The thought to question the woman's request never crossed Ratchet's mind. Quickly, he snatched Clank up in his arms and clambered into the speeder; Dimitri followed suit.
"Get us out of here!" Dimitri ordered. Even in the low light, Ratchet could tell the ambassador had a nasty scrape on the side of his head. How the lombax only just noticed that eluded him.
The woman slammed on the accelerator, and immediately, the speeder zoomed forward, away from the crumbling ruins of the warehouse. Within minutes, the burning building was completely out of sight.
Ratchet slowly turned to stare at the woman. "Where are you taking us?"
"Somewhere safe," was her reply.
Ratchet wanted to know more about why the woman had rescued them, but he knew that now wasn't the time. Clank was injured, and he badly needed repairs. For now, the lombax simply sat in the passenger's seat, cradling his best friend and trying to focus on where the woman was taking them.
The safe house was well established. It looked like the woman—Clara—had been living here for months; the place held nothing more than a simple living room, a kitchen, and a small garage. The garage was home to the woman's speeder, and a workbench stood to Ratchet's left. Ratchet gazed in worry at what the workbench contained.
Clank was laying on the bench, his flickering optics the only sign of life. Clara was busy working with a small array of tools. The damage to the warbot was extensive. A large gash showed in Clank's side, where oil leaked out from in between the broken scrap. His left arm was brutalized, having taken the worst of the damage.
Cautiously, Ratchet approached the woman. "Nice place you got here," the lombax remarked.
"Thanks. I know it's not much, but it's at least got a roof to keep the rain out," she quirked up, continuing to work on Clank's lifeless form.
"Uh, thanks, for earlier," Ratchet stammered.
"It's no problem," Clara replied without facing him. "My boss and I have shooed out more than a few crooks at that warehouse."
"You need any help?" he asked. "I've repaired Clank more times than I can count. We'd be done a lot quicker."
Clara snickered. "Clank? Seriously?"
Ratchet felt his face turn bright red at the remark. "Seriously."
"It's fine. My brother taught me how to fix the speeder when I was twelve. I'm sure I can handle this," Clara confidently answered.
"So what brings you out here, besides the wild goose chase?" she demanded, her voice taking on an intrusive attitude.
"We're looking for someone named 'Westbrook.'"
The woman let her hands fall to her sides unceremoniously. "You're in the right place…"
Ratchet suddenly realized how she looked eerily similar to the woman in the photo. "You're Westbrook?"
Clara's slight nod answered Ratchet's question.
"Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Ratchet." The hero offered his hand to Clara. She accepted, a slight smile appearing on her lips.
Just then, Dimitri burst through the doors. If Dimitri's face didn't tell Ratchet that the ambassador was upset, the way he clutched the photo frame was a dead giveaway. "What the hell is this?" the Markazian demanded, slamming the frame down onto the workbench.
"Hey! You should know my dad crafted this workbench by hand! Not to mention that frame's worth at least a hundred bolts," she angrily snapped back, completely ignoring his question. Ratchet gazed at the photo within the frame. He instantly recognized the person, though he wished he hadn't. It was him. The murderer. The lombax didn't even bother trying to suppress the memories of Grim's death. He knew that if he did, he'd only go insane. Clara seemed to notice Ratchet's horrified face, if her solemn expression was anything to go by. "Oh. Did he hurt you badly, too?" she asked, her voice becoming softer.
Wait, what?
"You know who this guy is?" Ratchet inquired.
"I used to…" She trailed off at the statement, as if there was a memory she was trying to keep from surfacing. "He was an old friend of mine. But that was a long time ago."
Oh well. At least Ratchet knew he wasn't the only one hurt by Grim's murderer. Wait! How would Dimitri know about what happened to Grim?
"Wow. Thanks, Dimitri. It's nice to know I'm not the only one after Grim's killer," the lombax complimented.
Dimitri simply stared at him with a look of uncertainty. "Grim?"
"My mentor," Ratchet explained, understanding Dimitri's confusion. "I thought you knew."
"Oh. Kid, I'm sorry for your loss. Really, I am. But I wasn't talking about your mentor."
Ratchet felt his eyes bulge. "What?"
Dimitri responded by handing a picture to Ratchet. The picture showed Grim's hoverbike, totaled and lying at the bottom of the Kyzil Plateau. "Shortly after you left Veldin, I got an emergency call from some hiker who witnessed the crash. He said he found Jacopo Drek's body in the wreckage. He's dead, Ratchet."
Jacopo Drek died? Ratchet didn't even realize it.
"Oh my God," Clara whispered, clearly shaken by the photo. Ratchet stared at the wreckage depicted within, his face showing the same horrified expression.
Suddenly, a noise from the workbench caught Ratchet's attention. "Ratchet?" the metallic voice groaned.
"Clank!" the lombax cheered, relieved to see that his best friend was up and about. "You doing ok, buddy?"
"Yes, I think so," was the warbot's response. He turned to Clara. "Thank you."
"It's good to see you awake, Clank," Ratchet sighed in relief. "I wasn't sure if you'd make it."
"I have a loose joint here and there, but otherwise, I am all right. Thanks, Ratchet."
"Hey! That's what friends are for," Ratchet started, turning to Dimitri. "Dimitri...I know there's not much of a lead right now, but…" He couldn't bear to finish the statement.
"Of course I'll help you," the detective volunteered. "Jacopo and I had a history back before he got himself killed. If someone goes after one of my targets, he better be sure he brought a good weapon." The ambassador showed determination in his voice, proof that he was willing to help Ratchet until the very end.
"Thanks. I mean that." Ratchet allowed himself one thought of sympathy, before he became focused again. "All right, then. Let's start hunting this son of a gun down." The lombax turned to leave, only for Clara to grab his arm.
"I hate to break it to you, but he's going to catch onto you pretty quickly. I mean, look at yourself!" she singled out.
Now that Clara mentioned it, she had a point. Ratchet's protosuit was practically trashed. Bits of metal clung onto his body, and small holes in the armor exposed his orange shirt. "Great," he groaned.
"Just wait there," the woman ordered, before running off. Moments later she returned with a small bundle in her hands. Ratchet peered down in curiosity at the red sweatshirt and blue jeans she had brought. "Take these," she said, handing the clothes to him. "They belonged to my brother, but I'm certain he won't mind."
"Wow. Thanks!" Ratchet responded, grateful for the gift. "So, what are you going to do?" All eyes in the room landed on the woman, eager for a reply.
"I guess I'll go back home," she responded with uncertainty. "I've got some old wounds that need healing."
"Thanks, Clara, for everything," Ratchet stated, marching in the direction of the speeder, with Clank and Dimitri following suit.
As they sped off in the direction of the Star Jumper, Ratchet let one thought flow through his brain.
You better watch your back, murderer, Ratchet thought, his face showing how determined he was to avenge his mentor. I'm coming for you!
The woman had just watched her visitors vanish from sight before she noticed the shadow. A familiar shadow, one she hadn't seen in years, standing outside her windowsill.
In a matter of seconds, the shadow was gone.
Clara curiously creeped toward the window. She hadn't expected anyone else to be sneaking around. Her eyes darted around, determined to find the source of the intrusion, before landing on a photo.
Picking up the photo, the young woman smiled joyfully. It was her and her brother, sitting on a park bench on Novalis. She remembered the time their family had gone on vacation on Novalis. Clara's boyfriend had just broken up with her then. She remembered her brother as he sat by her, and told some jokes to cheer her up. In the end, they had their mother, Amelia, take the wonderful photo.
That was at least a couple years ago. Her brother was still alive back then. But now…now she wasn't so sure. She'd heard about her parent's fate. That had been hard enough to handle. And then, to add insult to injury, her brother was suddenly nowhere to be found.
As she prepared to set the photo down on the table, Clara found herself curious at the ink that came off on her fingers. She turned the photo over, her eyes forming silent tears at what she found. In a matter of minutes, she had retrieved her backpack, determined to find the remote for her starship.
She had barely skimmed through the note, before she let it float to the floor:
Clara,
You've been helping that lombax monster, haven't you? Stay out of my way. Our relationship is strained enough as it is…and I don't want you getting hurt because of me.
Hi! In case you guys are wondering, I got the outfit idea from a sweatshirt I have at home. I just thought it would look cool. Catch you later. :)