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.

How to cut a Ruby - Chapter 5 C

Rough calloused hands gripped Ruby's chin and forced her to look up. Her eyes were nearly swollen shut, and her entire body ached from the pounding of fists and stomping of reinforced steel toes. She struggled through the blood, sweat, and haze in her eyes to focus on the face of the man craning her neck back, but the bright light directly behind him made him nothing more than an impending silhouette.

Ruby could barely hear his voice through the thumping in her head. It was as though her ears were smothered in a soft down pillow, like when she was a kid, trying to bury out her mom's voice when it a Monday morning school day: only this was far from soft and comfortable. She focused on the man's muffled voice, making out only bits of the conversations.

"...her the drug as soon as we ... won't pose a threat ... enough to stop a man twice her ... for Burkholder to get here..."

She defiantly struggled to lift her chin from the man's hand and tugged against her binds. The hand slapped her across the face as she resisted him, and she responded in turn by spitting a mouthful of blood into his face.

Ruby's actions earned her another swift punch to the face. She started to laugh loudly at her captors, tilting her head back and closing her bruised eyes to feel the room spin haphazardly. She called out to them in a sing-song voice, "Ain' gonna make me say nothin', twats! Jus' you wait till I get free! Boy, will you be fuckin' sorry!"

One of the men in the room had obviously had enough. He stormed towards her, grabbed her hair roughly, and pressed his pistol against her temple. This only made Ruby laugh even harder. "Shoot me, motherfucker! See how Burkholder likes THAT!" The man cocked the barrel and jerked her head by the hair. "DO IT, YOU FUCKING PUSSY!", Ruby taunted.

The door to the room busted open, and a familiar authoritative voice bellowed.

"Stand down! Don't kill her until we know what she stole from us!"

The rough hands released her, and the cold nozzle of the gun was taken from her head. She couldn't help but smirk.

"'ey Burkholder. That you? I'm sorry, did yer men drag you away from yer pedestal o'bullshit jus' t'deal with li'l ol' me?"

Burkholder growled and kicked the chair out from under her. She slumped heavily to the floor. Her legs and wrists were both tightly bound, but she still managed to find the strength to try rolling away. Burkholder grabbed her roughly by the elbow and tugged her 5 foot tall frame to her knees. He growled at his guards to leave the room and waited for the heavy steely clang of the door before he started his work.

"Arrigh' Burkholder. Y'got me, but y'don' got what we took from ya. Now what?" Ruby smugly grinned at him. He kicked her in the stomach and she buckled over, laughing at him as more blood poured from her mouth and spattered onto the floor.

"You've been more trouble than you're worth, little girl." Burkholder dragged her to her knees again and started circling her. "If you didn't destroy our databases, steal our secrets, and threaten our security, I would have killed you a very long time ago. I'm going to enjoy making you tell me what you were after."

"So, why didn't ya? Why don't ya now? Is th' stuff we stole that important?"

"Shut up!" He punched her between the shoulders and kicked her in the ribs while she was down. She gasped for breath and choked slightly on the fluids in her throat. She forced herself to start laughing again, despite how her entire body screamed at her to give in. She would give Burkholder no satisfaction.

"Y'can' handle a WOMAN! Fucking PATHETIC! How'd you even manage t'make it past Colonel, Burkholder? Whose dick did you suck, HUH?"

Her taunting was rewarded with a surly kick to the face, and her battered body was flung to the floor, her head cracking sickly against the concrete. She opened her eyes and saw nothing but flashing and stars, she felt the gooey heat of blood spilling out of her nose and all over her face, and she tasted copper in her mouth. She vaguely wondered how much blood she had swallowed. She rolled onto her side and spat another mouthful of blood on the floor, her laughter starting up again. She couldn't help it at this point: it was the only thing keeping her in the right mindset.

Burkholder's heavy footsteps approached her, but stopped short as the shrill ring of a cell phone pierced the room. He turned away from her and stepped towards the door.

"Yes? Yes. She's here. No, nothing. Are you sure?" Burkholder glanced over his shoulder at Ruby, who had stopped laughing and was laying very, very still apart from her ragged breathing. "If I do this, we're even. I don't owe you anything else. We won't be needing your assistance," he hissed. "She's a real fucking problem, but it will be over soon."

Burkholder balanced the phone between his shoulder and ear as he tugged his gloves on. He took the phone in a gloved hand and nodded at the voice that had been speaking to him. "It won't get back to you. I'm taking care of her, myself." He watched Ruby, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the possibility that she may have passed out again without giving him what he wanted to know. He addressed the voice on the phone one last time. "Don't worry. It won't be found. We're very good at hiding them. You'll hear from me when it's done."

The clamshell cell phone was snapped shut and placed in his pocket. Ruby had been taking deep breaths to focus her strength. She felt the fury of Hell burning in her chest and begging to be freed. Burkholder isn't the guy? Who is he working for? That cell phone...

Burkholder grabbed Ruby's arm and roughly pulled her to kneel. She tilted her head back and grinned at him mirthlessly. Burkholder wound up to punch her in the face for taunting him again, but couldn't swing fast enough to connect it. The Crey drug worked. Ruby's body exploded into flame with a sonorous roar, and the sheer force of the inferno nearly threw Burkholder through the wall.

Ruby rose to her feet, her body running on nothing but pure willpower, and focused her fires to burn hot enough to disintegrate the ropes binding her wrists and ankles. She tugged an epi-pen from its hidden spot in her boot and thrusted the needle into her chest with a shaky hand. She threw the empty syringe on the floor and turned her penetrating green eyes on Burkholder. She grabbed the chair she had been sitting on earlier and wedged it between the floor and the doorknob to buy a few minutes of time. She then turned to the stunned and disoriented Burkholder, that same mirthless grin plastering her bruised and battered face.

Rein... if yer out there... now's th' time t' come in an' help me!

How to Cut a Ruby: Chapter 5 B

Reinhold alternated his view between the building and his watch at a steady pace. He had told Cecily to keep an eye on the front, and Andie on the back, but something told him this was the door. Call it gut instinct, intuition, or just a lucky guess: something told him this would be the way she came out. Perched on this rooftop, covered in the shadows, he was safe from any wayward glance a soldier might make. Positioned just so, if she went any way, he could move. His bases were covered.

The hands on his watch seemed to struggle to move, fighting against time itself. He knew what was happening, and every fiber of his being, every scrap of emotion, was crying out to him to storm the building and save her... but no. He couldn't. Moving now would only mean that everything was for nothing. The night air screamed as crimes were committed by whichever nefarious force lurked the streets, each feminine shriek tricking him into thinking it was her. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction. Deep down, he knew that. Each question they asked, each strike they landed, would be met with a snide remark and a blood-infused spit.

Almost beyond the point of bearing this torture, Reinhold peered down at the doorway. His patience was rewarded when the door burst open. The small hallway spat out what must have been twenty to thirty Council soldiers, many of them looking like they needed desperate medical attention. The sight of each beaten and battered face could only make Reinhold grin for the briefest of moments -- until he laid eyes on Ruby's limp, unconscious body. They dragged her, not so gently, to a military-esque vehicle that undoubtedly belonged to the Council. They tossed her body into the rearmost section of the vehicle and quickly drove into the night.

This city was good to Reinhold. If he needed something, he knew that the city would provide it so long as he knew where to look. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, springing off of a TV antenna, sliding down power lines, utilizing fire escapes: the tools were all there. So, he pursued. The vehicle pulled away from him, but never out of his sight as he pushed himself to keep up.

Eventually, the vehicle came to a stop in front of what looked like a warehouse, but Reinhold knew better. When you see enough Council bases, you eventually can tell what’s inside from a quick glance at the outside. The lab inside would be large, extending deep underground. Stainless steel walls stretch off into the distance as they yanked her from the vehicle and dragged her inside. A few select soldiers stood guard by the door as it quickly slammed shut behind them.

Perched atop his roof, he looked for an opening. He needed a way in, and he didn’t have time to wait around. Of course, this is the moment a small gathering of Freakshow tried to jump him. At first, he looked up at the Freaks, his face saying Not now, before his lips could ever move. But, of course, they didn’t listen. They never listened. In a split second, they lunged at him, and in that same second, he waved his hand and locked them to the ground. Another wave, and they didn’t know which way was up.

A light bulb flicked on in his head as he looked between the Freaks and the Council base. A faint grin spread across his face, “Two birds, one stone. I’m coming Red. Hang in there.”

How to cut a Ruby - Chapter 5 A

The evening screamed by as though the night was made of seconds rather than hours. Ruby stared at herself in the mirror, tracing her fingers over the faded lines that were once cuts made from a piano wire. So much had happened since the day she earned them. She raked her fingers through her shiny white hair, thumbed over a few fresh cuts on her face, and neatly pulled her neck cover on.

Placing a hand on each side of the mirror, she leaned forward to study her own fierce jade eyes. Arrigh', Red. Time t' lose a fight.

Reinhold was waiting at the kitchen table. She glanced at the items he had spread out before him: the drug (in a rather scary looking needle), rubber cord, rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, a vial of adrenaline, and the first aid kit. She forced herself to smile at him, and he returned an equally fake grin. They watched each other in silence for a minute before he piped up.

"Ready, Red?"

She unclasped and resnapped her gloves tightly. "'Bout as ready as I'll ever be, I guess." She took a seat at the table, rolled her sleeve up, and snugly wrapped the rubber cord around her tricep. "Are the others ready to go?"


*****


Infiltrating a Council base was never an easy task. Nor had it ever been such a forced and unwilling task. The four friends approached the base just as the sun set over the dreary Striga horizon. Their usual banter had died to a thick and heavy silence.

Reinhold jogged ahead of the three women, breaking into a sprint and expertly using trees, rocks, and his own will to propel, kick, and launch himself onto the towering wall surrounding the bustling base. He crouched momentarily to ensure the soldiers were in the midst of changing shifts, then lowered a rope to pull the others to his level. Ruby placed a flat palm against his back and lightly patted him. She glanced over her shoulder at the wide-eyed Cecily Fay and the reluctant, but still willing, Andie.

The four silently dropped from the wall and rolled neatly onto the ground below. They crept through shadows, around warehouses, avoided patrols, and finally made it to the building of their choice: a central control bunker. Ruby gave Andie and Cecily a tight hug each, then turned to Reinhold. He pulled her close and squeezed her lovingly before planting a kiss on her lips. "We'll come for you, Red. This, I promise." She tore her eyes from his face and nodded curtly to the others.

"Arrigh' guys. Time t'dance."

The door to the bunker flew open from the force of Ruby's steel-toed combat boot. It barely hung on its hinges as the blazing white inferno of the petite woman screamed past the guards and into the central chamber. The men started to yell frantically, and the alarm was set.

The others filed into the building quickly as Ruby filled her role as "The Diversion".

"Get the fuckin' file, arready, Rein!" She barked, "We gotta get th' fuck outta here before it's fulla rats!"

Reinhold, Andie, and Cecily sprinted towards the central database as Ruby battled the growing number of Council soldiers at the door, using the small entrance to bottleneck them. They quickly downloaded a file to a flash drive and prepared for their departure.

Ruby screamed as she drove her fist into the face of one of the soldiers. His nose exploded with a mixture of blood and cartilage and he dropped to the ground, unmoving. His buddies, just as stupidly fearless and loyal to their organization, rushed Ruby.

The fires surrounding her body mercilessly seared the men around her and turbulently deflected most of their bullets. Her fist made contact with more faces, chins, and chests than she could keep track of. She kneed more groins, legs, and heads than recent memory could recall. The natural adrenaline flowing through her body made her feel as though the fire in which she was engulfed also ran through her veins.

The alarm echoed throughout the complex, calling more troops. It was the perfect spot to hit. The perfect, less than obvious, hot spot to attract their attention. She felt rough arms wrap around her waist and concentrated to increase the heat of her fire. The man screamed in agony as he released her and curled into a trembling ball of burning misery. She stepped on his head as she sprinted towards another soldier about to open fire at her, point-blank. She grabbed his gun before he could squeeze the trigger and ripped it from surprised hands. She threw the gun across the room, picked him up with alarming strength, and threw him into the growing group of men at the door.

The men began to push their way through the entrance, past the man she threw, and quickly towards her. Their sheer force in numbers was far too much for Ruby to handle by herself. She threw her arms down to summon an blazing inferno of flames at the entrance of the door before taking a step back, clearing the room of as many stragglers as possible, and preparing for the main assault.

"Get outta here, guys! I'll be arrigh'....!" Ruby called out to them as the force of soldiers at the door fearlessly dove through the flames and began to pile into the room. Cecily and Andie darted out of the building through the back fire exit with Reinhold heading up the rear.

He paused at the door for one final moment as the few men inside the building doused the fire she had set with an extinguisher. With the hazard cleared, several dozen soldiers stormed in to surround her. The angry mob knocked her to the ground, and despite her very enthusiastic and completely genuine efforts to fight back, they easily, viciously, relentlessly, and furiously beat her like she had never been beaten before.

The Mission

Ruby Phoenix lifted her head from her pillow. Her body was tired and sated, and her eyes were clouded with fatigue. There were no windows to let in the sun, but the clock on the bedside tabled indicated it was exactly 9:24 am. Ruby closed her tired eyes halfway and smiled contentedly. She squeezed Reinhold’s arm around her naked form and pulled the sheet over her goosebumped flesh.

9:25 am. Ruby brought Reinhold’s hand to her lips and gently kissed his knuckles. The last time she had seen the clock, it told her the time was 3:47 am. She had only seen it from the corner of her eye before their bodies collapsed in a heap of tired but satisfied flesh and covers.

When the clock turned 9:26, Ruby pulled Reinhold’s arm from around her midsection and gently laid it on the bed where she had lain. She raked her hands through her striking white hair and smiled at him for an extra moment before pulling on one of his starched button up shirts and a pair of her boy-shorts, then padding barefoot into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

Cecily Fay sat at the dining room table in her fuzzy bunny jammies. She couldn’t help but grin at Ruby as she rolled her eyes and fished through the drawers for a coffee filter. Despite her morning pleasantries, and the previous night’s exertions, Ruby was hardly in the mood to talk.

The only thing on her mind right now was the upcoming sacrifice.

The council had been after them for far too long. What had started with Lou’s hitman had escalated to a series of questionings and break-ins. Then, they took Andie. Beat her to a pulp. What was left? They did their digging. They searched for weeks, but it felt like years. Who was behind it? What do they want? No. They knew what they wanted.

Ruby Phoenix.

But she kept asking herself, “Why?” Who had she pissed off this much? Why would anyone want her dead? Maybe the gangs, but Outcasts had no links to Council. It didn’t make sense.

With no other leads, Ruby had formulated a plan of action. She hated sitting around and doing nothing. She hated being hunted. She hated the ambushes. She hated living in fear. She hated the fact that her friends were endangered. Why had she let them get close? Andie: already beaten. Cecily: so vulnerable by nature. Reinhold… Rein… well, Rein could take care of herself, she mused. How many times had he pulled her out of trouble, now? Far too many times to possibly keep track of.

Ruby scooped the coffee into the filter and filled the pot, then poured herself a glass of orange juice. She gazed vacantly over at the living area where Cecily was saying something to her, but she couldn’t make out the words. She felt as though she was a million miles away. She simply nodded absently to the younger woman’s words and drank her orange juice. What was she thinking about, again?

Oh, right. The plan.

Ruby thought of it in the shower, of all places. As the steaming water scourged the filth from her body, her mind often tended to race. She was struck with the thought as she was twisting the tap into the off position.

What if the council captured her?

Andie and Cecily were immediately against the idea. Rein wasn’t particularly fond of it, either, but after a night’s thought, he warmed up to it. With the four of them working together, the risk was minimal. The only problem would be giving them the impression that Ruby Phoenix, of legendary anger-fame, was unable to activate her powers should they implement a power suppression device or technique.

Rein had done a bit of digging, bless his soul. Ruby smiled down into her glass of orange juice and took a long draw from the glass. It turns out the Crey had developed a pharmaceutical for such a purpose. It was how they infiltrated their competitors with their Paragon Protectors. It was the easiest way for them to break their tights-clad soldiers out of the Zigg.

Ruby came to her senses as the coffee maker chattered its completion. She slammed the rest of her orange juice and brought 3 coffee mugs to the counter. Rein must have realized the bed was cold, for he had woken up and pulled on his daytime clothes. He walked over to the countertop, greeting Cecily on the way out, and adjusted his mask with a smile.

“Good morning, Red. How did you sleep?” He took his cup from her and added way too much sugar. Ruby wrinkled her nose and poured her own coffee, quickly adding a small amount of cream and sugar. She only winked in response to his greeting, but stepped on her tip toes to return the favour as he leaned over to kiss her good morning.

The Crey facility raid was only days away. She both anticipated and dreaded the mission she would have to carry out. She forced a smile at Rein, than turned to Cecily with a nod.

As far as she wanted them to know, today was all about friendship and coffee.

Intermission

Ruby slammed the bathroom door behind her, pulled the shower curtain, and twisted the hot water to full. She waited until the mirror had fogged from steam before stepping into the scalding spray. She ran her fingers through her hair and let the water cleanse the blood, dirt, and sweat that covered her body. She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall of the shower, the cold of the tiles biting in stark contrast to the searing heat of the water.

Ruby tilted her head back and opened her eyes, looking at, but not seeing, the shower head. So much had happened in the last couple of days. Her personal mess had somehow encompassed Reinhold, Cecily, and now even Andie.

Andie.

Laying on Reinhold's bed, broken and bleeding. Ruby didn't inflict those wounds with her fists, but felt it was her fault through her actions. Leave it up to her to piss off the Council so bad, they had to go for her friends.

She had tracked down her hitman. Or rather, he tracked her down. She had stopped for a cigarette after visiting Cecily at Andie's place. Andie hated it when she smoked her cigs in her apartment and Reinhold had gone for food, so Ruby took the chance to catch a breath of fresh air.

She had stepped from the door just in time to be shot at. She didn't know who was firing at her, so she ran. More shots. But this was Kings Row she was in, and nobody knew Kings Row better than Ruby Phoenix. After being chased for what seemed like hours, Ruby lured her hunter into a warehouse, where she cornered him and proceeded to beat the holy hell out of him.

He spat out a name: Giovanni. Who was he?

Ruby grabbed the soap and lathered her hands. She frowned slightly as she ran her sudsy hands over her neck, the cuts from the wire twinging from the soap.

She and Reinhold had looked into Giovanni. It was a fake name. A decoy. They didn't realize this until they had infiltrated a Council base and downloaded the database while helping Reinhold's contact in Striga. The Council had a very detailed file on each of them: Herself, Reinhold, Cecily, and Andie. They even wrote about the show that she and Reinhold went to for their date.

Ah, the date. Ruby smirked privately as she remembered the night. Beer. Dancing. Cecily's sweet voice floating in the air as her trance group did their magic. Reinhold, as always, was a gentleman. Man could move, too. She didn't think it would happen, but she really liked him. She had mused earlier that people don't realize when their friends like them, but everyone else saw it as obvious truth. Now she understood. The night had ended as it always seemed to end. Drinking, smoking cigars, and playing cards. Only this time, throw a really great kiss in there. Definitely her kind of night.

Ruby rinsed the soap off and slathered shampoo into her hair. She scoured her scalp with her worn down nails as she pondered what had happened up until now.

The Council had taken Andie in order to get to her. Who had she pissed off? Reinhold had questioned the man in charge of the operation, as well as Ernesto Hess, but Ruby's mind was racing far too quickly at that time. It wasn't until she was sure that Andie was safe that she was asking all these questions.

Andie, laying broken on Reinhold's bed. Andie, whose terrible wounds were being healed by a retired empath. With the level of shit they were in, they couldn't risk a hospital. Andie, in shock. Unable to talk. Cecily, perched neatly on the side of her bed, eyes puffy, holding her hand.

And what was Reinhold doing? Probably digging around for more information. He seemed to do that best.

Ruby rinsed the shampoo from her hair and the soap from her body, and enjoyed the hot water for a few more minutes before finally shutting it off. She grabbed a black towel from the rack and wrapped it around her as she approached the mirror.

She wiped the haze away from the mirror and stared at herself for a good, long time. She had been alone for years. In the gangs, she had to watch her neck. Stay separate from the others. She never kept the friends she made because her life was too dangerous... and now that she had let people into her safe little cave, bad things were happening. Bad things liked to follow Ruby Phoenix.

She could picture what Reinhold would say to her as she ran a comb through her matted white hair, and chuckled. "Red," he would say. "I'm not going to let you go alone. Haven't you learned?"

She sighed softly as she pulled her underclothes on, followed by her jeans and tanktop. She raked her fingers through her wet hair and left the bathroom. She looked down the hall towards Reinhold's room. She couldn't face them right now. Not after what she had put them all through.

Maybe after a cigarette. Things always felt better after a cigarette.

Ruby pulled her mangled pack of smokes from her pocket, and silently left for some fresh air.

How to cut a Ruby - Chapter 3

Just how many drinks did Ruby have that night?

Cecily Fay was the last to leave Reinhold's apartment, and Ruby waited until she was alone before pulling her knees to her chest. She managed to offend Cecily first, and kept her mouth shut for most of the the evening. Still, she managed to piss off two other people while not to offend the first.

She tried to count the number of beers she drank. It was a lot. She closed her eyes and sank into the soft green upholstery of Reinhold's couch as the room haphazardly spun around her. Why? Why did she always have to fuck things up? Why did she have to scare off the few people she wanted desperately to be her friends?

Ruby just couldn't help herself. She knew exactly how Julie felt about Zack, but still, she pushed it. It wasn't her fault he was handsome and intelligent. It wasn't her fault that he was flirting with her as relentlessly as she was with him. Okay, maybe it was her fault... but she kept looking at Julie, who was evidently just as skilled at hiding her anger as Ruby was at hiding her drunkenness. She seemed to be just as interested in the direction of the conversation as Ruby and Zack were. No harm, no foul, right?

It was official. She just couldn't keep her big mouth shut. She brought her stubby cigar to her lips and inhaled the woody flavour. She tilted her head back and exhaled slowly, studying the swirling smoke. She doubted she'd see either of them again, and felt her chest cave with disappointment. The problem was, she genuinely liked both of them, but her impulsive brashness always ended up alienating her.

She was surprised Reinhold stuck around. She tormented the hell out of him. Untied his laces, wore his hat, stole his cigs, and drank his beer. She hustled his money playing poker, punched him, swore at him, and threatened to break his fingers. He just grinned at her and took her abuse. Why? Was it a game? Was he plotting a steel cold revenge against her? She didn’t get him. He never made a move on her, and she never made moves on him. But, he flirted with Cecily and other women all the time. Clearly, in her mind, he wasn't interested, and she wasn't about to ask.

She set the cigar in the ashtray to burn out, and slowly stood from the couch. She swaggered drunkenly up the stairs to her guitar which she had earlier leaned against the wall. She flopped heavily onto the floor and pulled the instrument into her lap. She found her pick and started clumsily strumming the strings.

She leaned her head against the wall and turned it just enough to see the door. Who knows when Reinhold would be back? He seemed to have a hunch about Ruby's attackers, and far be it from her to interfere with his style of investigation. She didn't want him to go earlier on, but silently nodded to him as he slipped out the door. She couldn’t help but watch the door for several seconds after it shut behind him.

She closed her eyes as her fingers found a more refined melody, and started to sing her heart out.

"Sometimes I curse,
Sometimes I lie,
It's times like these,
When I jus' wanna curl up an' die.

Drownin' in a bottle,
Chokin’ on my smoke,
Stuck in a rut,
An' not about t'get out"

She took a deep breath and continued singing.

"Whyyy can' y'jus' understand...
This is the way I am.
This is how I live my life.
Whyyy's it gotta be so rough...
To get along jus' fine...
To stop sayin' these things,
An' stop actin' so tough..."

She looked down at her fingers as they found the proper notes. She improvised a filler chorus, then let the words spill out.

"Ain' gonna 'pologize.
Ain' gonna cry.
Ain' gonna hold yer hand.
An' I won' say goodbye.

Gonna smoke my cigarettes,
Gonna drink my beer.
Gonna be braaaaave,
Not gonna live in fear.

"So, Whyyy can't y'jus' understand...
This is the way I am.
This is how I live my life.
Whyyy's it gotta be so rough...
To get along jus' fine...
T’stop sayin' all these things,
An' stop actin' so tough..."

She strummed her guitar for a minute longer and limply rested her hand on her knee. She softly exhaled, glancing at the door one last time. She leaned the guitar back in its spot against the wall and cautiously stood. She stumbled down the stairs to the couch and curled into fetal position.

She barely had time to think before she was overtaken by drunken fatigue and passed out.

***

Reinhold stood outside the door and listened to Ruby singing. He tugged the brim of his hat over his face and waited until the singing turned into sounds of movement, then into the soft exhales of heavy sleep. He entered the Safehouse and closed the door silently behind him, making sure it was securely locked. He looked over at Ruby on the couch and pulled his long black coat off to drape it carefully over her small frame.

He turned the lights out and walked to his computer. He decided he would work quietly until she woke. She should be sober when she received his news.