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Ruby Redfort was emphatically not having a good day. Sure, she thought as she rappelled down the sharp incline, she’d had worse days. But she’s also had much, much better days, and this mission was of the utmost importance. The consequences of failure were too dire to even consider. As her feet made contact with the ground, she looked around. No one in sight. Good. With any luck, she’d be able to-
“Ruby Redfort! I know you’re down there!”
She sighs.
Got a little too optimistic there, Rube, said Clancy’s voice in her head. As if she didn’t already know that. She reluctantly unclipped herself from her harness and turned to greet the last person she had wanted to see- her mother, Sabina Redfort.
Sabina, who had refused to join Ruby and Hitch abseiling, stood with her hands on her hips. She was in the flowy silk ‘beach’ dress that she insisted on wearing, even though they were supposed to be ‘experiencing nature’- per her own words. The fact that her outfit prevented her from actually experiencing nature- heels and an expensive gown that she refused to get dirty at all- did not occur to her.
She exchanged a glance with Hitch, the family butler. As ever, Hitch seemed merely amused with Ruby’s predicament. Then again, he did have the worse end of it, given her mother’s awful tendency to flirt with him. At least she left Ruby alone most of the time.
As well as that, what neither Sabina nor Brant Redfort knew was that their prized butler was actually one of the world’s best secret agents, and Ruby’s sidekick in her job as an agent working for Spectrum.
Hitch preferred to think of himself as her partner in all things spy- but Ruby knew better. Once Clancy slipped up in front of Hitch and referred to him as Ruby’s sidekick. He’d blustered and blathered for a full ten minutes, unknowingly cementing his role as sidekick as Ruby and Clancy looked on in amusement.
“It’s time for lunch, Ruby.” Sabina spoke again, distracting Ruby from her very important thoughts. As usual. Her mother was looking her up and down disapprovingly- also as usual. Ruby’s shirt read It’s The Climb, Baby, though the middle two words were so faded that the only readable part said It’s Baby. It was ironic. “You’ll have to change out of that for lunch, Ruby. What would Senõr Smelman think? I’m sure I asked Mrs Digby to pack some nice clothes for you. What about that lovely green dress? It would make your eyes just pop-”
Ruby, who had ‘accidentally’ forgotten to bring the suitcase of mother-approved clothing on their little holiday, just shrugged and gathered up her belongings, letting her mother talk. She would wind down eventually. Ss they walked away down the perfectly placed ‘natural marble path’ towards the resort, Hitch hooked his arm around her mother’s to gently lead her back with them. Ruby shot him a grateful glance, as her mother immediately switched her attention to the handsome older man instead of her.
As they walked, Ruby regretted ever agreeing to this. After her latest mission, and the defeat of the Count- the only truly evil person Ruby had ever met- she had been at something of a loss for what to do. Not to mention her coworker Buzz turning out to be the formidable Casey Morgan. On top of that, Clancy, her best friend in all the world, had been dragged off by his family to visit cousins on the other side of the country. Her mother had insisted on having the whole family- mostly Mrs Digby and Hitch, so that she wouldn’t have to lift a finger at their ‘middle of nature’ resort. Ruby was taking a month off from her work at Spectrum on the recommendation of the psychiatrist. With the enforced time off and Clancy gone, for once she didn’t have a better alternative. She wasn’t happy about it, but she’d figured a wilderness retreat was a close second for the moment. It was part of her mother’s latest health kick, with a focus on getting back to nature. It offered all sorts of hiking, climbing, and abseiling as part of the all inclusive package. She’d figured she could keep her skills sharp with her own training program. Unfortunately, her mother was being unusually stubborn and insisting she join her parents and the other resort guests (an assortment of rich associates of her parents) for lunch at the very least.
She reluctantly split off from her mother and Hitch when they arrived at the resort, just long enough to change her shirt into one not covered in dirt from climbing. The shirt she chose was actually something of a concession, as it was a nice dark blue and the only text on it was tiny and read seize the day. It was enough to get her mother off her back, and it wasn’t like she Sabina could really admonish her for wearing practical clothes in the middle of the jungle.
On her way down to lunch, she saw a flicker out of the corner of her eye, like someone ducking out of sight behind a tree. Trained professional that she was, she made no moves to indicate that she’d seen anything. She kept walking, smoothly pulling her trusty metal nail file from her pocket. It was no ordinary nail file- it came straight from Spectrum’s lab, doubling as an extremely durable lockpick. Ruby wasn’t about to start picking locks, though. She ran the edge along her nail, adjusting the angle, and… there! Someone was behind her. She couldn’t make out details, though, as they were half hidden in the shade of the treeline. The figure didn’t seem to be looking at her, but Ruby wasn’t a professional spy for nothing. She knew when she was being watched. She pretended to inspect her nails as she walked, but couldn’t get any more details from her little mirror. She smoothly tucked it back into her pocket, filing the information away in her brain for when she had a chance to talk to Hitch.
The consequence of getting to lunch late was she had to sit between her father and a woman with long blonde hair that she’s never seen before. The nameplate in her spot says ‘Countess Mila’. Unfortunately, Ruby’s proximity to her parents meant there was no chance of eating in peace. She was able to tune out most of the chatter- that is, until her father decided to introduce himself to Countess Mila. Thankfully, the woman seemed uninterested in conversation. The shortness of her responses emphasised her slightly accented English.
“So what brings you here, Countess?” Ruby’s father asked, not getting the hint.
“An old friend recommended this resort highly. I'm glad to finally experience it for myself.” He waited for her to say more, but she was clearly done talking. Unluckily for both the Countess and Ruby, trapped in the middle of the conversation, Brant Redford was perfectly happy to fill a silence with the sound of his own voice.
The meal didn’t continue for much longer after that. Ruby wolfed down dessert, ignoring her mother’s tut at her table manners, and excused herself.
It had occurred to her during lunch that maybe she shouldn't tell Hitch. Not right away, at least. She didn't have enough proof, for one, and for another... he might not want her to investigate. She wasn’t supposed to be working, after all. Back in her room, she recorded the events of the day in her latest yellow notebook. Then she started on a summary of the situation.
What I Know:
-someone was watching me
-they're at this resort
What I Don't Know:
-who it was
-why it was
-what they want
All in all, it wasn't shaping up to be a particularly strong list. She sighed, flopping back onto her bed. Just when this awful vacation looked like it was getting interesting, she immediately hit a dead end. What a bummer.
This pattern continued for the next few days. Anytime she left her room she could feel someone watching her. On top of that, her parents were driving her actually crazy. She couldn't even go climbing with Hitch; her mother always needed him to make her a drink, or argue with the resort staff, or listen to her complain about the resort staff. When Sabina wasn't annoying Hitch, she was fussing at Ruby. It was enough to drive anyone to distraction.
She resorted to going on long, quiet walks around the property just to get away from it all. It was on one such walk (closer to a run, really; she was fleeing from yet another mingling event and she just wanted to scream) that she her foot got stuck in a hole and sent her flying. Luckily, her extensive spy training kicked in and she rolled on the landing. Less luckily, this move yanked her foot out of the hole, sending a stabbing pain shooting up her leg. Even less luckily, she continued to roll. Her movement took her down the incline, coming to a stop in what seemed to be a shallow cave of some kind.
It took a few moments to get her bearings. When she finally did, she tried to point her toes, nearly blacking out from the wave of pain. She took slow, deep breaths, remembering Ruby rule 31# Panic will freeze your brain. So DON'T PANIC. She looked up; the alcove she had landed in wasn't that deep, but she couldn't reach the top without moving her injured leg. The black spots in her vision continued to increase, until finally she realised her vision was completely fine. Someone had blocked out the sun. There were faint lines of light where the entrance used to be, but there was clearly something covering it. Footsteps crunched in the leaves above the cave, then faded away into the distance. Someone had left her there.
Breathe, she told herself sternly.
It's just the dark.
She curled into a ball, pain dogging her every movement. It was all just too much. She'd just have a little nap, and then she would deal with her situation. Just a little nap...
-
Hitch checked his watch. Ruby should have been back; it was getting dark. Even though she was avoiding her parents as much as possible, it was very out of character for her to miss dinner. Noticing with relief that Mrs Redfort wasn't within sight, he ducked away behind a corner and smoothly pulled his Ruby tracker out of his pocket. Or... he tried to. It wasn't in his pocket.
He pressed a button on his watch and pulled up a list of resort guests, only to find that one Countess Mila and her son had checked out that afternoon, just before Ruby's dot vanished from the map. He cursed fluently. He should have known better, should have been more cautious. The resort was popular among very wealthy people who took safety very seriously. But that was all protecting against someone outside trying to get in; all that security meant nothing if someone was posing as a guest.
He needed to make several phone calls.
-
Ruby woke with a start. She had no idea how long it had been, but it was now completely dark. She ran her fingers gently over her sore ankle, wincing at the pain. Probably broken, then. That wasn't good. She still felt fuzzy, which wasn't a good sign either. She forced away the tears welling up in her eyes through sheer force of will. She'd been in worse situations than this. Hadn't she?
There was nothing to be done for the moment. She couldn't move her ankle, and no one was around. What's more, she didn't want to chance the person who left her there coming back. Hitch would find her, she told herself. He always did.
She sat, and waited, and tried not to think about the walls closing in on her.
-
It was almost midnight when Hitch, covered in leaves from his frantic journey through the jungle, stumbled across a hole that hadn't been there previously. This whole resort was man made, every inch accounted for. He could tell when something wasn't supposed to be there. He fell to his hands and knees, scrabbling in the leaves. Eventually, he felt a hard flat surface and levered it up and off. He shone his torch into the hole and sure enough, there Ruby was at the bottom of it. She was curled into a ball, looking younger than he'd ever seen her. The light of his torch made her almost glow in a sickly pale colour. He'd come prepared; he nodded confidently to his backup and slid into the hole. It was barely over five feet high at the edge, so he could easily reach the top. Carefully, holding her like the precious child she was, he scooped Ruby up and laid her on the edge of the hole.
Clancy, who had finished his trip a few days early and insisted on helping once he'd heard about Ruby being missing, gently laid her onto a stretcher while Hitch climbed back up and out of the hole.
They exchanged a concerned glance when their movements didn't wake Ruby, but her chest still rose and fell. She wasn't... she was just unconscious.
Hitch looked down at her young (so young. she acted so much older but she was really just a kid) face as he and Clancy picked up the stretcher. "You'll be okay," He said. "We've got you."
-
Ruby's eyes blinked open, squinting in the harsh light. It took her some moments to gain her bearings, but upon looking around it was clear that she was in some kind of doctor's office. Every movement was an effort, but she tilted her head far enough to see Hitch, asleep in the doctor's chair. She smiled at the sight of him with his head nodding onto his chest.
Movement at the door distracted her, and she carefully turned her head to look as Clancy entered the room. On seeing her awake, he rushed over to her bedside.
"Ruby! I'm so glad you're-" He broke off at her frantic shush. He followed her gaze to the sleeping Hitch and did a comedic double take. Clearly Hitch asleep was a foreign concept to him. Laughter danced in her eyes at his reaction. With an effort, she patted the side of the bed. Clancy sat down cautiously on the edge, clearly trying not to jostle her too much.
"What... happened?" Her voice was annoyingly raspy. Clancy grimaced.
"I got a call from Hitch, asking if I'd heard anything. I hadn't, obviously, but I wanted to help. I, uhh... borrowed the family helicopter. No one will notice! You know how deeply mom sleeps." Ruby had to concede the point. Clancy's family was full of heavy sleepers.
"It seems like one of the guests here, a Countess or something? Was hired by someone to get revenge on you. Hitch found the mastermind a few miles off the property. Got him talking pretty quickly. This guy definitely isn't a professional. Kid a bit older than us, last name Morgan."
Buzz. Even after death, Casey Morgan haunted her. She nearly groaned at the realisation. Countess Mila- CM. Casey Morgan. She nodded at Clancy to continue talking. "Apparently he's related to that Casey Morgan. Was mad at you for 'ruining her plans' or whatever. Spectrum agents were called in by Hitch to remove him from the area while we rescued you. And, well, here you are."
Ruby sighed. Was a break too much to ask for? Conveniently, she forgot she had wanted no such thing.
A wave of tiredness crashed back over her. "Stay with me?" She asked, hating how her voice wavered. She couldn't cope with being alone as she slept, even with Hitch there. She and Clancy had shared a bed at least once a week since they were basically infants, but that had petered off recently in the wake of all her spy stuff. She needed the comfort of his familiarity.
When Hitch woke up he found the two of them curled up like kittens in the single bed. He felt a glow of affection for his kids.
Who would ever have thought that two idiot teenagers would become so important to him?