The Wilted Rose

Chapter 17: Death

Mantle

4:00 PM

3 years to the fall

Y/n Pov

Its been five days since we've started planning, and its time to put it into motion. Roy will be the one in the ballroom with Weiss and Winter, who asked to be put on security for the event. That worked out well, because should something happen, she can direct the knights to open fire on the right people. The doc had worked on some gadgets for Roy and I on the side, which we then tweaked for our specific needs. We couldn't thank him enough for that.

I would be in the building opposite, looking into the ballroom. My job would be to watch for any suspicious activity. If something did happen in the ballroom, I would be on sniper support. I took some time to do some maintenance on my pistols, as well as checking them in the rifle form. I needed them in top condition for tonight.

The ball will start at eight this evening. We were ready to go. It wasn't just Weiss on the line, though she was our primary concern. The man that I saw in that premonition was someone we were actually able to Identify. Tyrian Callows, a known serial killer who's only goal is to watch the world burn. He's psychotic, unpredictable, and very dangerous. This guy could probably give Raven a run for her money in combat.

Why he was gunning after the Schnee family was a mystery. I'd just have to beat the answers out of him before I kill him. I have a hunch that there's something bigger at play here. Cinder mentioned a mistress. Who was she and why did she want Sionis dead? Why is there some random killer that suddenly wants to off Weiss and her family? There were to many questions and not enough answers. The only thing I could say for certain was that the League didn't simply out-source outside help like Talia claimed.

Winter told Weiss what was going on and had her try and weasel her way out of going, but her asshat father was having none of it. If he survived this, I would make sure it wouldn't be for long. Telling Weiss was probably not the best thing to do since now she's scared out of her mind, though Winter said that she's doing a excellent job at hiding it. I wasn't afraid of death, been there, done that. But Weiss hasn't, this was the first time that her life would be seriously threatened.

I left my thoughts there and geared up. I walked out into the lobby area of the docs workshop. Roy was already out and talking with the doc, both turning to see me coming.

Roy: You ready?

Y/n: As I'll ever be. Lets go ruin an assassination.

Pietro: I've been meaning to ask. How does ruining the attempt cancel out the contract?

Y/n: Because Talia will bury the attempt to save face with her father. Not to mention, since Roy and I are the once that took the contract and we're going back on it, we'll have the target on our backs. The League is quick to forget a target in the face of traitors.

Roy: So we're going after the League after all this?

Y/n: No. Talia and the League wont come after us.

Pietro: Why wouldn't they?

Y/n: Because if the League is exposed, then everything they've built will crumble. They exist because they're unknown. I have no doubt that someday they'll come and we'll have to take them down. But that day isn't today, nor is it any time soon.

They didn't really seem convinced, but the League was predictable. If there's one thing I'm sure of, its that they would bide its time before retaliating. That will give us time to prepare for them. But right now, we needed to focus on the Ball. We double checked our equipment to make sure we had everything that we needed. Once we confirmed that, I took a moment to ask the doc about something.