Chapter Text
The summons they'd received told the owner of Team Job Security to appear at the Hall of Commerce on the third day of December, so that was what Vale did. Had Jaune been up and at 'em at the time, he would have been the one to lead the charge with Blake remaining the power behind the scenes, but he wasn't up and at 'em, so Blake came forth from her shadows to represent the team. Velvet was present in the courtroom as well, but she remained in the audience seating, far away from Blake at the main table.
No. It's not a courtroom. I have to remember, this isn't a trial.
The Hall of Commerce was altogether rather drab, but Blake imagined that for a flashy-careered security consultant like herself, it would appear so. She was used to fighting with weapons that produced flares of color with magical semblances and awesomely empowered warriors, so a meeting area such as this one would naturally appear dull in comparison to her daily life.
Her office, plain as it was, at least had a touch of personality. The walls weren't just one color, and the windows had a sign on them. The Valean Bureau of Business was just plain boring.
I'm not here to critique their style, Blake reminded herself as she waited in the room for her not-a-trial to being. I'm here to defend Team Job.
It was impossible not to notice the small cluster of reporters, as well. There weren't as many for something big, like a major disaster or historic event, but there were more than there should have been for a group as inconsequential as Team Job Security.
I guess that means our intended destruction it to be televised. Ozpin's sent his warriors to slay us and his chroniclers to document it so that no one ever questions his absolute power again.
Though Blake knew it wasn't a trial, there were still a lot of things she'd hadn't realized she'd assumed until they were disproven. She'd been expecting it to be a judge or even a jury, but instead a board of review consisting of four officials came forward to call them all to order. None carried gavels, but she hadn't been anticipating that.
It wasn't a courtroom, or even shaped like one. In those, the judge stood high above the rest, and there were two sides of the court, separated by whose side they were on. For the business license review, it was just a roundish table that was longer than it was wide. On one side sat the board, and on the other sat Blake and Ann Greene, Beacon's ex-professor, next to one another. Had this been a courtroom, Blake would've assumed that her own lawyer wouldn't have even been that close.
The audience, including Velvet (to support Blake), Velvet's mother (to support Velvet as she supported Blake), and the fistful of reporters, all sat in a small row of chairs near the door of the meeting room. There was also an empty seat at the end of the table that stood out on account of it being the only unfilled chair.
"Good afternoon, all," said one of the people on the board of review. He leaned over and shook Blake's hand, then Ms. Greene's. "For those of you I haven't had the pleasure of meeting before today, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Clive Scallio, the chief review officer for this assembly."
"Blake Belladonna," said Blake, unsure what more she was expected to offer, if any. It wasn't like she was wholly unaware of how this was supposed to go, but right now she was just operating on basic table manners, unaware of any formal procedure. Did she address him as 'your honor?' It wasn't a trial, but Blake didn't want to assume anything and mess it up.
"Clarissa Raimen," said the woman to his left, getting up to do the same handshakes.
"Harris Rika," said the next man, at which point Blake realized she was never going to be able to remember these names.
I'll just go with sir or ma'am.
"And I'm Poppy Curtis," introduced the last woman. All four of them were human, but none had shown any visible disgust over shaking a Faunus' hand, so Blake would do her best not to assume prejudice where there might be none.
"And we all know Mrs. Greene," said the main board person, Clive. He sat down, and the rest followed suit. Mr. Clive opened up his folder and began looking through the documents within. "Ah, Team…Job Security. An interesting name."
He said it pleasantly enough, and Blake knew that this wasn't supposed to be a trial, so she decided to just roll with it.
"The J comes from the name of my partner, Jaune Arc," she explained. "He's effectively the boss of the company, and a co-founder alongside myself."
"And, forgive me if I'm wrong, but he's…in the hospital, I believe?" said one of the ladies on the council. "As a result of the incident over which this board has convened, I believe."
Blake nodded. "That is correct, ma'am."
All of the reviewers nodded in nearly perfect unison and looked down at their folders again.
"Mrs. Greene, you may begin your deposition when ready," said the head reviewer.
The ex-Beacon lady nodded and flipped open her own folder. "Team Job Security is an independent security firm that advertises being able to secure any tract of land for a week's worth of time. At the moment, they consist entirely of three employees – Mr. Arc, Ms. Belladonna, and Mrs. Velvet Scarlatina."
"Miss," Velvet corrected from the sidelines where she sat.
Blake was immediately filled with worry over her employee having interrupted, but no one in the board even seemed to mind.
"Ms. Scarlatina," amended Greene. "Forgive me."
It's not a trial – just a business meeting. I guess we can speak freely without stuffy court procedures hovering over our heads? I'll still be careful, though.
"The inciting incident took place on November 11th, in the settlement of Rem-Warder," Greene went on. "It's a small town just north of Vale, up in the mountain ranges. Team Job Security claims to have been hired by people within this settlement for unlicensed hunting activity, at which point –"
"Ahem."
Blake didn't like interrupting, but she wasn't going to be polite and take this lying down, not with how much was on the line.
"At no point have we claimed to be hunters, and our business licenses for Vale were active."
"They still are," said one of the reviewers. "Until such time as this board or the Bureau elects to revoke them, if that course of action is to be taken."
Satisfied, Blake nodded and let Mrs. Greene go on.
"While they claim to have no affiliation with the distinguished career of hunting, I've found multiple instances of evidence suggesting they have often acted in such a capacity. Numerous reports from Beacon students, including those present at the inciting incident last month, report frequent conflict in which Team Job deliberately interfered with and sabotaged hunters-in-training."
"Your findings, Ms. Greene?"
The former professor advised them to open to the first page in their folders, and Blake realized that she still didn't have one. However, the bord could clearly see that she lacked this paperwork and didn't offer to share, so Blake figured she wasn't meant to have access to that material.
"Headmaster Ozpin has provided copies of application forms to Beacon Academy, submitted by Mr. Jaune Arc, which contain fraudulent information."
"Objection!" Blake said. "Relevance!"
That got a chuckle out of some of the members of the board, but the leader apologized for it in short order. "Forgive us, Ms. Belladonna, but this is not a trial, nor is Ann a prosecutor. Her aim here as lead investigator is to find the facts of the situation and present them to us. Boards of review are not adversarial systems with defensive and offensive sides."
"She's criticizing us," Blake argued.
"If she has discovered actions that corroborate your fitness to conduct business, Mrs. Greene will present that. If she has discovered evidence contrary to that, she will present that just the same. Her role is not against you here; she is an objective investigator solely tasked with finding the facts of the incident." He smiled at Blake. "Make no mistake; she's paid just as well if the verdict is to let you retain your license."
Mrs. Greene smiled at that, as did the other members of the board, as though it were some funny joke, but Blake knew the truth. She might have her job, but she was also doing a favor for an old friend here. Even if she was supposed to be objective, she wasn't going to be.
"I must admit, Ann, that Ms. Belladonna has a point," said the other man on the board. "If Beacon has applications from this year, and Team Job Security only filed for a license long after the academy term began, it cannot be considered relevant."
"Not relevant, perhaps, but pertinent," argued the completely objective investigator, though Blake couldn't see the difference. "It may give you a measure of their motivations and character."
"Their character is not in question," said the leader of the board, his smile dampened. "Their actions are. I think I'd prefer to base my judgment on facts today, those both relevant and pertinent."
It was tempting to feel some shining ray of hope break through Blake's stormy mind full of doubt and gloom. If the board was objecting to Greene's improper actions here and censuring her for it, maybe, just maybe, they might choose to look past Beacon's biases and rule in favor of Team Job.
But there was also a raindrop of wariness falling down with the same ray of hope. If the board wanted to be above reproach, they would act like they were on Blake's side. That would imply that they were playacting here and therefore all already in Ozpin's pocket.
If they are, I'm screwed no matter what. I must focus on what I can do.
"Back to the inciting incident, then," said Greene. "Please turn to page…ahem." She tugged at her collar. "Please proceed to page 42 of the report."
Blake bit her tongue to prevent herself from grinning like a goblin. From the first page to the forty-second…evidently, a lot of this impartial report seemed to be irrelevant.
"There is a financial record of Rem-Warder, or representatives thereof, paying for Team Job's Services, ostensibly for the purposes of 'securing the land within the mountainside from any and all threats.'"
Blake had written that language long, long ago, back when she and Jaune were still figuring out who they were and what they were supposed to do together. Library books and online sources had taught her that it was illegal to go out seeking Grimm to kill them, but only if there was explicit, stated intent to encounter Grimm. If one ran into them, they were well withing their rights to defend themselves.
We were hired to walk through the woods and act as bodyguard for the town. Grimm came upon us, but is that illegal? Is that even a fault of our own? I don't think so, Ozpin.
It was also pleasant to know that her decision to go about things the right way had paid off. Had Blake tried to sign up for the mission using the hacked hunter mission boards, she would have screwed Team Job big time. As it was, all she'd done was send out a mass wave of spam to hundreds of villages, and one had replied. Again, not illegal and not anyone's fault.
I mean, I did break the law by hacking in, but they can't prove that, so I think I'm okay.
"However, we can also find a definitive record that Beacon Academy dispatched three teams of hunters for a mission in the area. These Teams are…"
They went on listing the names of the teams and their members, with little gasps coming from the peanut gallery of reporters regarding Weiss Schnee and The Invincible Girl being among them. No doubt they assumed that those two were the reason Ozpin had tipped them off to attend this board of review.
They think it's just controversy surrounding famous hunters and the nobody company that tried to screw them, not Ozpin utilizing the girls and these reporters as weapons against us.
"…Winchester," finished Greene. "These three teams were assigned a mission that was far older than Team Job Security's week-long contract, having been posted months prior. Ms. Belladonna, Mr. Arc, and their employee interfered with this academy-sanctioned mission and endangered the lives of the hunters, who were only just able to kill the Grimm and protect the three civilians. Even so, the reckless actions of Team Job have lead to a casualty among their own: Mr. Arc."
"We were hired first," Blake countered. "We arrived first to offer security to Rem-Warder and their surrounding forests. We engaged the Grimm first, responding to protect our lives when it attacked us during the course of our security measures. It was the actions of Beacon that interfered with our existing plans to kill the Grimm present."
"I'm afraid that's not true," said Ms. Greene, frowning at Blake. "We have testimony from several hunters that you had not engaged the Grimm in combat at the time of their arrival."
"I'm willing to testify that we had, as will Ve– as will Ms. Scarlatina. And Mr. Arc, when he's recovered," Blake tacked on at the end.
One of the reviewers raised a hand to collect the room's attention. "Are they not…forgive my poor understanding of the circumstances, but are the members of Team Job Security not already violating the law by seeking and engaging Grimm?"
"They are," concurred Greene. "As I mentioned, they have a pattern of showing extreme resentment over not being admitted into Beacon using their falsified application forms, as well as a desire to act as unlicensed huntsmen and huntresses."
"Untrue," said Blake. "Our services are to provide security for our clients, and our clients were the village of Rem-Warder. We were acting as bodyguards for their village and the surrounding area when we were attacked by Grimm. Short of allowing ourselves to be killed, we had no choice but to defend our lives."
"If there was intent to engage the Grimm –"
Blake furrowed her brow. "Do you have any proof of our intentions, Ms. Greene? Our mission statement with Rem-Warder is quite clear. I must say, for an objective investigator, I wouldn't have expected you to be so…"
Not well aware of laws surrounding perjury, Blake let the thought trail off. If she didn't actually accuse Greene of anything, she figured she wasn't liable. Like always, legal loopholes would be what let Blake have her cake and eat it too.
"Mrs. Greene," the woman corrected. "And I'm –"
"Ann," interrupted one of the women on the board.
"Mrs. Curtis, I assure you that I –"
"Mrs. Greene," said the head reviewer. "Do not make a liar of me by acting impartially. I've know you for five years as one of our best investigators. That was why you were assigned to this case, in addition to your unique perspectives on hunting in relation to the three Beacon teams involved in the inciting incident. I urge you to…avoid presenting any perceptions that may be misinterpreted by Ms. Belladonna, and those else present in this boardroom."
'Unique perspectives on hunting' is an interesting way to phrase 'conflict of interest,' Blake thought.
"Members of the board, I assure you that I –"
The chief of the board cleared his throat, shutting her up. "I think it might be best if we were to call in these teams, or at least their leaders. I'd like to hear their testimony."
"As would I," said one of the women.
Both of the other members of the board nodded in assent.
Greene seemed a lot tenser now that things weren't swinging in her favor. "Mr. Thrush, leader of Team Radish, is unavailable for testimony. At the moment, he and his team are on a mission to the township of Indurre that is expected to take up to three weeks."
"Then we'll just have the other two provide their recounting of events," said the lead reviewer. "Assuming they are willing."
"They have expressed willingness to testify," Greene said. "To set the record straight."
Blake wasn't liking the way her investigator's shoulders relaxed when it was agreed upon that only two of the three leaders would be coming up. It was an action that belied visible relief, at least visible to Blake.
It isn't like Coco Adel is going to show up and sing Team Job's praises. If we fall apart, she probably thinks she can just snap Velvet right back up, free her of any brainwashing by the hunter haters, and have her perfect team whole once more. If Greene's confident that Adel and Schnee will be our undoing, I'm guessing they're in on the game.
Russel had been dispatched on a long-term mission that conveniently coincided with the board of review, indicating that Beacon decided it was too risky to have him speak. Blake couldn't expect him to quit his job just to save three people he'd barely met once. He might not even know that their licenses were under review.
Besides, his little brother saved our bacon at Team Job's Juniors. The Thrushes have more than proven their valor in my eyes.
If Beacon wanted Russel out of the picture but not the other two, and they were willing to employ proactive measures to get the not-a-trial to go that way, Blake feared what she should expect Coco Adel and Weiss Schnee would have to say about her.
We can probably expect some very nice, exaggerated stories about how Jaune begged for Beacon's help when the dragon tried to eat him, how Velvet's water broke and left her too weak to participate, and how I lashed out violently when the danger passed because I'm a bitter faux-huntress. A bastardization of real events that corroborate their best traits at the expense of the our earnest truth.
There was nothing Blake could do to object, though. The board of review announced that they would give Mrs. Greene a period of five business days to have the leaders of Teams Coffee and Snowpack prepared to testify, at which point they would reconvene.
Perhaps it was a stay of execution, or perhaps Blake's problems were just being drawn out longer. More likely the former than the latter, but either way, it was Team Job Security surviving for five more days, so she'd take it.
Coming Soon: Take the Stand
Beacon sends their best and brightest to testify, so of course that goes extremely well for Team Job.