Stargazing With Beilah

Just a Job, Nothing More

Professor Membrane was an incredibly powerful man. Not only did he have the funds to do whatever he desires, but he also had the intellect. With his scientific and mathematic prowess as well as his own physical strength (which his mechanical arms only increased) he was quite the formidable foe. Even without said physical power, he had different types of power- powers that allowed him a great deal of control over what happened in the world and that was the power that came with being the leading scientist of their nation- and likely even their entire world. He was the kind of person that children looked up to and that parents hoped their children would grow to be like. 

That was why it came as a surprise to neither Qrow nor Sophia that Membrane was their next target. 

Although they never could have anticipated attempting to kill one of the most powerful people, they weren't shocked that there were people that hated him enough to try to kill him, nor were they taken aback by the fact that those people also had the kind of funds to support their dark and twisted desire for his blood. 

Sophia and Qrow weren't exactly the most expensive hitmen for hire, but even the cheapest hitmen cost thousands of dollars on average and the two of them were far from amateurs at their craft. They had dedicated several years of their lives to their work, after all. They knew what they were doing. 

That didn't change the fact that this particular job was a bit... complicated. 

Something as simple as research could tell them quite a bit about a person, especially with how thorough the two of them were. Qrow knew his way around a computer- primarily because of his own paranoia regarding someone hacking into his personal computer and watching him- so he was able to easily find a great deal of information about the Professor, even if the walls he built around himself were incredibly strong. No one was completely safe, no matter how hard they tried (something that terrified Qrow and kept him changing his own protection software constantly). 

Unlike Qrow, though, Membrane actually had a reason to keep all of his information on lockdown. He had people hunting him down in more ways than one and his work was at stake as well his own life. Membrane was actually in danger. 

That only became more true as they were given their most recent assignment. 

One look at either Qrow or Sophia would lead no one to guess what their occupation was. Qrow was far too quiet and nervous to be taken seriously as a threat and Sophia was far too out of her own mind and stupid to pose much of a threat. Both of them were perfect assassins. 

Usually. 

They couldn't help but feel differently about this particular person, though. While neither of them had ever been particularly interested in him or his work before they had been hired for this job, that was quickly changing. The more they learned about him, the more they grew to respect him and, in several ways, they actually found him interesting. Being unhinged scientists in their own ways, Qrow and Sophia could relate to him and, the more they learned about him, the more they thought that they would enjoy befriending the man. 

He was a bit socially awkward and incredibly eccentric, but it was also clear that he actually cared about the state of the world. There were several projects that he took on in attempts to help people in more ways than one. He wasn't simply out to make a quick buck, he was trying to cure cancer and solve world hunger and help people in unsafe situations. 

All in all, he looked like a good guy. 

Normally, they wouldn't bat an eye at killing someone; everyone had a dark side of themselves that they hide from the rest of the world and those around them- and they were the perfect example of that.