Ruby Redfort: try not to scream

Chapter 38- War Without Peace

Blacker stood by Froghorn, making sure everyone was out of the building. Sabina Redfort noticed him speaking into an earpiece and ran over to him. Blacker recognised her immediately and gave her a comforting look.
"Hello Sir," said Sabina, shaking his hand. "My daughter and my house manager are inside,"
"Yes, Mrs Redfort. We know Hitch; he has been helping us with a certain case recently. The people inside murdered a friend of his and he has become a target but we will sort this," Blacker nodded. Sabina gasped.
"But where does Ruby come into this?" she asked.
"It seems Hitch's relationship with Ruby has made her a potential target as well. The man in particular that we are dealing with always attacks the loved ones of his enemies,"
Sabina clutched Brant's hand.
"Are Hitch and Ruby safe? Hitch is practically family," said Brant.
"Don't worry Mr Redfort. Both Hitch and Ruby are fully protected and we are doing all we can to get them down from the roof safely. I know them both and they have our full trust. Just have faith in us alright, we know what we are doing and your daughter is completely aware of what is going on with Hitch," Blacker gave them a reassuring smile.
Brant nodded and shook Blacker's hand.
"I wonder why Hitch didn't tell us," he said.
"I'm afraid that is our fault. As we are the FBI we prefer to keep our witnesses identities secret to avoid things like this from happening. Unfortunately, a few people, including Hitch, were present at the murder of Hitch's friend," Blacker explained.
Brant nodded and sighed.
"Poor Hitch," sighed Sabina.
"Yes it was unfortunate. He was a great man and a close friend of both me and Hitch and the fiance of my boss," Blacker nodded. "Anyway, I have to get back to work but I assure you that Hitch, Ruby, Dan and Clancy are all safe,"
Ruby's parents nodded.
"We will inform Ambassador Crew immediately," said Brant.
"I would appreciate it but tell him not to worry. No harm will come to any of them,"
As they walked away, Blacker sighed. He wasn't used to lying but he had convinced them. A voice came from behind him. It was Agent Delaware.
"Nice job, James," he said. Blacker smiled. Agent Delaware was one of the only agents who knew him as his first name. Blacker turned to his watch and tried to call Hitch.

Meanwhile:

Ruby looked down at the lifeless Lorelei and felt sort of sick. She had fought her so many times and now there she was. Lorelei Von Leyden was dead. I'll be darned, thought Ruby.
For a second, there was silence, until one of the men on the rooftop aimed a punch at Clancy. As quickly as the punch was thrown, Clancy dodged it and kicked the man to the floor. Ruby was shocked. He wasn't trained in combat but I guess he had picked up a few things over the past few years. As soon as that had been done, the others around Ruby were fighting. Ruby ran over towards M; she seemed to be having the most trouble. Together they managed to knock the guy out. Ruby covered M and walked her towards the door.
"Get to Blacker and make sure we get some backup," she shouted as M ran down the stairs.
As she said that she felt a hand grasp the back of her neck. As she catapulted herself into the air and into a perfect backflap, she saw Dan in a struggle with a huge man. As she fell back down she kicked the man, who had grabbed her, in the back of the neck, sending him sprawling to the floor. She ran over to Dan's side and slipped her hand into his back pocket, pulling his gun out. She used the barrel to hit the man over the head. Blood spilled from his hairline as he lashed out at Ruby. Dan's lip was also bleeding as he kicked the man in the shins. He reached to his tie and pushed the button on the tie clip sending poisonous fumes into the man's face. He took one wif and fell backwards. Dan sighed.
"Thanks, Ruby," he panted.
"No problem," Ruby said, running over to Hitch's side.
There were more and more bad guys landing on the roof every second. Hitch was surrounded by three guys and, although he was completely capable of beating them all, Ruby wanted to help him. She flung herself into the air and karate kicked one of them, knocking him to the floor. Ruby landed, standing on the unconscious man's ankle. At the same time, Hitch punched the breath out of one of the other man and he fell to the floor. The other man towered over Ruby and flung her to the side. She crashed to the floor, winded. She had been punched in the exact spot where she had been stabbed. Hitch clenched his fist and threw himself at the man. As he pinned him to the floor, Hitch started to punch the man's face, breaking his nose. The man scratched at Hitch's cheek and neck sending scarlet blood cascading all over Hitch's suit. The agent barely seemed to notice. His last punch landed directly between the man's eyebrows and sent him into an unconscious state.
Hitch ran over to Ruby's side and helped her off the floor.
"Are you alright there, kid?" he asked.
"Yep," Ruby winced, standing up. Hitch placed a hand on her shoulder.
He raised an eyebrow; it was clear she wasn't ok.
"I'm fine," she sighed, noticing his expression. She turned to see LB who was surrounded by a pile of unconscious bodies. Noticing Ruby's gaze, LB held up the locket. Ruby grinned.
"I love that woman," she said, quoting herself.
The Count, who was standing by the edge of the roof, smiled at the drama of it all. He had always had a flare for the melodramatic. As Hitch and LB continued to fight he noticed Ruby's absence. She was no longer by Hitch's side. She was nowhere to be seen. He looked around drastically. As he turned around he saw her standing behind him, grinning mischievously.
"Hello Victor," she smiled.

On the ground, the citizens of Twinford saw the girl standing on the edge of the building. Her tiny figure, as unstable as it was, a mere push away from tumbling through the sky. She was three hundred feet in the air and standing next to a man that made Blacker's blood turn cold. He knew that the man standing beside Ruby was neither Hitch nor any other agent. His body language told of murderous intentions and that he was preparing to pounce. Sabina gasped recognising the gold of Ruby's dress on the figure at the top of the high building. There was no point in screaming to her; she wouldn't hear her. Blacker frantically pressed the help button on his watch, trying to get backup. As far as he could see, Ruby had nobody to help. The other agents were either busy fighting off other villains or dead. The conversation between girl and psychopath was inaudible to Blacker which made him panic. But when he took a closer look at how Ruby was standing, his panic faded. He knew Ruby like the back of his hand. She was confident. She was clearly happy or prepared. Blacker nodded.
Bring him down, Ruby, he thought. Sabina screeched behind him.
"That's my daughter. Someone help her," she cried.
Blacker ran over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Trust me when I say this Mrs Redfort. Ruby knows what she's doing,"
There was something about the man's eyes that made Sabina believe him. It was almost as if he knew Ruby better than she did. In truth, he did. Blacker was one of Ruby Redfort's closest allies and best friends. In a way, he knew Ruby so well that he could read her mind. He turned to Froghorn and grinned.
"Myles, I need you to run down to the Double Donut and pick up as many jelly donuts as possible. Redfort's gonna need a pick-me-up after she falls," he smiled.
"Falls? What do you mean, 'falls'?" asked Froghorn, his eyes wide.
"Don't worry, she's got a Spectrum issued dress on. She'll be fine,"

"Ms Redfort, you're becoming quite the acrobat," hissed The Count.
"Picked up a trick or two from our good pal Claude," grinned Ruby.
Ruby made her way across the edge of the roof towards the wire that stood between the Stellar building and the Innovation X building. She took a step onto the high wire and smiled.
"I heard you had a flare for making tragic film endings reality. Care to try again?"
The Count smirked and walked towards the wire. He didn't step onto it but he smiled grimly.
Ruby reached out a hand to him.
"Don't you trust me?" she asked, almost as a threat. He took her hand cautiously. As he did, all eyes on the rooftop turned to them.
"Ruby, what are you doing?" screamed Dan.
Ruby ignored him and went on talking to Count Von Viscount. The fighting on the roof stopped so that they could watch the spectacle.
"You always were an interesting child, Ms Redfort, but I never deemed you stupid," murmered The Count. Ruby's smile grew.
"I just thought that we should both end this the way we started it,"
The Count gave her a look of puzzlement. She tightened her grip on his hand and grabbed the back of his neck. He suddenly realised what she meant.
"Together," she yelled.
As she said this, she jumped from the wire, dragging Victor Von Leyden down with her. Dan screamed. Clancy gasped. Sabina and Brant, cried out. LB and Hitch simply smiled.
That's Ruby Redfort for you, thought LB.

Hey guys. Thank you for reading this far. I will be releasing the next few chapter soon but I want to have finished the book first so that I can add them all in one go. Please bare with me here and I will add more soon xxx