RWBY: Remnant's Blond Bard

Chapter 20

Out of work, but then he couldn't carry two guitars around on his own either. He could just swing by a music store to buy a new one, but that probably wasn't a fair comparison for a huntsman. You couldn't ask a Grimm to let you go buy a new weapon before it continued the fight.

"The weapon you gave us is split into numerous parts and is, while not overly advanced, quite unique for the average terrorist to be wielding. How much do you know about terrorism and their methods?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"Fair enough. The basics is that most terrorist organisations draw from civilian populations, typically those that are unhappy with the way things are. Their greatest defence is in being hard to pin down in a pitched battle, because if we could do that then the White Fang would have been dealt with years ago. They blend into civilian populations, taking off their masks and becoming just your average salary worker, bartender or hair stylist."

"Uh. Is this leading to you asking me to identify the terrorist from a lineup or something?" asked Jaune. "Because I'm not sure why you're telling me this otherwise."

Ironwood couldn't be suspicious of him, surely. What was there to be suspicious of?

"I'll get to the point, then. This weapon is not what you'd expect to see on a civilian turned terrorist. This is closer to a huntsman's weapon, and a modern one too so we know it hasn't been passed down by an ancestor. That means the faunus you took this from was incredibly dangerous."

He didn't need to be told that. He'd seen the girl's level and felt her blows tear his life in half. Jaune knew just how unmatched he'd been against her, and just how lucky he was to still be alive.

"I hope you're not saying I'm a huntsman in disguise for beating her or something."

Ironwood laughed. "I'm afraid not. We reviewed the security footage, and it showed us your plucky, if reckless, attempts to defend the other guests. I know you're no huntsman. The reason I'm telling you this isn't to try and draft you into my army or involve you in an investigation you have no part in. It's to warn you." Ironwood tilted his head forwards. "This isn't the kind of weapon someone can afford to throw away, nor one that can replace easily. Now, we have no reason to believe the person this belonged to is specifically after you, but if they see you on the streets of Mantle then they might wonder if you don't still have it on you."

Jaune's mouth was suddenly very dry. "Oh…"

"I don't want to scare you unduly. We've made it publicly known that we have the weapon – we've quoted it in releases to the press, both to make it clear you shouldn't be targeted but mostly to suggest the terrorist in question give up and get out of Atlas."

"Is that okay? I'd have thought you'd want to catch them."

"I do. Atlas knows I do. But that isn't always possible, and I have to think of the bigger picture. There are over a million faunus living here and arresting and fingerprinting each one will drive them into the White Fang's arms in droves. We've compared the prints to faunus on our records, including military personnel, but they're all clear. That's no surprise if this is a terrorist with huntress training, as she'd almost certainly come from Menagerie."

"The island, right?"

"Yes. Officially, it's neutral, but we all know the White Fang controls much of the populace. We can't strike against them, however. It would be a bloodbath. Also, Menagerie was granted to the faunus after they won the rebellion and taking it off them now would be a good way to start another great war."