Summary: When Weiss received a call demanding a ransom for her wife, she took matters into her own hands — by doing nothing.
Unknown Caller.
Weiss carefully took a sip from her mug of hot water as she stared at her ringing cell phone. It was long past midnight, and she wasn't expecting a call. Most, if not all, of her acquaintances and close friends were asleep right now.
A spam caller? She entertained the possibility. She had been getting an influx of spam calls trying to reach her about her car's extended warranty. However, those typically wouldn't come at an ungodly hour. She took another sip from her mug before deciding to pick up her phone.
"Hello?" Weiss said. She began counting her seconds. If she were to count past five, she would hang up immediately. She didn't like wasting her time. She was patient, but only for particular individuals.
"We have your wife."
The rough, anonymous voice coming through the line made Weiss furrow her eyebrows. The threat was clear and impossible to misunderstand. She knew where this was going. They have her wife, and they want something in exchange.
"What do you want?" Weiss jumped straight to the point. She collected her mug from the table and dumped the water into the kitchen sink. She walked over to her coffee machine and started brewing herself a cup. It was going to be a long night, and coffee was necessary.
"In two minutes, you'll be receiving a text with an account number. You have ten minutes to wire 500,000,000 lien to that account, or we will kill your wife."
Ah, chump change. Of course.
While Weiss waited for her coffee to brew, she looked towards her wedding photo framed in her living room. The memory of her wedding night was so vivid, she could almost touch it. That night had been beautiful, and tonight was no different.
"You said you'll kill my wife if I don't?"
"Did I stutter? Wire it, unless you want your wife delivered in a body bag to you."
Weiss poured herself a fresh cup of coffee once it finished brewing. While adding the creamer and sugar, she started humming the music she remembered playing on her wedding night. The venue was in the backyard of her lake house located as far away from people as possible. It was lovely; it was untraditional; it was the best night she had ever had. She wouldn't trade Ruby for anything in this world.
"I have no intention of paying the ransom," Weiss finally decided.
"What?"
"Have fun. It was nice talking to you."
Weiss ended the call. While she nursed her piping hot coffee, she looked out the window and smiled. Tonight was beautiful.
A blanket of stars glowed softly over the city of Vale, but they didn't shine as bright as the pearl-white full moon. The beams of silver escaping through the cracks and holes of the roof were rousing every nerve in Ruby's body.
She didn't know how long she had been sitting here, but the touch of moonlight on her skin was driving her insane. It wasn't enough to send her into a delirious frenzy, but the electrifying feeling was clawing deep inside her soul. She could hear her inner self whining.
"So…" Ruby sucked in her cheeks. "...What did my wife say?" She received her answer when Hoodlum #1, as it was easier to number them, shattered his burner phone against the concrete wall that had seen better days. "I take it not so well."
Hoodlum #1 shot her a glare, and his sharp eyes narrowed. "Pitiful. Your wife doesn't love you anymore."
Ruby made a face of disagreement. "No way, she totally loves me. One time, Weiss told me her love is like an ocean. She described it as endless, unconstrained, immeasurable... She even bought me the ocean west of Vale to prove it."
"Do you even listen to yourself?" Hoodlum #1 retorted. "Your wife wasn't willing to pay out your ransom."
"I'm more insulted that you only asked her for 500 million," Ruby said honestly. "Come on, guys. I'm worth more than that. You should've asked her for at least one billion —"
"Will you shut your trap for one minute?" Hoodlum #2 hissed in frustration. Her incessant chattering had struck a nerve. "Hostages are supposed to be cowering in fear quietly, but goddammit, you just keep yapping and yapping and yapping like a damn mangy mutt."
"I am not a mangy mutt," Ruby muttered, finding offense by that rude remark.
"Ever since we dragged you here, running your mouth was all you've done. No wonder she wants to get rid of you. We're doing her a favor. She should be sending us a thank you card for this!"
"Well, I mean…" Ruby shrugged at the predicament she was stuck in. Her hands and legs were bound to a chair. "What else am I supposed to do? Like, duh. The only thing I can do is talk."
Hoodlum #2 was this close to pulling his hair from his receding hairline.
"What should we do with her, Boss?" Hoodlum #3 asked, looking at #1. Their one-way ticket of being rich went out the window since Weiss refused to follow their demands. They were back to the drawing boards.
"Demand ransom from her other family members?" Hoodlum #4 suggested. "We still might be able to get a pretty penny out of her. Or maybe, we can sell her organs."
"Or maybe I can kill her." Hoodlum #2 cocked his gun and pointed it at Ruby.
"Wait," Hoodlum #1 said. He walked over to a nearby table full of mechanical tools. There were many to select from, so he chose carefully. "We've given her an ultimatum, so we'll see it through the end. Ms. Rose —"
"It's Mrs. Schnee," Ruby corrected. "What," she said after receiving a collection of exasperated glares. "I'm married, remember? I didn't put a ring on Weiss just to be called Ms. Rose."
"Mrs. Schnee," Hoodlum #1 said through gritted teeth. His patience was also running thin, but it wouldn't be long. He deliberately chose something that would bring more pain — bolt cutters. Yeah, that'd do. A gun would make it too easy. "How do you feel about being sent home..."
"That'd be super awesome!"
"...in pieces."
"Oh," Ruby said. "Okay, maybe not so awesome. How about a bargain? You let me go, and I'll pretend this little incident has never happened. Yeah? No? Yeah no, okay…"
"Your dying words?" Hoodlum #1 asked, giving no room for Ruby to plead for her life.
Ruby stared at the bolt cutters absentmindedly. The discomfort she had been suppressing was being insuppressible. The moon was at its zenith, and her self-control was slipping away from her fingertips. The moonlight was coaxing her to be free, and it was working. To be free from her own human shackles enticed her. With her last human breath, Ruby asked a simple question.
"Have you ever seen the big, bad wolf?"
Wife's intuition.
That was how Weiss knew where to find Ruby. When she leisurely strolled through the front doors of where she suspected Ruby was being held, the first thing she picked up was the stench of blood. The metallic scent reeked everywhere, but the smell wasn't disgusting enough to make her gag.
Weiss carefully walked around the lifeless bodies that had matching, deep gashes. She counted at least three bodies but no more than ten. They weren't torn from limb to limb either. Good, that made it easier to clean.
"Ruby," Weiss called to the darkness. She waited for a response. A sliver of moonlight highlighted a pair of vibrant silver eyes, and a beast covered in fur emerged from the darkness. The beast looked at Weiss attentively. "Hello, my love. How are you?"
Weiss pulled out a handkerchief and went to blot the blood dripping from Ruby's muzzle. She wiped what she can, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. Ruby needed a thorough bath.
"Doing well, I see. You're not hurt, are you?"
Ruby nuzzled her head against Weiss affectionately. Her tail whipped and thumped uncontrollably against the floor. She was happy to see Weiss.
"I'm glad you're not hurt." Weiss smiled.
As much as she wanted to kiss Ruby, the werewolf was covered in splotches of someone else's blood. She decided to give a hug and scratches on the head instead. She was happy to see Ruby too.
"Let's clean this up so we can go home."
A prompt from r/WritingPrompts on reddit: You have been kidnapped and your wealthy significant other was told to pay the hefty ransom. Instead, they sent a message back to your kidnappers. "Nice knowing you." While the kidnappers discuss their next move, you look up through the tiny window, stare at the full moon overhead…. and smile.
Happy Halloween.