Ruby Redfort: try not to scream

Chapter 28- Card Tricks

Hitch and Mrs Digby stayed up very late that night, discussing what had happened. Two people who loved that kid more than anything, wondering how they could protect her from harm. In truth, there was no way they could keep her safe. Ruby Redfort thrived on danger. She loved the exhilaration she got when she faced harm. She was a sixteen year old girl who had looked Death and The Grim Reaper straight in the eye and lived to tell the tale. Her scars were not only from knifes and guns and giant squids, they were from loss, torture and paranoia. To Hitch, she was the bravest person alive. He laughed to himself. He had been hired to be her protector but it seemed that recently she was the one saving him. Ruby was sleeping deeply, resting off the pain. Clancy had gone up to her room to sit with her and watch Crazy Cops. Dan was in his room, watching TV.

When Mrs Digby retired to bed, Hitch was left alone in the kitchen. In the quiet, he heard the phone ring in the living room.
"Hello," he said, picking up the receiver.
"Art Hitchen Zachary," came the hiss of the cruel voice of Count Von Viscount.
"What do you want?" growled Hitch, trying to remain calm.
"Not very friendly, are we? I just thought you should know something,"
"What could you possibly know that would concern me?" glowered Hitch.
"Well, Miss Redfort decided to die to save you. Meaning she will die. I will make sure of it,"
"You're not going to get anywhere near her. I'll make sure of that,"
"We will see, but understand this. I know what makes Redfort tick and no matter how you try to save her, she will always give her life to save yours. Think about it,"
The call ended and Hitch stood still.
He was right. The Count was right. Ruby would always put her friends before herself. That was just who she was. She had just been stabbed because she had gone to save him. She had jumped in front of a bullet for him. What could he do? Nothing. He couldn't change her. He didn't want to change her. The best way to keep her safe was to make sure everyone she loved was safe. But even then, Ruby would always chase danger. The best Ruby Redfort was a Ruby Redfort under pressure.
They were stuck in a card game. Six people sat around a table, playing for their lives. Ruby Redfort, Clancy Crew, LB, Hitch, Danial Zayn and Count Von Viscount. Everyone was all in. Not going back, just living in the moment because in the next moment they could be dead.
In that moment, Hitch needed to think like Ruby.
Rule 51: If you don't trust the other players, always keep your cards close to your chest.
He couldn't be completely sure he could trust anyone other than Ruby. Although he knew that no harm would come to Ruby from Clancy or LB, her love and respect for the two of them could be used against her. As for Dan, Hitch barely knew him.

The next morning, a meeting was held. Not wanting to leave Ruby home alone, Hitch called everyone to Greenwood House. They all sat in the Redfort's living room and discussed what could be done. Sleeping soundly, Ruby was unaware of Hitch's Count encounter. So as all those who meant something to Ruby, who were aware of Spectrum, started to debate what could be done to keep the child agent safe.
Mrs Digby was not part of the conversation; LB thought it essential to keep a few agents identities hidden. They allowed Clancy to sit with them due to the fact that he had been inside Spectrum and had met most of the agents before. They stayed quiet for a while, drinking tea (or coffee in Hitch's case) and thinking of the next course of action.
"This is going to be difficult. Purely for the reason that Redfort isn't one to follow rules," said LB, in her usual gravelly voice. Everyone nodded but LB hadn't finished.
"But that might be a good thing," she thought. Hitch raised his eyebrows.
"What do you mean?" asked Dan, confused about why Ruby's recklessness could be good.
"Well, without Ruby's blatant disregard for the rules, we would never have found Bradley, Margo Bardem would be dead, Buzz would still be working for us, The Count could have so much more of the Cyan scent and the truth serum and every one of us would be dead,"
The others nodded. LB was right, as per usual. If Ruby was a goody two sneakers then everyone at Spectrum would be either dead or in captivity.
"Yeah," nodded Clancy. "For the smart kid's smart kid, Rube sure can be a total duh,"
Blacker and Hitch smirked. Ruby Redfort and total duh were not two things you would usually put together.
"So how do we work around this?" asked Dan.
"Well, who knows Ruby best?" asked Froghorn. "They must be able to think of something,"
Everyone looked at Clancy and Hitch. Hitch turned to Clancy but he turned to LB.
"Why are you looking at me?" she asked.
"Well," started Clancy. "The person who knew Ruby best was Baker because they were really similar and you knew Baker best so..."
"You really think Baker knew her better than you?" asked Dan. To Clancy, it almost sounded like a challenge or threat. 
"I saw a different side to Rube when he was around. The thing about Ruby is her issues with trust. I mean, Hitch is her best friend and yet she still thought you could have been Casey Morgan. Same with Blacker. And LB, you should have seen her face when she told me about the plane crash. But there was something about Baker that made her trust him more than anyone. She was completely devastated when he died and she didn't have a shoulder to cry on," Clancy sighed. It was hard to think that Ruby trusted someone more than him but it was true. Hitch smiled slightly.
"You really think I'm her best friend?" he grinned.
"Yeah," added Dan. "I thought you were her best friend," his tone was threatening again.
"I'm her boyfriend. She's in love with me. They're two different things," Clancy smiled, happy to have put Dan in his place.
LB was almost smiling. She had always thought that Ruby was like Baker, but hearing what Clancy had to say made it so much clearer. Ruby Redfort was no ordinary kid. She had always been the smartest in the room, even with the adults in her life. When she came to Spectrum, she met people who were just as smart as her, if not smarter. But when she met Baker, they were so similar that he meant so much to Ruby. She had finally found someone like her. That was why Ruby spoke so fondly of him. The mind of Ruby Redfort finally made sense to her.
"I agree with you. Redfort and Baker are very similar individuals. Other than the fact that Ruby is a lot more insulting, stubborn, cocky, reckless and impulsive," said Froghorn. He could never say anything nice about Ruby without completely reversing it. He really is a potato head, thought Clancy.