Heisters (RWBY modern AU fanfiction)

20: Drastic Measures

Night had fallen over the city of Atlas. At night hour, Ironwood would normally be at his penthouse with Ozpin and Qrow, getting the rest he deserved. But nothing like that was happening for tonight.

With the street lights dim and amber, Ironwood walked on the sidewalk while he wore his black hoodie so no one would notice or recognize him.

He walked several blocks away from his penthouse until he reached a corner store. He then entered through the door as you could hear the little bell ringing whenever a customer would enter or exit out of there. When he reached inside, a sudden chill rushed through him only because there were refrigerators running in the back of the store. The lighting was dull and pale as some light bulbs flickered above Ironwood. Barely anyone was there except for a man behind the counter with the cash register.

"Hey", the man called out to Ironwood.

He turned to the man that called him, but the man didn't say anything. Instead, he pointed out to a sign that had said: NO hoodies and NO masks or we will be forced to call 911!

"Sorry", Ironwood said before pulling his hoodie down, revealing his head to the chilly air.

He continued his way through the store to search for the things that he needed. First on the list, a throw-away camera.

Throughout the corner market, all you could hear was the buzzing sound of the electrical window signs saying: WELCOME! All items for today are 50% off! Buy up to 10 items and you could get a 20% discount! Yet again, all things were 50% off every day. This was just a desperate call for people to shop in their stores.

Overall with the buzzing sounds of the every electrical device or lighting in the store, the one thing had to bother people was the dusty floor tiles. All white and waxed, yet slippery from the dust from the many people's shoes. But the floors' scent... Oh, it was strong. It was obvious that the tiled floor was cleaned by Lemon Scented, Fabuloso. So cheap, yet had a very pleasing smell.

Ironwood walked through half of the aisles in the store until he found the stacks of throw-away cameras. He then grabbed one and continued his way for whatever else he needed.

The man behind the counter was reading an easy-on-the-pocket magazine, but Ironwood knew that the man was watching him since he was the only customer in the store late at night. But the man probably had a good reason to stalk Ironwood. Many low-priced stores could get robbed late at night, but Ironwood wouldn't steal anything that was under $10,000. First of all, it would be useless to do that. Second, it would just plain rude to steal from a man who worked very hard at corner market that only receives up to $138 every day.

Ironwood scanned for whatever else he needed on his item list. He walked through the aisle to aisle until he saw shoe pads hung in front of the many bags of chips. But there were three different kinds. Gel, foam, and silicone. He would pick gel, but it would be too gluey for the floor to leave gummy footprints on marble and wood tiles. Foam would be much nicer, but that would pack too much dust to either slip or rip apart on a rug. Leaving silicone as the last choice, Ironwood chose that and left the aisle to look around more.

The bell on the door had rung, meaning another customer had entered.

"Lookin' sharp today, sir", the man behind the counter complimented. But there was no response. All you could hear were the dress shoes tapping against the tile floor every time the man took a step. With this attitude, it had Ironwood concerned. The footsteps got closer and closer to him until it stopped from behind. Slowly, Ironwood turned around to see a buff White Fang member standing next to the alcohol section staring at him. Was he being followed...?