The next few days were a confusing blur of searching and failure. Raud's sudden betrayal shook them up for a while—and Blake questioned more than once whether there actually was anything to find—but they continued the search, convinced by the evidence that they'd uncovered.

Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora, and Yang had left the city, searching through the caves, leaving Ruby, Blake and Kelly to search the city. Three people searching all of Vale was a herculean task, but they did what they could. Ruby and Blake spent their days jumping into Vale's sewer system, trying to find any traces of entry, passage, or even a store of Dust. As they searched and continued to find nothing, it began to dawn on Blake how hopeless their search could really be.

Dust was missing, and the caves outside had broken through into the city. That was all they knew for certain. Even the existence of the mysterious, government-backed antagonist was thrown into doubt. They hadn't figured out how he'd have been able to do it, but if Raud had been playing them, then it was possible that he killed their prisoners as well. Possible. Possibilities seemed to be all they were going on, and it all served to reinforce the growing sense of hopelessness.

It was possible that someone had mined through the caves. It was also possible that the stolen Dust was being smuggled back into Vale. If either one of those happened to be untrue, then their entire search would lead them nowhere.

While Blake and Ruby searched the sewers, they left Kelly to search the system for any black holes in city storage logs. Blake was still uncomfortable getting her too involved, and the woman had been growing quieter ever since Raud's attack; his betrayal seemed to have rattled her more than anyone else. I guess they really were getting close, the faunus told herself one morning after greeting Kelly and getting no answer in return.

And so days passed with little to show for it. Ruby and Blake confined their search to the side of the city closest to the caves, but Blake knew that—if the Dust had been smuggled in—it could be getting further away with every day. Kelly found nothing, which wasn't a surprise. Yang's team did manage to find where a few of the caves broke into the city, but nothing more than that. They were forced the conclude that the Dust was being held elsewhere, which put them at another dead end.

The day after Yang's team returned to Vale, Blake was heading into her office early and alone. They'd stopped meeting each morning; everyone knew what their job was at this point. Besides, Yang had been tired last night, and Blake had wanted to let her sleep in. Blake was really only going in to check on Kelly, and to see if she'd received any mail.

As she walked down the corridor towards her office, she saw her office door hanging slightly ajar. She slowed her approach and glanced around, checking for anyone watching her, before sliding closer as quiet as she could. She paused at the door, and glanced at Kelly's office door. Nothing could be heard on the other side, which wasn't uncommon now, but Blake didn't want to open the door and risk tipping off whoever was in her office.

Drawing Gambol Shroud, Blake stepped closer to her office. She poked the tip of the blade into the room and twisted it around, trying to get a reflection off it to see who was inside. After a couple of seconds, she caught a glimpse of someone—a man—standing by the window. The blade didn't give enough of a clear picture to make out the interloper in any detail, but the figure seemed familiar.

Blake sucked in a deep breath and shoved the door open with a bang. As she rolled into the room, she folded her sword into its pistol form and brought it up as she straightened, the barrel trained on the man's head. A second later, she let it drop with a wry laugh and a shake of her head.

Ren was leaning against the window, arms folded, completely unphased by Blake's sudden entry. Of course he wasn't; Ren had probably felt her coming before she even entered the building.

"And a good morning to you too," Blake said as she put away her weapon.

Ren raised an eyebrow, and then broke into a smile.

Blake rolled her eyes. "So I take it you found something?"

Ren hesitated, and then nodded. "I thought you'd like to come with me to check it out."

This time Blake raised an eyebrow. "Me? Not Nora?"

He shrugged. "If this doesn't work out, I might have to go back under. No point in getting Nora excited just for me to leave again tomorrow."

Go under, huh? Blake mused. "So what have you been doing for the last couple of weeks?"

Ren gave her a lopsided smile and looked out the window. "Speaking to some… people. I'd rather not get into details."

"Well doesn't that sound reassuring," the faunus muttered. "Not suspicious at all."

He chuckled under his breath. "I know how it sounds. Just trust me on this."

"I do trust you, Ren. And I'm sure all your clandestine dealings have perfectly legitimate motivations, but you need to be careful; that's all I ask. I won't ask who you've been dealing with, but I don't want you getting too deep and things going awry. For Nora's sake, if not your own."

Ren gazed out the window for a while, then nodded. "Come on," he said as he turned and headed to the door. "We should get going."

Blake watched him, shook her head in exasperation, and followed him out the door, making sure to lock the door behind her. Someday we'll have to have a chat about how he does that…

Once they were outside, Blake asked. "So are you going to tell me what we're doing?"

The Huntsman glanced around, checking their surroundings, before replying. "I heard from… someone… that a member of the Black Talon is in the city."

"Just one?" Blake's heart was suddenly trying to crawl out of her throat. That could mean their search wasn't completely pointless.

"Just one that I heard of. Knowing them: if there's one, there's a hundred. But that doesn't matter so much right now. Apparently this Talon is planning on running. Booked a ticket out of Vale on an airship tonight, against orders too. This Talon is defecting from the group, and I know where to find him."

Blake couldn't help but break into a smile. This was better news than she could have imagined. Jaune had caught a Talon while defending the mining village a couple of weeks ago, but even he would have resisted; they would have had to make him talk. If Ren really had found a member that was getting ready to run—to leave the Talon—then they'd be willing to answer their questions. Especially if they promised safe passage in return for information.

They'd reached the bottom of the hill by this point, and stood in the carpark. Ren's car was parked a few spaces down and, seeing it now, Blake wondered how she'd missed it on the way in. They jumped in without another word. An electric excitement was running up and down Blake's body; she wanted to get moving as fast possible. They could finally have a solid lead.

Vale was only just beginning to awaken as they made their way through the streets. The traffic was light at first, but got heavier as they approached the city centre. They managed to make it through the centre of the city before the morning rush hour, and had a pleasant cruise the rest of the way; with the heavy traffic on the other side of the road. Blake's was grateful for their good luck; having to wait in traffic would probably have killed her.

Forty five minutes after leaving Beacon, Ren brought the car to a gentle stop in front of an old hotel. If Blake had to imagine a place to which a member of a secret criminal organisation would go to hide from that very same organisation… this place was almost exactly what came to mind. It was falling apart; pieces of the façade fell off as they looked up at it. There were more holes in the wall than windows, and the only thing that separated one from the other was the shards of glass that remained in each window where a pane once was.

"Charming," Blake muttered as she subconsciously wiped her hands.

"Don't let the looks fool you," Ren said, sounding faintly amused. "This place is quite the den of crime and devilry."

Blake shot him a sideways look. A joke? From Ren? Now of all times? She sighed and gestured for him to lead the way. He nodded and, without another word, entered what seemed to be his favourite crime den. Blake shook her head as she followed him inside.

The floor groaned in an ominous voice as they made their way across the entrance hall. Ren strode in with all the confidence of a rooster in a chicken farm, while Blake lagged behind a little, delayed by the sudden scent that attacked her. She poked her head out the front door, sucked in a breath of marginally fresher air, and hurried after Ren.

There was an empty void where an elevator used to be, so they made their way to the stairs. They seemed like the most threatening thing that Blake had seen thus far. The timber screamed whenever they put their weight down, so much so that Blake started walking close to the wall, only putting her feet on the very end of each step.

"So where is your man staying?" she asked. She didn't want to risk too many staircases in this building.

"Third floor," Ren replied. He craned his neck to look up at the next floor as they reached the landing between the first and second floors.

"Oh good."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit?"

Blake grimaced as she stretched an arm out to grasp the railing, which creaked as well. "Didn't anyone ever tell you to shut up?"

Ren chuckled and shook his head. "Come on. We should hurry. He'll have heard you coming by now."

"Heard me!?" Blake hissed. "Why you little—"

"Less cursing; more climbing. Let's go."

Blake mumbled the rest of her curse under her breath, watching Ren's back as he climbed. A part of her hoped the stair collapsed under him, just to put him in his place. The other part of her was too busy wondering when the floor was going to collapse under her to worry about Ren's teasing.

They reached the third floor without dying—a minor miracle in Blake's mind—and headed down the corridor. Ren came to a stop in front of what used to be a door, and was now a plank of rotten wood propped up in a door frame. He reached up and knocked lightly on the 'door', which sent it toppling back to shatter on the floor of the room beyond.

Ren poked his head in the door and called out. "Have you got a moment to talk about the grace of—"

"Who the hell's there!?" an angry voice cried out, cutting off Ren's joke. Thankfully.

A man came into the short hallway that led from the door to the bedroom, holding a shotgun. He held the stock against his shoulder and aimed down the sight, the barrel trained on Ren's chest. The Huntsman smiled—he had always been good in a crisis—and raised his hands.

"Relax, Menda. We're just here to talk."

The man twitched and glanced at Blake before replying. "Here to talk, huh? Talk about what? Who are you people?"

Ren dropped his hands to his sides. "I'll get to the point, then. We know who you are, Menda. We know who you work for. And we know that you're trying to run away from them."

Menda swallowed nervously and took a step back. "Your Huntsmen, aren't you?"

Ren nodded.

"Damn it… How the hell'd you find me?"

"Doesn't matter how," Ren said calmly. "All that matters is we did. Now, we can guarantee you safe passage out of the kingdom if—and only if—you answer our questions."

Menda hesitated, shotgun still raised. He licked his lips and glanced around as if searching for an escape.

"There's nowhere to run," Ren said. "Just answer our questions, and you can be on your way. Immediately. No waiting until tonight."

Menda gave up, lowered the gun to his side and waved for them to enter.

Ren looked at Blake and shot her a smile before stepping inside. Blake took her hand off Gambol Shroud's hilt, shook her head, and followed him in.

When they entered the room, the shotgun was lying on a dresser that was pressed against the right wall, and Menda was sitting on the end of the bed next to it—tucked in the far right corner—with his head in his hands.

"Damn it…" he mumbled. "…knew it wouldn't be this easy… -ing screwed…"

"Menda!" Ren snapped the man's name. He looked up, his face a mask of hopelessness, and sighed.

"Alright. Alright!" He lowered his head again. "What do you want to know?"

Ren shot a glance at Blake before replying. "Everything you know about the Talon."

Menda flinched at the mention of the Black Talon, but otherwise held his composure. "You'll need to be more specific than—"

Blake—feeling more herself now that she didn't feel like she was about to die—took a menacing step forward. "Tell us everything you know about their operations in Vale. Someone's up to something. Is the Talon involved? Are they behind it? Are they working for the one in charge? Hell, while we're at it, what is the Talon? What are they after? The White Fang at least advocated equality; what does the Black Talon want?"

Menda took Blake's onslaught in silence. Once she finished, and took a moment to catch her breath, he spoke quietly. "You really have no idea, do you?"

"No idea about what?" Ren asked.

Menda shook his head. "They told us that the Huntsmen would find us out eventually, but I didn't think it'd take you this long."

"What are you talking about?"

He chuckled. "You 'promise me safe passage'… What a joke. You're all gonna die."

Ren and Blake looked at each other. The man might be rambling, but it still didn't sound good.

Blake drew her sword and stepped forward, holding the point at his chin. "Either you start speaking sense now, Menda, or you'll die here."

The man looked up, meeting her eyes. He regarded her silently for a moment, then sighed. "Fine… What's the harm? I'm a dead man either way." He let out a small chuckle before his face turned serious. "The Talon is going to attack Vale. Big scale attack. Huge. The kingdom will fall."

Blake gaped at him. He actually looked serious; as if it was actually possible.

"W-what?" she stammered. "When?"

Menda gave her a wry grin. "Fear… That's good. You'll need that…" He looked out the window. "What's the date?"

Ren checked his scroll. "The fourteenth."

Menda sighed and closed his eyes. "Today."

Blake's knees trembled. It couldn't be true. There was no way the Talon would be able to bring down Vale. But he seemed to sure. And even if they didn't… any attempt would be a massive attack. Everyone was in danger.

Menda sighed again. "The attack will begin today. Can't say when exactly, but, if I were you, I'd get going."

Blake took a step back, about to run back to the car, but seeing Ren standing still stopped her.

The Huntsman stared at Menda, face emotionless. "Why should we believe you?"

The man looked up at him, a faint sneer on his face. "Believe me or not, the attack is coming."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Then we need more than that. What do you know about the details of the attack?"

A flash of sadness crossed Menda's face before he replied. "Fine," he sighed. "Have you got a map of Vale?"

Ren pulled out his scroll and opened it. He tapped a few buttons and a holo-map of Vale appeared in the air above the scroll. "Where?"

Menda tapped the map, leaving an orange mark on a building. "We're here." He made another mark, in the middle of the residential district. "If you go into the sewers here, and head towards the north, you'll find a store of Dust bombs."

Blake flinched. So the Dust was being smuggled into the city. And no wonder they'd not found any of it. The store—if it really was where Menda said—was almost on the other side of the city from where they'd been concentrating their search. Oddly, she noticed, it was around the corner from Jaune and Pyrrha's house. Well that's a nice turn of luck.

"Those bombs are going to be used to take out certain buildings here, here, and here." He marked out various buildings around the city, near the cache. "And once those buildings are taken care of, they'll begin the attack. Troops are stationed around here—I don't know the exact buildings—and will attack here, and here." He marked two locations: the parliament building, where Vale's council governed the kingdom; and Beacon, where Vale's best defence would come from.

He sat back, looking up at them. "That's all I know. Are we done here?"

Ren eyed him. "There's still no proof that this will actually happen."

Menda raised an eyebrow. "You come to me, asking for information, and then don't believe a word I say? You know what? Screw you, buddy. Once the attack starts, and Vale falls, you'll know that it's your fault for not believing me."

Ren gazed at him in complete silence for almost a minute. Right before Blake was about to step closer, to pull Ren outside, Menda cracked.

"Just send someone in to find the bombs!" he yelled. "The attack won't start until later today, when those bombs go off. Send someone in now—before they're moved—find the cache, and there's your proof."

Ren looked at him a moment longer, then nodded. He turned away and faced Blake. "Let's go."

Blake followed him out, pulling out her scroll. "I'll call the others," she said as they started down the stairs. She was too preoccupied now that she didn't even notice the frantic creaking as they hurried back to the car.

She dialled Yang's number as fast as her fingers could move. The blonde answered on the second ring.

"Heeelloooo!" she cried in a happy voice. "How're you today, sexy?" Blake could just about hear Yang winking at her.

"Yang, I need you to take Ruby and head into Beacon," Blake said. There was no time for messing around.

"What's wrong?" Concern filled Yang's voice now.

"Ren came to see me today… We talked to a defecting member of the Talon; they're going to attack Vale today. I need you and Ruby to go in and let Ozpin and everyone know about the possibility of an attack."

"A defecting… Can we trust him?"

"Doesn't matter. We need to check it out anyway. Just head in, let them know everything we know—and what we've found out today—and get the city ready."

"But… Ruby's not here."

Blake froze for a moment, but gathered herself quickly and continued out the door of the building. "Where is she?"

"She went to Jaune's… She said there was something she needed to talk to Jaune and Pyrrha about."

Blake looked up, squinting against the sunlight, and saw Ren standing at the car, scroll pressed to his ear.

"Damn it," she muttered. "Why today… Okay, that's fine. You just head in and let them know. I'll call Ruby."

"Okay…"

Ren put his scroll away and stepped over to Blake, taking the scroll from her. "Yang. Ren here. Nora's on her way too. She'll meet you at the bottom of the hill in ten minutes. Hurry." He ended the call, passed the scroll back to Blake, and got in the car.

Blake jumped in the passenger seat and dialled Ruby's number. "Ruby's at Jaune's," she said to Ren as she pressed the scroll to her ear.

He nodded and put his foot down, sending the car shooting down the street. "Good. Get Jaune and Pyrrha to investigate the cache. They live around the corner."

"And Ruby?" she asked she waited for the Huntress in question to answer.

Ren didn't speak for a moment. "Let her choose. She can go with Jaune and Pyrrha, or head to Beacon. Having more people searching underground will help, but having more people at Beacon, readying our defences, will help as well."

Blake nodded, then cursed as the call went to Ruby's voice mail.

Ren shot her a glance. "Calm down. Try her again. We've got time."

Blake met his gaze for a brief instant before he looked back at the road. "Where are we going?" she asked as she dialled another number—Kelly this time.

"Beacon. Like I said, we'll need all the people there we can get. They'll know what's happening by the time we get there, and hopefully we'll know from Jaune and Pyrrha if the attack is really coming."

The scroll rang. "That's cutting it close, isn't it?" Blake asked. "It'll take Jaune and Pyrrha at least half an hour to get around down there. And that's if anyone answers their damn scrolls!"

"Calm down. And yeah, it is. But we'll see."

Blake swore as the call went to voice mail. "I can't get to Kelly either."

"Try Ruby again. If that doesn't go through, try Jaune or Pyrrha. We'll be at Beacon soon."

"Soon? We're forty five minutes… away…" she trailed off as she glanced out the window and saw the buildings zipping past. A glance at the speedometer told her that they were going three times the speed limit.

"We're in a rush," Ren said in way of an apology. He'd never been one to take advantage of Huntsmen road privileges, but apparently he felt it necessary this time.

Blake nodded and looked back out the window as the scroll dialled. He was right. They were in a rush. And, if Menda turned out to be telling the truth, then all of Vale was in danger as well.

Blake shot Ren another glance. "Hey, Ren?"

"Yeah?"

"Can this thing go any faster?"