Rue: Web of Deceit - Part 40

Civil action

Heading down towards the Industrial District, Rue and Blue make it their business to intercept a delivery of highly illicit cargo.

"One of the guys Dingo worked with, a middle-man of sorts, told me under... mild duress, that members of the Saint Michael crime ring are going to be receiving a van load of "goods" to a warehouse near the Railyard later tonight," Blue explains as the van containing him and Rue heads towards central Bathala, "I intend to wipe the place out and wait for the delivery to arrive."   ''A van load?'' Rue echoes in disbelief, their disgust for the Dingo thoroughly reinforced, ''Right. Okay. Since you're intending to wipe the place out, I take it this will be a slightly less stealthy plan?''   "Yeah, this was a long time in the making. I reckon they've got something special planned," he says, and Rue notices him clenching and unclenching his fingers around the steering wheel. He takes a breath before continuing, "I know I said about the stealthy approach, but... That girl, Ashleigh. She didn't tell me her name. I knew her."   ''One of your missing person cases?'' Rue asks sympathetically, worry etched into their voice.   "Yeah," he says, sighing as he thinks about the case, "She went missing about six months ago. I hope she's young enough to eventually put all this behind her, but her parents never will. I just hope he pays the price for that, one way or another."   ''You got her out of there,'' Rue says softly, their stomach twisting with a feeling they can't quite place, ''And from the sound of it, she's got her parents to support her. As for him paying for what he's done...'' They shrug casually, ''Well, you're the one putting your faith in the system, but if it all else fails... Could always go play a second round of tag with him.''   "Oh yeah, definitely," he says, quickly putting the vulnerability of the moment aside, "My point is, it's not just you who's getting some catharsis out of this. I want one of these guys in the warehouse to tell me what they're preparing for, so loud and terrifying may just be the way to go. You in?"   ''I think loud and terrifying can be arranged,'' Rue grins deviously, ''Are we thinking more along the lines of flying objects threatening to crush them, or arson?'' They have a playful twinkle to their eyes as they whisper conspiratorially, ''Or both?''   "As much as I'd love to let you loose, Rue," he says, chuckling to himself at the bloodlust in their eyes, "I doubt either of us wants to risk burning down half the Railyard. So, maybe we go for more of a controlled intimidation?"   “Fiiiine,” They say with mock-indignation, rolling their eyes, “The offer stands if you change your mind.”   "I'll bear it in mind," he says as the two make their way through the city and towards the familiar streets near the Railyard. Rue puts their helmet back on, unwilling to risk being recognised hanging around the hero by anyone, friend or foe. The two soon pull up near the border of the Industrial and Seafaring districts and begin making their way towards the warehouses.   The two stay almost silent as they make their way closer to the building in question, wary to alert any member of the Saint Michaels. Rue's blood runs a little cold as they wander near the burnt out remains of 18215 Everbrook Hill and they stop, staring at the building like a looming spectre in the night.   "Hey, Rue," comes the whispered voice from slightly ahead, "You okay?"   Rue doesn’t answer at first, seemingly entranced. They can feel a pressure on their chest, the hairs on the back of their neck standing up, and for a while they are rooted to the ground, unable to carry on.   “I followed you and Suplex here before,” They croak out, thankful for the way the voice modulator makes the excuse sound calmer than they feel. They urge themself to look away from the building, turning their attention towards Blue, “Did you find anything there?”   "Yeah, she was helping me look for Katie," he says, his tone pensive as he steps closer and looks up at the building, "We didn't find anything that night, but some of my guys in forensics gave the place another look in the morning and found a secret bunker. But I'm guessing by the tone of your voice, you already knew about that."   “Well, I can see through walls…” Rue lies quickly, not quite ready to trust Alec with the whole truth yet, “I may have gone down there before, had a look around.”   "Uhuh," he says, wanting to press them, given their sudden reaction but knowing that it isn't the time, "Well, we're still looking for the guy behind her disappearance, but at least we could give Katie's family some closure."   “That’s good…” Rue says absentmindedly, their gaze having reverted to the building.   There is a pause, but soon they force themself out of the memories that flood their mind, pushing themself forward and away from the phantom hands crawling over their body, prodding their scars and holding them down.   “Let’s keep going, shall we?” They say with a sense of urgency, hopeful that that will be the end of the uncomfortable conversation.   "Yeah, come on. It's just up here," Alec says as he leads them a few more rows down. He comes to the end of a row and peaks out from the corner, "They should be in there. Can you have a look for me? And while you're at it, maybe check whether many of them have firearms, or if any look a little more... in charge?"   Rue follows Alec’s gaze and creeps forward a little, adjusting their vision to scope out what they’re up against.   “There’s two of them by the doors, armed,” They start, “Another three- no, four, in the main area… I can’t see any firearms on them apart from on the fourth that just appeared from the other room. Now, as for that other room…” Rue purses their lips in concentration, eventually sighing irately, “I may need to get a little closer before I can look in there. Sorry…”   "That's fine, Rue. You've done great," he says, pausing for a moment as he surveys the area, "We may have an easier time getting the drop on them if we drop in from above. If we're quick, I bet I can get us up to the roof before they spot us."   “I mean, that sounds more like a Blue entrance…” Rue argues hesitantly, “I don’t quite have full control of those rocket blasts yet, and I somehow doubt this costume would protect me from a broken leg if I jump down from the rooftop, so unless you also give me a piggyback down into the building, I’d be sort of stranded.”   They ponder their options, glancing around the area until they suggest, “You could go ahead and get the drop on them, and I could just… Join in when they’re distracted? Attack them from two angles?”   "Ah, right. Good point," he says, mumbling slightly as he thinks, "Sorry about that. Guess I got a little excited," he tries to laugh off the awkwardness before moving on, "Alright then, I'll head in, take out the firearms, and you can join as and when it's safe for you to do so. Got it?"   Rue grins beneath the mask, gesturing for Blue to go ahead. ''Just tell me when you want me to join the party,'' They say, ''Want me to keep an eye out for and take care of any 'strays'?''   "Well, I can't have all the fun now, can I?" Alec says before launching himself over to the roof, landing silently with limbs extended like a creature from a child's nightmares, before slinking into the building through a cracked window and getting to work.   As Blue moves in, Rue sneaks closer to the doorway, blending in with the shadows as they hide beside a large steel wheelie bin. They watch through the walls as the hero’s arms wrap around the two armed men by the door, eliciting a shocked gasp from one before they are pulled upwards and bodily hurled across the space.   “Ouch…” They comment with a chuckle.   Within a moment, Blue has returned to his usual fighting style akin to human pinball, using the elastic properties of his current form to crash into the thugs before switching to a giant fist beatdown. The fight, if it can even be called that, is embarrassingly one-sided, and Rue is less-than-surprised when a dynamic duo of fairly unremarkable thugs burst from the warehouse's side entrance and begin to make a run for it.   With a single thought, Rue flings the wheelie bin that functioned as their hiding spot through the sky, the object landing right in front of the escaping criminals with a mighty clash, blocking their escape.   ''Oh shit!'' One of them cries out, both turning around to see Rue appear from the shadows.   ''Hi guys,'' They say cheerfully, giving the thugs a small wave, ''Going somewhere?''   The pair split up, one swirling around and making a desperate attempt to climb over the wheelie bin, the other pulling out a knife and running at the teen with a frantic glint in his eyes. His manic expression rapidly shifts to one of confusion however as Rue lifts their hand forward, then to one of realisation as he hears the metal creaking behind him along with the surprised yelp from the other man.   He can only turn his head to the side before the bin smashes into his back at full force, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to hit his head harshly against the pavement. His counterpart continues to fly through the air, clutching onto the bin until it crashes against the wall to the building he'd just tried to run away from, knocking him out cold.   "Nicely handled, err.... Silhouette," Blue says, emerging from the warehouse dragging an enraged thug behind him by the head, the man in question swearing like his life depended on it, "The kids aren't here yet, but I think we can probably get some answers out of this scumbag."   Blue throws the man to the ground between them and he quickly scrambles to his feet, taking off at full speed away from them. Rue tenses up, ready to grab him with their telekinesis, but Blue puts a hand up, "Hold on... We wanna let him think he's gotten away at first, and then... Now."   The man is about to disappear around a corner when an invisible force takes hold of him, pulling him off his feet and hurtling him backwards. ''Oh God!'' He screeches, finding himself suspended in the air a few meters away from the faceless duo, ''Nuh-n-no, please, let me go! I promise I don't know nothing!''   ''Oh? Is that so?'' Rue asks innocently, turning the man upside down in the air and lifting him higher, ''Well, then we won't have much use of you, will we?''   They turn towards the hero beside them, ''Can I drop him?''   "No, no, I think we've got something here," the hero steps forward, his faceless visage looking down at the man who's since fallen silent. A silent beat passes between the two as the blood rushes to the man's face, turning his entire head an uncomfortable red colour. Blue reaches out, placing one hand on the man's chest before asking a single question, "Where are they taking the children?"   "I don't-" the thug begins, but is stopped by the sudden movement of the hand on his chest which quickly begins to spread out, the amorphous mass quickly encompassing the man's chest and moving up his neck.   By the time the tendrils that were once Blue's arm reach the thug's face, he's in full panic mode, beginning to hyperventilate as he struggles fruitlessly against Rue's telekinetic hold. The tendrils quickly close in on his mouth and eyes as he starts to blubber, "I- I can't! They'll kill me!"   Unfazed, Blue leans in closer as the tendrils begin to hook themselves in the corners of his mouth and nose, even crawling over his ears and slightly under his eyelids, "And, what makes you think that's worse than what I'm about to do to you?"   The voice coming from Blue at this point is nothing like the Detective's usual jovial tone. Whisper quiet and with an almost playful apathy to the horror show being inflicted on the criminal before them, it clearly gets the job done and soon enough the man is blubbering like a scared child, "Okay! Jesus Christ! Just let me go! They're taking the merchandise to a party hosted by some high roller. No names given! Supposed to go to a yacht moored off Bathala Harbour called the Dreamboat. That's all I know. I swear!"   "Hear that?" Blue asks, looking over his shoulder at Rue, "Looks like we've got a boat to catch."   “Huh, sure seems that way,” Rue says casually, their tone growing a little darker as they ask, “now can I drop him?”   "One more thing," Blue says, standing up and retracting his arm before applying a sharp kick to the side of the man's head, knocking him unconscious, "Now, you can let him go."   “Awww, now it’s no fun anymore,” Rue whines as they unceremoniously drop the man on the ground in an awkward heap, “I wanted to throw him around a little… You owe me a drop.”   "Well, we've got a vanload of kids and their captors coming by in a few minutes," he says as he begins to clear up the unconscious thugs, "Will one of those do?"   “Oh yeah, that’ll do the trick,” Rue perks up immediately, telekinetically moving the steel bin back where it was before. They help Alec with the tidy up, not feeling too guilty when they ‘accidentally’ knock the knife-wielding goon’s head against a few solid objects along the way.   They pick up the knife, too, inspecting the blade and slipping it into their back pocket for the time being.   “How do you want to play this?” They ask once they are done moving the final thug, keeping their senses sharp to listen out for an approaching van.   "Honestly," Alec says, looking around the area, "We know where to get to next. I say we hide out, and the second they're away from the kids, you can play ragdoll with them."   “Well then we’d better go and hide now,” Rue says, their ears picking up the sounds of a car engine in the near distance, “I think they’re almost here.”