Destiny No More

Chapter 90

Cinder didn't duck her head as the police car pulled onto the street ahead of her, that would have been a sign of weakness, but she did change course. As far as she knew, her image hadn't been fully circulated yet, at least according to her contacts within the Valean government. Why that fool Ozpin hadn't seen fit to do so, she never would have known, but it worked in her favor for now and gave her free reign of the streets, at least for the most part. That didn't give her the security to be careless, however, and she hadn't gotten to where she was by taking unneeded risks.

The streets of Vale were an organized and developed system, unlike most of the other Kingdoms. Whereas they had been developed gradually over time, resulting in the chaotic and unplanned expansion of an ever growing population, Vale had clearly been built with grand ideas for the future. The alley's and main roads had all mostly been accounted for and allowed people to move through the city efficiently and without disruption. It was possibly the one thing Ozpin had ever done right, and even now it served her in her attempts to stay hidden.

The alleys weren't nearly as dilapidated or as crime ridden in this part of the city, but one didn't need to travel far before the streets became just a little bit less safe. A bit farther, and you might even start to notice that the police didn't regularly patrol those roads. Again, small things that betrayed the very faults of those in power. The fact they served her purposes was simply irony at work, but even without Salem's influence lurking in the shadows, the city would be in disrepair, Cinder was certain of this.

Roman had been useful for a great many things, though as time went on and her carefully laid plans came crashing down around her, he had proven a bigger risk than anything else. The fact he had survived the first few assassination attempts didn't come as too much of a shock, he was like a roach in that regard; always finding something to survive. His sudden turn towards the authorities was however, something she had been quick to address. While Adam had been given a list of high profile safehouses and locations to strike, Cinder had gone after the subtler ones. The few that even dear Roman wouldn't notice going missing.

Walking through the doorway to her temporary dwelling always annoyed her. So far from the public view, the down trodden and discarded Humans and Faunus of Vale seemed to congregate. They piled over one another to hide in the halls of the few apartment blocks without any real landlords or tenants, so that they could stay safe from the elements. The fact it was raining at the moment meant the halls were even more crowded than usual, but they parted for her as she walked, they always did. She had made an example of the few that had tried something, and while these people were too desperate to seek other shelter, they were still smart enough to stay out of her way. In exchange, she let them live in their squalor and waste their lives away with drugs and whatever other poisons they seemed to be bent on using. It didn't matter to her, if everything went to plan they would die regardless, and they would be lucky ones, too high to even notice that they were about to face their inevitable deaths.

"Cinder!" Emerald opened the door the moment she approached, the hidden cameras in the halls alerting her and Mercury to her return. "There's been a development-"

"Mistral will be sending forces for the Vytal Festival, I am aware." Cinder interrupted before the girl could continue to waste her time, setting her jacket on the stand by the door. Roman and Neo's tastes had always been extravagant, and while this apartment wasn't nearly up to the former thieves' standards, it was still a noticeable contrast to what lay only a few inches past the door. Plush carpets, fine drapes, and furniture worth more than the people outside the door. The apartment would have cost most in Vale thousands of Lien every month, and all she'd had to do to get it was kill the two men guarding it and remove the bodies. A cheap price, all things considered.