Rue: Web of Deceit - Part 39

Civil action

The first stop on Blue and Rue's "pedo-punching adventure" is the home of local hotshot soap opera actor Manfred Walten where the latter gets their first proper taste of the heroing lifestyle.

“Okay,” Rue says, their demeanour becoming more serious as they take in the information provided about Manfred Walten, their ire further incensed by talk of his grandious lifestyle and seemingly limitless wealth, “You seem like the type who prefers going in with a plan over going in guns blazing, so… got one in mind already?”     "Well, I generally prefer a stealthy approach in cases like this," Blue begins, "Hop over a fence, only take down any security we have to, and slip out before anyone realises anything. I don't think this guy has any actual guards posted, but he has a security system in place and if we get seen, he'll be able to get to a saferoom he had installed in the basement, likely with his current victim."   “That…” Rue trails off, the prospect of finding an actual victim leaving their throat unusually dry, “Yeah, stealth sounds good.” They swallow thickly, remembering how frightened Rani had looked, and it ignites something within them. “I’m no good with technology,” they start, “but I can be on the lookout for any cameras or trip wires. And if you need something moved or burnt to a crisp, well…”   "That's great, Rue," he says, "And how reliable is your ability to see through walls?"   “As long as the material isn’t too thick, it should be fine,” They say, absentmindedly adding, “I’ve had plenty of practice with it.”   "That gives us a huge advantage," he replies, and they can practically hear the smile in his voice, "If you can get a lock on any potential victims or security forces, our chances of making a clean rescue skyrocket. It actually makes you the perfect partner for this kind of mission."   “I’ll make sure I keep my senses sharp whilst we’re there,” Rue says, thinking it over for a moment, “Should we have any sort of signals in place? To keep conversations to a minimum?”   "Good idea," he says, and thus begins a quick lesson in law enforcement style tactical hand signals and directions as the two continue towards their destination. Rue starts to notice the familiar upscale mansions of Bathala heights and shudders, thinking about Eli and Evelyn, and the last rescue  they'd been involved in.   "There's one more thing, Rue. If things go south at any point tonight, if we end up in a fight, I want you to focus on getting yourself out as quickly as possible. I can create a diversion, but even with your armoured jacket, I don't want you getting yourself hurt. Understand?"   “What, don’t want blood in your van?” Rue teases, rolling their eyes when Alec shoots them a sideways glance to tell them their remark didn’t quite land the way they had intended, “I understand. I’m not here to get shot again, so I’ll run the other way if things go wrong.”   "Great," he says, his tone lightening again, "Because punch-the-pedo is all fun and games until someone needs to be taken to the hospital." As he finishes his statement, he brings the van to a halt near the wall of a small estate. Looking over at the hedgerows and wrought iron gate, he speaks again, "This is the place."   “Yeah, wouldn’t want that…” They mutter, grateful that Alec’s focus is on the estate, so he doesn’t see them instinctively tense up at the notion of a hospital. They quietly observe the area for a moment, taking stock of the neighbouring buildings and sharpening their senses like they said they would. “Well then,” Rue says, putting the helmet on and pulling up the hood of their jacket, “shall we go play?”   "Alright. Just keep your senses sharp and follow my lead," he says, putting his game face on and stepping out of the van. He meets Rue next to the hedge, looking up at its decent scale as he thinks of how to phrase his next question, "I saw your little... rocket jump earlier, but you don't have a quieter way of hopping a ten-foot hedge, do you?"   “Not really,” Rue admits with a shrug, looking through the hedge to see if there’s anything on the other side of it. They can practically hear the cogs turning in Blue’s head, and they sigh deeply, “You could throw me over, right?”   "I was thinking more lift you over, but that works too," he says, shrugging before stretching and reshaping one arm into a platform for them to step onto.   “Throwing, lifting, just depends how much force you put behind it,” Rue shrugs, stepping onto the platform, “Going up?”   With a stifled grunt, Alec lifts the platform, his limbs extending as necessary to carry the pair over the hedge. Rue hops off and the pair crouch down surveying the area before making any more moves, "Alright, Rue. You're up. Can you see the cameras?"   Rue takes a moment to focus on their surroundings. “There are cameras above the doors,” They start, listing whatever they can see, “floodlights too, so I’m guessing those are motion sensor activated.” They continue to scan for a way in, finding one around the corner as they look up a little. “Just how fluid can you get?” They ask, “There’s a window that’s open on a latch on the first floor, just around the corner.”   "I can work with that," he says, looking over to where they're referring, "Come on." The pair sneak over to the wall, careful to time their movements to evade the cameras' automated swivel. They press themselves up against the wall and Alec whispers to Rue as he looks up to the barely opened window, "What's in there?"   Though the angle is a little awkward, Rue can see inside well enough to figure it out, “It’s a bathroom,” They say, “No cameras in there, it seems, though I wouldn’t put it past the creep…” They shudder at the thought, “Anyway, it’s empty.”   "Alright. Sounds good," he replies, "The window is a little small for you, though. Is there a clear path to the room next door? I can open the larger window from there and pull you up."   Rue has to shift a little from their position to get a better look, mindful of the cameras and motion sensors nearby, pursing their lips in thought. The room next door appears to be a study, of sorts, the walls decorated with posters promoting the soap opera Alec mentioned as well as some smaller indie productions. Each poster features the man they presume to be Manfred Walten, his vanity on full display around the room. Urging themself to focus on any possible security measures instead of the grotesquely narcissistic shrine, they’re relieved to see no cameras in either the room or the hallway. “Aside from the room perhaps being locked, I think you’re good.”   "Alright," he says, nodding, "Won't be a moment." With that, the hero quickly undulates his malleable form up and into the window of the bathroom. Rue watches through the walls as he slides along the bathroom floor and under the doorframe, looking around for any signs of trouble before moving over to the study. He tests the door and, just as Rue predicted, finds it locked. Undeterred, he slips under the door and over to the study's window before opening it up and transforming another arm into a makeshift ladder for Rue to ascend, "You know how to pick locks, right?"   “What, just because I’m a Railyard roach you think I can pick a lock?” Rue whispers once they get inside, walking towards the locked door, “I mean, I can… Sort of.”   They stand near the door, using their enhanced vision to look at the mechanics of the lock, and thankful to find it to be a pretty basic design. They have to concentrate hard on the bolt, a faint throb making itself known behind their eyes as they use their telekinesis to move it. There’s a faint ‘click’, and Rue lets out a relieved sigh as they try the door and it opens. “Does that count?”   "Not bad at all," Blue says, looking impressed despite the featureless shape that is his face, "Now, can you take a look through some of the walls and see if you can find our missing kid? I'm going to have a look on his computer. Kept in a locked office, there's got to be something worth hiding in there."   “On it,” Rue says affirmatively, carefully sticking their head out the door and looking around. They start on the left, scanning through the walls for any sign of life, but all they find are more empty rooms: A small personal gym, a couple of bedrooms with immaculately made beds, and what looks like a cinema room, DVD boxes for the same soap opera stacked neatly on the shelves. It’s not until their hearing picks up a faint thud above them that they start looking up. The attic space is dimly lit, but what makes their hair stand up are the decorations:    The space is neat, with floral wallpaper and shelves upon shelves of plushies on one side. They can see a wardrobe that’s been painted pastel pink to match the other colourful pieces of furniture: the mint-coloured desk, the lilac chair, and the yellow bed frame with small floral engravings. Their blood runs cold as they notice the movement underneath the bed, seeing the girl curled up into a ball. It rapidly becomes clear to Rue why the girl is hiding, their head turning towards the door to the attic as they hear the key twisting in the lock.   “Computer can wait.” They say through gritted teeth, pointing upwards, “He’s going in there now.”   Alec doesn't hesitate, quickly taking position next to them in the doorframe and looking out, whispering in a tone befitting the urgency of the situation, "Where is he?"   “This way.” Rue says, rushing down the hallway towards the stairs that lead to the attic.   They can hear Manfred chuckling not too far away, saying something about how he loves when she plays hide and seek, and it takes an unusual level of control for them to not blast forward without Blue. Not wanting to mess anything up and cause the girl to end up in unnecessary danger, they allow the more seasoned hero to go up the stairs first, the only giveaway of their desire to blast forward a small spark popping in the palm of their hand.   Alec takes a couple silent steps upwards and stops opening his palm in their direction, telling them to hold position as he makes his way further up, careful not to alert the man of his presence. Rue watches as he takes his phone out of his pocket, setting it up to record video before embedding the device in his own face with just the recording lens sticking out.   Rue waits impatiently, muscles tensed up so they’re ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice, but they follow Blue’s lead, gritting their teeth as they hear the actor’s sing-song voice going “Come out, come out, wherever you are…”   "There you are, my little tease," the man growls and Rue has to hold themself back from physically retching as they look up through the ceiling and see the actor reaching under the bed and pulling the screaming girl out by her ankle. Alec doesn't wait long, his hand stretching out and closing over the man's face, "What th-!"   The moment the man's hand lets go of the child's leg to investigate whatever has caught him, Blue yanks the man back, throwing him against the stairwell wall and releasing his face. Disoriented, Walten can utter little more than a choked "Wait, you're-" before Blue's foot collides with the side of his head, sending him tumbling down the stairs.   "He's all yours," the hero growls down the stairs, before turning his attention to the traumatised child on the floor before him.   Though concealed by the mask, the scowl on Rue’s face morphs into a menacing grin. The man lets out a groan and tries to pick himself up from the ground, looking up when a pair of boots step into his line of vision. “You wanted to play, right?” Rue asks him, savouring the moment all colour seems to drain from the Walten’s face, “Let’s play.”   Despite the injuries that he sustained courtesy of Blue, Walten rapidly scrambles to his feet, limping away from the masked figure as quickly as he can down the hallway.   “Huh, guess we’re playing tag.”   He doesn’t get far, however, as the wooden cabinet to his right suddenly moves, crashing into him with force and causing him to fall to the ground once more. Rue can hear the snap of his ankle just before Walten screams in pain, and they calmly walk towards him.   “N-no, no, no, please, w-“ Rue doesn’t let him beg for long, knocking him out with a second kick to the head.   “Ah.” They sigh, patting their pockets down. Dragging Walten back towards the staircase by the collar of his shirt, they unceremoniously drop him as they hesitantly call up, “Umm, Blue? Got any restraints?”   In a scene akin to some sort of claymation horror movie, Rue watches as Blue's enlarged hand spider-crawls its way down the stairs, his arm trailing behind it as the man himself stayed upstairs to console the traumatised girl. Stopping at Rue's feet, they watch as the hand quickly disgorges a set of police-issue handcuffs before being quickly reeled back up the stairs.   “Thank you!” Rue calls up, shaking their head at the odd display.   They cuff Walten’s hands behind his back, somewhat reluctantly leaving him in a recovery position whilst they check on the broken ankle, which is already starting to swell. They pat down his pockets, removing his phone and wallet before checking that he doesn’t have any kind of weapons on him. They open the wallet and, upon seeing the wad of bills in there, pocket the money before tossing the wallet to the side. Not wanting to spook the girl any further and somehow add to her trauma, they decide to wait downstairs, dragging Walten to one side so the girl doesn’t have to walk right past him.   A few minutes later, Blue makes his way downstairs, a malnourished young girl pacing skittishly behind him, "Listen, Rue. I'm going to wait here with Ashleigh until the police arrive. Why don't you go and hide out in the van and I'll join you in a little bit?"   “Yeah, sure,” They say sympathetically, swallowing past the lump that forms in their throat at the sight of the girl, “Just shout if you need anything and I’ll be right back.”   With a final glance at the victim, they turn down the hallway and leave the building to wait in the van. They transfer the cash they stole to their backpack, keeping a small amount hidden in their sock, more out of habit than anything else. They don’t remove the mask just yet, wary that someone may see them, but they lower the hood and lean back in their seat, keeping an eye out for Blue.   Rue watches from the sidelines as a few minutes later, the police arrive and Alec, still disguised, speaks with them, gently encouraging the little girl to go with one of the female officers. Watching through the hedges using their powers, Rue is surprised at just how civil the whole interaction is given that superheroing is still ostensibly illegal in Bathala.   After another few moments, he waves goodbye to Ashleigh and exits the scene in dramatic fashion, attaching a stretched arm to the roof of the mansion and pulling himself into the air before landing behind the hedgerows. Making sure no-one spotted him, he makes his way back to the driver's side door and hops inside, "Alright. Ready to go?"   ''Nice exit, very heroic,'' Rue teases lightly, putting their seatbelt on, ''but yeah, I'm ready. Where to next?''   "Glad you approve," he says, either not noticing or completely ignoring their sarcasm, "Good job in there, though. You handled yourself well, so I think it's time for something a little more intense."   ''Oh?'' Rue asks curiously, removing the mask once they're a safe distance away from the scene, ''How intense are we talking?''