How to Cut a Ruby: Chapter 5 D

The outside of the Council base erupted into a firefight as Reinhold used his abilities to fling the Freaks into the Council Soldiers standing guard. The Freaks were freed just as the men regained their bearings, and in the confusion they began fighting amongst themselves. Reinhold would have normally used the distraction as a chance to disappear into the shadows and sneak inside, but today... today was all about revenge. He summoned up his living shadows and leaped from his perch to engage the lot of them.

The Council and Freaks united in their screams as Reinhold flung all of them heavily into the entrance of the base. By now, whether or not the guards had been able to radio it in was irrelevant. It was clearly obvious to the men near the door that someone or something was outside. As the door blew open, the Council soldiers that were waiting were knocked over like a series of bowling pins.

Before order could be restored, Reinhold had strolled through the door, and without so much as a twitch, his living shadows began to tear through the soldiers. Their master watched briefly before deciding to take a more active role, using the soldiers' own shadows to grip them tightly to the floor. He hammered them with wave after wave of dark energy, staggering their senses and leaving them stunned. The dozens of troops melted under Reinhold's assault, and more and more came, only to meet the same fate.

Relativity was in full effect. To Reinhold, the minutes passed like seconds as he unleashed a darkened hell upon the base. To the Council, however, each second seemed to last an eternity, as they were crushed wave after wave by one man. After the onslaught seemed over, Reinhold made his way through the now relatively peaceful base, leaving the bodies of the fallen wherever they may have landed in the exchange.

Senses kicking back in, Reinhold slipped into the shadows and quickly navigated the base, searching for wherever they might have been keeping her. Spending so much time infiltrating bases seemed to come in handy in this sort of situation. With a quick survey of the base he could take a strong, educated guess as to where they might be holding her, and once he had his bearings, he rushed off to find her.

As Reinhold ran quickly through the halls, he suddenly spotted a group of Council soldiers that seemed to be guarding something. Quickly shifting direction, he raced towards them, sending his minions to hit them head on, and distracting them just long enough for him to take advantage of the situation and completely lock them down. Again, relativity took effect, and the seconds both flew by and slowed to a crawl, depending on which end of the attack you were on. In either case, the ambush was brief, ending with Reinhold waving a hand and flinging all but one of the Council bodies away from the guarded door.

Sounds of heavy impact, muffled by the walls, made their way to Reinhold's ears. Fearing the worst and visualizing Red being beaten, his anger finally bubbled to the surface. Without making contact, he raised the one Council body he had left aside, and with tremendous force and fueled by his own rage, he flung the body against the door. The body hit the door with a sickening thud and the sound of numerous bones snapping, but the door remained in place. Anger still fueling him, he motioned to the pile of Council he had made, and with a quick snap of his wrist he flung every man at the door.

The steel was strong, but after taking numerous hits from Reinhold's human pinballs, it began to give way, warping and contorting the center, and finally bending the hinges. Scattering the Council with a flick of his wrist, he walked to the door and knocked it from its hinges with a swift kick. He rushed in, ready to turn one unfortunate individual's last few moments on this earth into an unspeakable hell, but all he found was an fist swirling with dark energy flying straight towards his head. Quickly ducking, he saw Red look at him with shock, clearly having thought he was another interrogator. She looked at him, eyes all but swollen shut, blood seeping out from more places than he cared to count. She was a wreck, but she was alive, and living on borrowed adrenaline. Seeing him was too much for her to process, and she limply collapsed.

Reinhold quickly caught her, looking her over, and searching for anything that would demand immediate attention. Seeing nothing necessarily life threatening, he cradled her in his arms and quickly got her out of the base. The run home was a quiet one. He looked down at her, her body resembling a tenderized piece of meat more than the woman he knew and cared for. He couldn't help but wonder if it had all been worth it: worth the sacrifice.

His question was answered when he noticed a buzzing coming from one of Red's pockets. Quickly realizing it wasn't her phone, he stopped to pull it out. The name, Nathaniel Miller, flashed across the screen. Reinhold instantly recognized it: the name of the District Attorney. He slid the phone into his pocket. Getting Red home safe was more important. This could wait.