremonial baton in his palm, "I've chose these for three reasons. One, they dared insult someone as high rank as I. Two, some of them do not look like the typical criminal. And three, I would imagine whatever they are convicted for will be very surprising to you."
He stopped at the end of the line, thankfully on the other side of where Yang, Ruby, and Weiss stood, "You!" He aggressively pointed to a raccoon faunus, "Street animal, why are you here?"
Blake had to draw the line somewhere, "Captain, I hate to interrupt. But we do not regard the faunus as 'street animals' here."
"Really? How preposterous! You forbid me to speak the truth to the dirt that reside here?"
"It's not strictly forbidden, but it is very rude," Blake said.
The captain stepped up to Blake, towering over her, "And I cannot be rude to the filth who have tainted the earth like they have done so, for generations upon generations? The only way they could be stopped was when we, the dedicated force came into play and put them where they belong. The least they deserve are words that put them in their place!"
"I'm starting to believe you're referring to faunus as a whole!" Blake returned the glare, "Captain Winchester, I hate to accuse you, but it sounds like your inherently racist and skewed opinions seriously jeopardizes the legitimacy of your role!"
"And what if I am!?" He howled, "The faunus are able to take opportunities, with their sharper eyes and ears they can easily, and they do, take advantage of the hard-working humans trying to make their living! Why else are so many in here right now!? I may be showing these students an example of how there are humans who have gone off the right of way as well," he gestured to the five or six human inmates that were told to stand out here too, "but they were probably influenced by faunus friends or neighbours!"
"That is utterly asinine!" Blake could not believe what she was hearing.
Cardin gritted his teeth, "You do not believe me?" He turned to Ruby, "You!"
"U-uh, yes sir?" Ruby responded with obvious jitters.
"For what reason are you part of this awful, shameful group?"
Ruby gulped, "Are you asking for my—"
"I am asking what you committed to land in here, yes! Read between the lines, fool!"
"G-gun possession, sir!" Ruby blurted out.
Blake began tapping her foot, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Do you not see? This young human girl here, who no one would expect in a place like this was given dangerous weapons by faunus gun traffickers!"
"That is pure speculation!" Blake countered, "What is wrong with you!?"
She turned and gave a look to Lieutenant Nikos wondering if this man was serious. Pyrrha could only mouth to her an apology, hoping the argument to tide over or for Blake to let it go. The lieutenant was a rank below, and was not at all happy to be chosen by Cardin to accompany him to this field trip. The one time Pyrrha did try to rebel under his authority she was almost thrown out of the force. Cardin Winchester held that much power.
Ruby too, though she initially feared the man, was not letting what he said go, "Excuse me sir, if I can have a word."
"Well, an inmate being polite. What a rare sight," Cardin nodded, "Fine, you have the stage."
"I'd just like to correct you sir. I did not obtain my weapons from any gun traffickers of any sort, faunus or not. I do not appreciate you excusing my crime by directing the blame to an irrelevant group of people," Yang knew Ruby was offended for Cardin not taking her passion seriously, "Though not a single person of authority has believed me, I provided myself with those weapons. I am well aware it was in the wrong, but even if you too do not believe me I refuse to allow you to explain my actions away with something else entirely. That would undermine my own efforts and time put into those weapons, so I think you owe the faunus an apology."
Cardin immediately regretted allowing Ruby a chance to speak, "You little—you will not speak to me in such a tone! I am your superior! You are nothing, filth, you are the scum on the bottom of a bucket! Learn your place, girl!"
He raised a hand to strike Ruby, but knew many others were watching. Ruby stood and watched him, not flinching for a moment. Cardin turned towards Blake, a look of fury in his eyes, "Why do you not practice corporal punishment on these pieces of trash!? You know they deserve it!"
"Corporal punishment would never work on people smarter than you," Blake couldn't help but smirk.
"Why you—"
"Oh will you stop already?" Weiss never did have much patience, "Seriously, you're just making yourself look worse the more you speak. You do realize no one likes you, right?"
Blake was taken aback that Weiss had even said a word.
"What? Another one of you going out of your way to insult me!?"
Weiss rolled her eyes, "I'm serious. Us, the guards, the students, even your fellow officers. I guarantee you they hate you to the bottoms of their souls, and who can blame them?"
"That's a lot coming from you, a disgraced inmate at the lowest point of their life!" He yelled straight in Weiss' face, bits of moisture landing on her cheeks. It was disgusting, but Weiss continued.
"Funny, when I see you I see a vulnerable pathetic little boy who can only feel validated by belittling others. You believe that gains you respect? You think you even have respect? You're here at a prison and you see all these people who have nothing compared to you, but somehow you still feel as if you're beneath them. That's the only explanation for your childlike behaviour. At least someone like me has nothing to lose and no face value to risk by speaking my mind. After all, I'm already here. This may be my present, but from what I can tell it feels like the your future. How sad."
Blake was at a loss to decide whether or not Weiss was the biggest hypocrite in the world, or doing God's work putting this man in his place. Unlike the officers or the guards, an inmate did not have much to lose feuding with the Captain of a police force. Cardin's face was already red with sheer rage, and he grabbed Weiss by the collar, picking her off the ground. This was dangerously close to something that should never happen between an officer and a felon, and Blake was about to intervene.
"You—!" His face was scrunched to the point that it was hard to see if he had vision through those squinted eyes, "How about I charge you with assault on a police officer?"
"Oh no, did I hurt your little feelings?" Weiss smirked, "You officers are always like this. We do nothing but damage your pride and you somehow misconstrue that as an attack. In the end it's nothing but empty threats."
For a moment Blake wondered if Weiss was referencing someone in particular, like her.
"You think I'm joking!?" He squeezed her collar harder.
"Well if you're serious about this, how about I spare you from the long and drawn-out court case?" At this height, Weiss had prime opportunity to strike, and strike she did.
Her knee went straight into Cardin's groin.
Weiss was back down to ground level immediately, the captain having fallen to his side, cringing in horror at what had struck upon his nether regions. This time Weiss had actually done something that Blake could not ignore, though she really wished she could because she felt so vindicated that the man had gotten what everyone thought he rightfully deserved. This moment of hesitance did not go unnoticed.
"W-what...are...you doing....detain her!" He grabbed at his crotch, still reeling, voice a whole octave higher than before.
Blake took hold of Weiss and pulled her hands behind her back, though not at all in the same force she did all those other times. She tried to say something to lecture Weiss, but none of her words came out in any sense of sincerity, "Oh no. That was bad of you Weiss. You should not have done that."
"Nice," Yang gave Weiss a thumbs up as Blake escorted her pass. The rest of the inmates began cheering in response to Yang's gesture. This led to the uneasy students clapping as well just as Blake and Weiss disappeared into a separate building across from the yard. Cardin was furious, but too in pain to say anything to the majority that enjoyed his downfall. When the man finally got up, he told his lieutenants and officers to pack up and that this trip was over. No way any of the students learnt anything through coming here and he would never recommend them come again. Not a single person currently at the facility found this loss to be all that significant, even the guards who shared a little of his philosophy found he was far too abrasive.
Since the field trip ended prematurely, the day was allowed to go as the routine would normally be, which was welcomed by the inmates. Ruby's cell was far more roomy now that Weiss wasn't around. She wondered how long she'd be gone for, or what other consequences she might face. The short-term for everyone else was a normal day inside, away from the cold, and without that hated police officer. Another consequence was that Ruby was free to jump off the walls to climb the bunk as much as she pleased. She was determined to achieve this feat before Weiss returned because so long as the heiress had confidence in her, she could do anything.
-
Just as Blake slammed the door shut on Weiss' face, a loud and most certainly livid voice called out, "Belladonna!"
The guard faced the warden stomping down the halls, "How did you allow my nephew to be assaulted by one of the inmates!?"
"Wait what?" That was new information.
"Answer me!"
"The captain, that captain," Blake emphasized, "is your nephew?"
His fists were balled so tightly the veins were threatening to pop, "You are on a fine line, Belladonna. Answer or would you prefer being suddenly unemployed?"
"I apologize sir," Blake straightened her back, "It won't happen again. The offender has also just been segregated."
The warden peeked into the cell, only to see two icy blue eyes in the most judgmental stare possible in return. Weiss was standing right up to the door, not having moved any deeper into her new place of indeterminate time. He jerked his head back, startled at the rebellious nature of the inmate. What was he expecting, for her to cower the moment he took a look? What about this elderly man was so intimidating? Weiss had never seen this man once in her life. He wasn't the warden was he? That would have been highly disappointing. Weiss was beginning to think Blake was the warden considering how often she was here, but if the person-in-charge was someone who was never here, well that certainly tested Weiss' tolerance of fools who didn't do their jobs properly.
Nonetheless, the man kept up with his threats, "You will be punished severely for that despicable action, on a decorated veteran high-rank officer no less! Belladonna, what is this sorry excuse of a human being's name?"
"Weiss, sir."
"Weiss what?"
"Weiss Schnee, sir," Blake added.
The warden turned back to the door, "Schnee, you will rue the—Schnee?" A moment of clarity came over the man, "She does not happen to be related to Kohle Schnee, CEO of the Schnee Metalworks Industry, does she?"
"Oh, I see you've met my father. I'm so sorry," Weiss said.
Blake felt like she was in a cartoon, visible steam escaping from the warden's ears, "He will be hearing about this, child!"
He did not stay to give a chance for Weiss to refute, storming out of the building faster than he had arrived. Blake on the other hand lingered for a while longer. She too was not fond of Weiss, but curiosity kept her in place. Weiss was still standing by the door, Blake's inaction not going unnoticed.
"What on earth do you want?"
"The better question is, why would you even do that?" Blake was well aware everyone would have been willing to line up to crush that man's nether regions if consequences allowed, but Weiss went ahead and did so in spite of the many reasons. She was going to take a huge fall just for a short moment of pain, excruciating pain yes, but still short and not all that significant in the long-run.
Weiss huffed, finally starting to step closer to the bed and other essential yet plain furniture in her cell. At least she had her own desk this time, "I simply weighed my options. The last thing I need is another endless trial that ultimately goes nowhere."
"He gave me an opening, so I took it," She pulled a chair off from its desk and took a seat, "I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand."
It was an explanation Blake took because well, Weiss did just kill two birds with one stone. She drove off the bigoted man, and put herself, the bigoted girl, into segregation. Blake wouldn't need to deal with either of them for some time, hopefully never again in terms of Cardin. There was one more bird Weiss had inevitably killed, and what the heiress didn't know was that the bird was Weiss herself. Blake nodded and stepped away, walking with purpose down the corridor and out the building. After a few days it was determined Weiss would not be allowed back for almost three weeks. Blake had all the time in the world to enact her plan, but she was, perhaps sadistically so, curious with how Weiss would handle an infamous building like Cellblock C. Considering Weiss' nature she figured she would thrive in an environment free from the onslaught of those undeserving her attention, but even so Blake was going to take her time. She was going to be conveniently ready in twenty days.
