Writer's note: We're baaack! Sorry for the (long) delay. Hopefully, some of you enjoyed the other stories I've been working on in the meantime. Also, there's some art since the last update! DashingIceCream was nice enough to let me do a commission for some art of the villains. So, if you want to see the bad guys – Mal, Lloyd, and Vardon/Robert/Robin/Verdir (he uses a lot of names) – in all their glory, go search for Premium Well Redux on my tumblr: RedSuitWriter.

Tequila Sunrise

Tequila and orange juice over ice, and let the grenadine sink to the bottom. Nice and easy, and a good way to start the night.

Blake stared through the blinds out onto the snow-covered grounds. Last night's powder drifted down past the window, falling from the rooftop to dust the plants lining the path below. The road and the ambulance bay were clear – they had to be in case of an emergency – but everything else was wrapped in a soft blanket of white.

"It's pretty," Yang said at her shoulder. "But it feels like it's been winter for three goddamn years."

Blake snorted and turned back to the others. Yang stood nearby, close enough to be a comfort without smothering her. Ruby was still seated by the bed – her favorite place for the past few days – holding Weiss' hand in hers. Blake had to fight not to smile. The girl in the red cloak was perched in her chair, as close as she could get to Weiss without giving up and just lying in bed beside her. It was sweet, especially after how distraught she'd looked when they feared Weiss wouldn't pull through.

She was about to say something when a loud growl split the room, resounding off the walls while Ruby's face turned red.

"Come on, Ruby," Blake said, biting her cheek to keep from chuckling. "When was the last time you ate?"

"... you could bring me something."

"Not a chance," Yang smiled, stepping away from the window and tugging on her sister's cloak. "Stretch your legs, take a shower, get food, and then you can come back."

Ruby let Yang pull her up, and then just stood there at Weiss' side, still holding tight to her hand.

"I will be here with her the entire time," Blake promised, squeezing Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby looked over at her, blinked, and looked back down in time to see Weiss nod. "Go on. Get something to eat."

The younger girl swallowed, and finally let go. Gathering her cloak around her, she let Yang guide her out the door, grabbing her overnight bag as she left.

Blake waited until Ruby left before taking her seat at Weiss' bedside. The heiress was sitting up and typing on her scroll one-handed – thanks mainly to the remote that raised and lowered the bed. She was still too weak to move much on her own, and when she did even the drugs weren't enough to dull the pain from her shoulder. Not that it stopped her from trying. Then again, Blake thought. It wouldn't be Weiss if she did anything else.

"Any news?" Blake asked.

"Just something from the board of directors." Weiss flicked the screen with her fingertip and the message vanished, the screen dimming as she set it aside. "It doesn't matter."

Blake nodded absently. Meaning she doesn't want to talk about it. Fair enough, I guess. Time to change the subject.

"I saw the look on Ruby's face when Dr. Yabai left," she said, keeping her voice soft. "How bad is it?"

"Not as bad as it could be, actually. The bullet broke several ribs and blew out a good portion of my shoulder," Weiss said. "They had to put in several pins to keep the bones from puncturing a lung. Not that I'm complaining. Apparently I'm just lucky to be alive. The bullet just missed hitting anything that would have killed me instantly."

She let out a short laugh, and glanced back down at the scroll. "I think the word the doctor used was 'miracle.'"

Blake blinked. Weiss sounded ... distant. Matter-of-fact. Like it happened to someone else. "And the recovery time?"

"A few months of aura treatments and as little movement as I can manage. After that, several more of physical therapy before I get somewhere close to ninety percent function back. Maybe a year and a half total."

"But you will recover."

"Eventually. Luckily for my career, the bastard shot my right shoulder." Weiss laughed again, but there wasn't any humor in it. "Good thing I'm not right-handed."

Her scroll pinged. Weiss glanced at it for a second and glared down at the flashing message before clicking the power button.

"Who is that?" Blake asked. "If it's the press, I can-"

Weiss shook her head. "No, nothing like that. The board is trying to convince me to make a decision regarding SDC stock."

"Of course." That made a lot of sense actually. Weiss' father had been the president of the company. He would have subordinates to handle much of the day-to-day workings of the company, but he still had a large impact on his company, especially as the SDC's public face. His death was hitting the company hard. Especially its stock price.

Weiss nodded and gripped her scroll, fingers tightening around the edge. "They haven't said as much, but I think many of them would prefer it if I sold my shares."

That ... was one way to do it. If Weiss' father was the one who put out the hit on her, then his death should have ended their problems. Hopefully, it meant that the assassins behind the attempts on her life and on Weiss' would vanish back into the woodwork. Selling her shares and moving on with her life would let Weiss put all of this behind her. She could be done with her father, her family. She could rest, heal. Go back to her life, but ...

But, Weiss had always said she wanted to redeem her family's company. That she didn't want his actions to be her family's legacy. But, there was no guarantee that whoever bought up her shares would be any better than Schnee. True, it would be difficult to be worse, but it still wouldn't make the company's business practices any less unethical. It wouldn't help the Faunus who had little choice but to work in the company's mines. It wouldn't fix her father's mistakes.

But she shouldn't have to. Blake fought not to growl. It wasn't fair to put that on Weiss. She wasn't responsible for her father's crimes, even if Weiss thought otherwise. And if this wasn't just about her father, if the attacks on the team were about more than Morden Schnee's prejudice and greed, taking control of the company would just put Weiss in more danger. So am I saying this because it's what she needs, or because it's what I want her to do?

She sighed and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. "You're going to hate me for this."

"After everything we've all been through," Weiss looked over and gave her a tired smile. "I doubt it."

Blake laughed, even if it sounded feeble, and looked over at Weiss sitting in the hospital bed, the bandages around her shoulder showing beneath the neck of her hospital gown. She still looked pale and weak, which wasn't all that surprising after losing all that blood and not eating solid food in days. But her eyes were the same. Ice-blue, and as bright and hard as ever. Even critically injured and completely taken out of commission, that didn't change.

"You should take over Schnee Dust," the Faunus woman said, her mind made up.

Weiss blinked, her eyes wide in surprise. "You know I can't just walk in and declare myself the president."

"No, but thanks to your mother, you own over half the company. You're already the majority shareholder. One emergency board meeting and you probably could put yourself in charge."

Weiss frowned and stared down at her scroll. Clearing her throat, Blake leaned forward and braced her elbows against her knees. It wasn't much, but at least it put her on the same level as the heiress. Weiss was sensitive enough about her height. Better to have a conversation like this on the same level.

"Look, Weiss. I checked the market. SDC shares dropped when the news about your father broke."

"How bad?"

"About eight percent. It's still falling." Blake kept her eyes trained on Weiss' face, waiting to see how the other girl was taking the news. "That's probably why they're calling you. Whoever runs your company is scrambling to work damage control, and part of the problem is no matter what they do, at any point you could step in and take over."

There was a long pause before Weiss spoke. When she did, the edge returned to her voice. "Fine. If I wanted to, I could take control. What's your point?"

"My point is the SDC has resources we can use. Because if these people come after either of us again, we need that kind of support." Blake sighed and pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "You need time to heal. You need to recover and it'll take time for you to get back to fighting shape. Plus, what about your employees? You could do a lot of good there, even if you have to drag the rest of the company kicking and screaming to do it."

"I can't leave the team." Weiss said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I promised Ruby."

"Schnee Dust has always hired huntsmen and huntresses. Protecting shipments, supervising sensitive projects, protecting key individuals – there'd be plenty of work for three dedicated hunters, and you'd have someone to actually watch your back."

"... you really think Ruby could handle board meetings and conference calls without dying of boredom?"

Blake shrugged. Weiss had a point – Ruby wasn't really the type to handle that kind of protection detail. The girl loved being a huntress too much, being able to run out into the woods and hunt down the Grimm. "So rotate between us. I'll take the business meetings and boring functions, and Ruby can handle the wild forays and long business trips. That way, Ruby enjoys her work, the sisters get some bonding time, and I work with Yang when Ruby's with you."

Watching to see how Weiss reacted, Blake reached out and laid her hand on the heiress' arm. "Weiss, we're stuck, with an enemy we can't find and no resources to level the playing field. Right now, you taking over the SDC is our best move."

When Weiss looked up, she seemed more tired than before. The dark rings under her eyes looked deeper, and some of the strength in her expression had faded.

"Blake, I like being a huntress. Even with the awful beds and the crap assignments and Yang dousing me in Taijitu guts, I like it." She swallowed, and for the first time since she woke, Blake saw what looked like defeat in her eyes. "I don't want to stop."

"I know," Blake said, her voice gentle. "Would it help if I said you could quit when all this is done?"

"I just ... I don't want it to end."

Blake smiled sadly. "Everything ends, Weiss. If you're lucky, what comes next is even better."

"I still don't get why I have to be here."

Fighting the urge to strangle him, Blake looked over at the whining detective. Vardon was leaning back against the wall of Weiss' hospital room, hands shoved deep in his pockets. Gone was the outfit from the party, replaced by a green shirt and dark vest. He looked more the part tonight, the off-kilter tie and the subtle reek of cigarettes completing the look for the disgruntled detective.

At least it matched the change in the rest of them. Everyone – Ruby, Yang, even Weiss – all looked harder, sharper. As if someone had distilled them down, ground off the veneer of the party and the past few weeks, leaving them with just what they needed to get the job done. Crescent Rose lay by Ruby's side, polished and cleaned and ready to fire. Yang looked like she was ready to fight at a moment's notice, and even Weiss looked stronger, more stable.

Blake saw Yang's fists start clenching out of the corner of her eye and stepped forward. Better to deal with the problem now before the blonde broke Vardon's nose.

"You're here," she growled, "Because you still owe me. Because even after everything you pulled, Weiss still thinks you might be of some use. If she didn't, I'd be just as happy to hand you over to Yang."

Vardon glanced over at the blonde and swallowed.

"... fine." Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a thick folder, the elastic ties just barely holding it shut. "Here. Everything I had on you lot and daddy dearest."

Blake took the folder and let it drop onto the windowsill. If she was being honest, she really didn't except to find anything new in Vardon's files. If he'd had any useful cards, he would have played them back before the attack on the Schnee manor. But there was always the chance that he had something he hadn't seen, or just hadn't realized what it meant. And if not, there was still some value in knowing what the board knew about the four of them.

"So," Vardon cleared his throat at gazed around the room. "What exactly do you need me for?"

There was a long pause before the other three girls looked to Weiss. They'd agreed she should be the one to handle this. Vardon hadn't spoken with her before, and more importantly, it was her family, her company that was in the middle of this mess. Plus, the threat of bringing the full wrath of the Schnee family down upon him couldn't hurt. The heiress was sitting up, less under her own power than the mechanical bed and the stack of pillows Ruby had carefully planted behind her back. But at least it made her seem healthier, stronger. And that might just have to be enough.

Weiss reached out with her left hand and took her scroll off the nightstand. She took a second to flick through whatever she was reading, making the ersatz detective sweat until she finally looked up at him.

"Mr. Wight. According to my friend, you managed to sneak into a party at my estate, uncover at least part of my father's involvement in her attempted murder and mine, and helped her take down the man who shot me." Blake saw Ruby swallow as Weiss spoke, the hand holding onto Crescent Rose getting a little tighter.

"All this after being hired to surveil me by the SDC's board of directors."

"In my defense, it was just a job."

"So is this," Weiss hit a few more keys before flipping her scroll around and holding it out. "Mr. Wight, I am putting you on retainer. From this point on, you work for me."

Vardon looked between Blake and the girl on the bed, before slowly making his way over and taking the scroll from her fingers. His brows furrowed as he scanned through the contract. Blake watched him rather than the scrolling text – she'd checked over the contract with Weiss when they were still coming up with their plan. She knew what he'd find. The non-disclosure agreement, the exclusivity clauses, and she had a feeling he wouldn't be too happy about it.

After a minute, Vardon glanced back up at Weiss, still holding onto the scroll. "... and if I refuse?"

"Apart from me informing the cops that you stole critical evidence from a crime scene?" Weiss asked archly. "You would be surprised how easy it is to ruin an investigative agency."

There was silence while the detective stared into Weiss' eyes. Blake watched and waited – she knew what was going through his head. Balancing his judgment of Weiss, the risks to himself, trying to guess exactly how hard she could make this for him and how much of Weiss' threats were a bluff.

Finally, he sighed, and scribbled his name on the screen. "What exactly do you want?"

Weiss took the scroll back, a short flicker of pain crossing her face as she moved, and laid it on the bed.

"You're going to find the son of a bitch who makes those masks."

"... you're really going after them," Vardon whispered, the disbelief plain in his voice.

Weiss nodded slightly. "If this ended with my father, then we shouldn't have any problems."

"And if it didn't? There's plenty of people who get paid up front – the kind who'd still come after you just to keep their reputations."

"That's what I'm planning on," Weiss said, keeping her eyes on Vardon even as Ruby slowly slid her hand atop the heiress'. "They didn't finish the job. So, if they haven't called off the hit, leaving the hospital should pull them out of hiding."

"No offense, but wasn't that exactly what you tried to do with Blake?" Vardon glanced around the room before nodding pointedly at Weiss' shoulder. "Really didn't turn out well. Maybe it'd be better to just lay low. Let them think they won-"

"No," Weiss cut him off. "I'm not going to hide out somewhere and wait for them to hunt me down. We take the fight to them."

"See, there's my point. You don't even know who 'they' are. Whoever they are, they were willing to sic some psycho on tall, dark, and furry over here just so you'd head to the estate in the first place."

Heat splashed across the room, and Blake looked over to find Yang glowering over at the detective, her eyes already a brilliant shade of red.

"Call her that," Yang growled. "One more time."

Vardon gave the blonde a long look before turning back to Weiss. "My point is they clearly don't have a problem with operating in public, or with killing anyone who gets in their way. Look, for all we know, they've moved on and they won't care Weiss is alive. They probably only killed Papa Schnee after he risked exposing whoever was controlled that sniper."

"Or they're plotting another attack right now," Blake said softly from her corner. "You really think we'll take that chance?"

Vardon glanced around at the four of them. Blake knew what he saw – Yang's eyes were still red, Ruby was looking at Weiss, not him, and the heiress herself had her jaw set in an expression that just screamed 'stubborn.' In about ten seconds, she thought, he's going to realize there's no way he's talking us down.

Blake could see the gears turning in his head as he met her eyes.

"You're picking a fight you might not have to."

"Doesn't matter." Blake shook her head. "If we do nothing, they may still come after us. If we hunt them down, if we go to the SDC, there's a chance of making ourselves a target again. Either way, we have to deal with them. The company resources just give us much better odds."

He held her gaze, then shrugged and headed for the door.

"Find out who makes those masks, Mr. Wight," Weiss said, her tone making it perfectly clear he was dismissed. "As I said, you work for me now. Frankly, you don't have much of a choice."

"Well?"

"Well what, Mal?" Robin snapped at the short blonde woman. "Miss Schnee decided she wants her place on the throne. Apparently, it wouldn't be 'sporting' to play dead and wait it out."

Stripping out of his coat, he flung it onto a nearby desk, and plopped down angrily into a nearby chair. Fortunately, there were plenty of empty desks and office chairs scattered around the nearly abandoned floor. Their current safehouse was an old, abandoned office Mal had found a few miles from the hospital. Vardon would have preferred something closer, somewhere he could scout from without having to deal with the hassle, but the hospital's isolation made that difficult.

And it looks like 'difficult' is gonna be the goddamn theme for this op. He sighed, letting some of the frustration ebb. This would have been so much easier if the girls had decided to just lie low. Now there was a whole other set of hoops he had to jump through, had to handle to keep the plan going. And there's nothing more annoying than a chess piece that doesn't follow orders.

"What's their status?" Mal asked him, adjusting the collar of her coat as she stared down at the floor plans on the desk beside her.

"They're already planning to move her from the hospital. Wouldn't tell me how – smart move on their part. Looks like the idea is to get her to the SDC, try to get a foothold in the company."

"Well, we can't have that."

"My men can handle this," Adam growled from the other end of the room. Wilt and Blush lay out before him, his fingers playing over the blade as he watched the other two.

"Yeah, because your men have always been so reliable," Robin snapped.

Adam looked at him through the slits in his mask before turning back to Mal. "We set up an ambush. There aren't many ways to leave a place like that, not in her condition. Either Schnee takes a private car service, or she charters one of the airships. Not too difficult to set up contingencies in either case."

The blonde woman glanced over at Adam, and gave him a long, searching look before turning to Vardon. "Can you tail them?"

Robin shook his head. "They know my face. If one of 'em spots me, it'll blow what cover I have. Belladonna'd spot the bull a mile off, and we both know you won't expose yourself by going out in the field. I could try to get myself invited, but they'd be suspicious if anything happened."

She nodded and started rolling up her blueprints before setting them aside. "Then Adam's best bet is taking them out in-transit while she's still weak."

Robin couldn't help but snort. "You know we wouldn't have this problem if your pet hadn't botched the kill in the first place."

"Schnee failed to inform us that he'd used bullet-resistant glass. It threw off his aim for the one shot that mattered."

"Oh, and he would have felt so bad about taking another shot at her."

Mal slowly turned, staring out from beneath her bangs at the fake detective. "Your point, Robert?"

"My point is we could have avoided all of this if Lloyd did his damn job. Or I could have put two in Miss Schnee myself," Robin sighed and nodded his head over at Adam. "No offense to Mr. Broody over here, but maybe it's time to stop being careful with our resources."

The Faunus started to his feet, hand already on his sword before Mal raised a hand, stopping him in his tracks. Robin had to keep himself from smiling – Adam had always been easy to bait – even if the ice-cold tone of the blonde's voice made it very clear she wasn't in the mood for whatever issues the two men had.

"Fine. Grab a mask and go with him."

"Belladonna will recognize my katars. They're not exactly your average weapon."

Mal gave him a long level look. Slowly, she stepped towards him, and reached into the pocket of her coat. Robin felt his legs tense, ready to duck out of the way as she drew her knuckle duster revolvers from her coat. Then her eyes hardened, and she held them out to him, grip-first.

"Congratulations. Belladonna wants to find who sent the hitmen after her, we'll give her she wants. And Robert," she smiled coldly. "Don't fuck it up."

Weiss' scroll pinged, making all four of them twitch in their chairs. Shaking her head, the heiress reached over and thumbed the power button.

"More bad news?" Blake asked, her brow furrowed.

Weiss shook her head and finished scanning through the message before looking up at her friend. "Good news, actually. I think we just got our ace in the hole."

Writer's Note:

Please leave a review or comment if you can. Especially with this coming back, I want to know what everyone thinks. Plus, depending on the day, it either feeds or combats my writer's neurosis. Also, if you have any questions, put it in a review or shoot me a PM (hell, you can shoot me an ask on tumblr too!)– if I wasn't clear about something, then I'd love to know so I can fix it in the text.