Chapter 16: Tuesday (3)

When Hitch looked into Ruby's bedroom through an open door that evening, he experienced a brief moment of complete and utter panic when he saw the window wide open and no trace of Ruby in sight. It was only when he heard the shifting of tiles on the roof above that he realized she hadn't probably gone off to kill a psychopath again, and had just decided to take the most direct route up to the top of the house – namely, through her bedroom window.

He grabbed the blanket that had been folded neatly on the end of her bed, and headed up to the more sensible means of roof access – the ladder leading up to the locked hatch in the centre of the second floor.

He cracked open the roof access hatch very slowly, and glanced through the gap to see what was happening.

Ruby was seated on the highest part of the roof with her knees up to her chest and her hair falling down in a tangled mess down her back. She was wearing a loose, worn jumper, and was staring up at the stars like they held the answers to all of her problems. Her glasses weren't on, and it didn't look like she had her contact lenses in either.

Hitch pushed open the hatch fully, and emerged up onto the roof. He didn't miss Ruby's tiny flinch as his shoes made contact with the tiles, and how her hands bunched up in her jumper tightly. He pretended to, though, and cleared his throat as if making his presence known for the first time.

"Got you something," he said, tossing the blanket at her. She ducked, reaching out an arm blindly in order to knock it out of the air and to her feet.

She stared at it blankly for a second.

"It's cold tonight," he said by way of explanation, and closed the hatch, sitting down on top of it.

"Thanks," she said, shaking out the blanket and draping it over her knees. She took several moments to tuck the edges in around her feet, creating a sort of impromptu cocoon.

"Blacker says hi," Hitch offered. "He also said you could stop by anytime. Something about a D'Aga-something Cipher."

"D'Agapeyeff," Ruby corrected, after a moment of thought, and then she laughed. "Yeah, probably not. Experts have been working on that one for years."

"Well, if anyone can work it out, I think it'd be you, kid."

Ruby smiled – soft and self-deprecating, completely unlike her. "We'll see, I guess."

Hitch glanced over at her, but the sky was quickly clouding over, and the light from the moon and stars was fading. Her face was wreathed in shadow – it was impossible to read what she was thinking.

"So, LB got fired," he said conversationally, turning to regard the empty streets below them.

"Inevitable," said Ruby, echoing their earlier conversation with Clancy. "Wait, but – what's going to happen to her?"

"She'll probably be handed off to Spectrum Nine," said Hitch, folding his arms and leaning back. "They usually handle that side of the justice system when it comes to Spectrum. Otherwise, well, she'll end up in a state penitentiary."

Ruby's mouth moved silently for a second, and then she closed it. "That's- well. No. She doesn't deserve that."

"No," said Hitch. "She really doesn't. But there's nothing anybody can do about it now."

A gust of wind coasted across the rooftop, and Ruby pulled the blanket from her knees, opting instead to drape it around her shoulders, like a cape.

"On a slightly lighter note," Hitch added. "We've got a new head of Spectrum Eight now."

"So quickly?" Ruby asked. "Who is it?"

"Froghorn," said Hitch.

There was a very long silence.

"You're joking, right." Ruby's voice was flat, completely deadpan. "Because that isn't a lighter topic, that's a travesty."

Hitch shrugged, although it was unlikely that Ruby could actually see him in the dark. "I figured it was just ridiculous enough for you to appreciate it."

"Ridiculous is definitely the right word. Who had the bright idea of hiring Froghorn?" She pronounced the usually-silent G with a large amount of derision. Hitch got the impression that she was overreacting to this news on purpose, to try to restore some semblance of normalcy into her life.

HITCH: If you don't like that, you're probably not going to enjoy the other news I've got for you.

RUBY: Oh jeez – okay, what is it?

HITCH: As of half an hour ago, you've been fired.

Ruby bounced the heels of her feet against the tiles of the roof. "Froghorn?" she asked after a second, sounding as if she already knew the answer.

HITCH: Yep. He's doing an entire organizational overhaul, to try to weed out any other betrayers.

RUBY: But they caught the mole already – it was LB, wasn't it?

HITCH: Yep, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any other moles.

"That's all fine and good," said Ruby, a touch indignantly, "but me? A mole? Has he been living under a rock for the last year or what?"

"You can't ever be too careful," said Hitch, trying to sound serious, but quickly dropped the pretence, letting out a quick shrug and an incredulous laugh. "But yeah. That was about my reaction too."

They sat in the darkness for a while, united in their mutual annoyance towards Miles Froghorn, and then Ruby let out a huffing sort of sigh. "Probably for the best, to be honest. I don't think I could handle training at this point."

"What, you're not mourning the loss of your paycheck?" Hitch asked, only half-joking.

"Hard to miss something you never had in the first place," pointed out Ruby.

Hitch laughed, and then went serious. "Really though – are you sure? I could probably pull a few strings, get you back into the programme. Froghorn had no real reason to kick you out- Blacker could easily talk him back into hiring you."

"Nah," said Ruby without even pausing to consider it. "I think I'm good." She could evidently sense his sceptical look even in the darkness, because she immediately continued, saying, "listen, I flinch when somebody opens a door too loudly. A freaking door. How am I supposed to get training done when I can't even walk through my own house without feeling anxious?"

"I would have predicted that you'd just go ahead and power through with it anyway," Hitch noted, almost to himself.

"A week ago, I would have agreed, but," Ruby shrugged, the movement almost over-exaggerated. "I dunno. Maybe I could go back to code-breaking in a month or two, but- not field work. Not now."

"Whatever makes you feel comfortable," said Hitch.

Ruby hummed an affirmative, then made a small noise of confused realization. "Wait, but – if I'm fired, what are you still doing here?"

"Mrs Digby isn't back 'till Friday," he said. "And your parents aren't back in Town until Sunday, at the least. What am I supposed to do, just leave you here?"

"You know what I mean, come on," she said, the auditory equivalent of an eye roll.

Hitch sighed. "I'm still on protection duty for you."

"Me?" Ruby sounded almost startled.

"Yeah – the Count might be gone, but there's a whole lot of nasty people out there that might want you dead or gone. We went to all that effort to get you back, kid – we're not gonna have Lorelei Von Leyden wrecking a perfect record," he said. "Just don't go wandering off."

"Not likely," Ruby retorted, and then more silence. "Huh – you must hate that. You're always being demoted to the bodyguard, aren't you?"

"I thought that when I was first placed here, too," said Hitch honestly. "But it's actually not so bad."

Ruby didn't say anything for several minutes, and then she yelped in shock, very suddenly. Hitch stood up, searching for danger. "What? What is it?"

"Just a snowflake," said Ruby, sounding annoyed at herself. She pulled at her hair. "Darn it- sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. Just was surprised, is all." She shook her head, and then suddenly stared up at the sky, looking delighted. "Hey – it's snowing!"

"Well, it is December." Hitch sat back down, and leaned back a bit so he could look up at the sky. Pellets of snow were spiralling down – only a sprinkling at the moment, but he could see that the intensity of the snowfall was going to pick up quickly. The moon had emerged from behind a cloud, casting everything in a dim silvery light. "Looks like it's gonna be a white Christmas."

Ruby continued brushing snowflakes away as they started to collect in her hair and on her shoulders. "I'm gonna trash Del in the street snowball fight this year," she said, sounding determined.

"Not on a twisted ankle, you're not," Hitch reminded her. "Wait a few weeks until you can walk without limping." He winced, and shook his head – snow was beginning to collect in his hair as well. "We should probably go inside."

"Aw, come on." It sounded as if Ruby was pouting. "This is the best part of sitting on the roof, man."

"Look, if you want to get buried in a pile of snow, that's fine by me."

"Might be nice," said Ruby, and then started searching in the pockets of her jeans, shifting on top of the roof, which was gradually becoming covered with frozen ice. "Actually – hang on, I got a thing for this."

"A thing," said Hitch without inflection, and watched as Ruby pulled out a small metal cylinder, which she twisted in her hands. It telescoped out into a pole that was roughly three times longer than when it started. "Is that a Spectrum gadget?" he asked, more amused than irritated at this point.

"Maybe," Ruby said evasive, running her hands up and down the side of the pole. She located a button set into the side, and held it down for a few seconds. The pole promptly began to emit a low-pitched noise that began increasing steadily in pitch. Within seconds, the sound resembled a cat dragging its claws down a chalkboard, and both occupants of the roof were visibly wincing. But within seconds, that sound was gone – the pitch having reached the upper range of human hearing.

Ruby pointed the pole upwards towards the oncoming snow, and a strange thing began to happen. Even as the falling snow approached, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier just at the tip of the pole, extending for a few metres. Upon hitting the barrier, the snow either bounced off, cascading around Ruby in a gentle shower, or just melted. It was, in effect, an invisible umbrella.

She stood there for a few moments, apparently relishing the feeling of wielding an imperceptible shield against the weather, and then sat down, still holding the pole up so it prevented the snow from touching her.

"That's the Sonic Umbrella, huh," Hitch said, still getting covered in snow. "You do know, I need to return that."

"Mm." Ruby twisted something else on the pole. It hummed faintly, and the diameter of the shield increased, so it covered Hitch as well. "Maybe tomorrow."

The world beyond the roof was already half-covered in a sizable amount of snow. By tomorrow, most houses on the block would be blanketed in white. The falling snow was strangely peaceful, and the wind had died down.

The world was silent.

"Hey, kid," said Hitch after a while.

Ruby glanced over at him with an expression that read what all over her face.

"You did good, you know," he told her. "Even if it doesn't seem like that, you did a real good job. Don't forget that."

She made a derisive noise, but at least didn't contradict him out loud.

The moon disappeared behind a cloud again, leaving nothing but silence and the sound of falling snow.

end

My deepest and most heartfelt thanks go out to goldstarsforall on Tumblr, an incredible beta who helped me pull this mess together, R and Annie and Ace for general encouragement, and finally - you guys. Because you're awesome and incredible and your comments and screaming never failed to brighten up my day.

Thank you for joining me on this adventure, and hopefully there will be many more to come.

Merry Christmas!

- Kitty