Chapter Twelve: Echoes

The world exploded in a brilliant flash of silver light, everything within perception suddenly fading into nothing. An impact like hitting a brick wall ran through her mind. She felt the cold ocean engulf her, felt the briney salt water fill her lungs. With a sudden feeling of relief she opened her eyes staring at an endless blue sky.

Ruby shot bolt upright in her bed, gasping for air. She sat in bed, panting, cold sweat dripping onto her rough sheets. It was a familiar, but not entirely unwelcome nightmare. There were quite a few of these, but tonight's was far from the worst. Gathering herself together, Ruby reached down to the cheap plastic watch on her wrist, illuminating it in the dark of the room.

'Five hours of sleep certainly isn't too bad,' Ruby reigning in her thoughts as she swung her legs off the bed. She chose to immediately set her mind to the day's work, not letting her mind ruminate on the nightmare. She had stopped to think about her road to Hatra plenty of times, each time resulting in hours of sitting around feeling sorry for herself. A habit that Ruby was determined to get over.

Shuffling to the dilapidated pile of clothes sitting in her closet, and pulling out a pair of jogging pants and an overly worn t-shirt; Ruby quickly dressed. Leaning down to put her shoes on, Ruby spotted an ivory letter sitting at the foot of her door. Finishing with her laces, Ruby picked the envelope up and tossed it on her desk, 'A problem for later,' she assured herself before stepping out into the hallway.

She didn't bother locking her door, knowing the futility of it. Anyone in Hatra that wanted to get the door open, would, one way or another. No, it was the fist sized emblem carved onto the door that would deter any, would be, thieves. A key, with a blindfolded skull as the bow, denoting association with the Wardens. In Hatra, such a thing was more valuable than any lock.

Ruby quickly moved through a few stretches, as she went over the day's to-do list. 'Run, argue with the old bitch, go visit Ferrah, maybe deal with the letter.'

Beginning her run, feet pounding against the catwalks and corridors Ruby thought of the year spent in the steel and concrete monstrosity she now called home. Hatra, The Wardens, crazy old woman, Ferrah and Jen, everything she now called her life. Even now, she was surprised by just how normal it all felt. Certainly it wasn't the glamorous life she had always dreamed of, but it was the one she had eventually chosen. Not that she would have thought she should a year ago.

There was a time when Ruby thought she would end up blowing through the place like a storm. How foolish she had been. She remembered when she had first arrived, and ran afoul of the Wardens. Within a day she had come across some of the goons busting up someone's store. Ever the hero, Ruby decided to step in, thinking the poor man a victim. After punching her way through half the Wardens, their leader, and in many respects the ruler of Hatra, had invited her to have tea.

Of course she had fully expected it to be a trap, and in her arrogance had, of course, walked right into it. She had been wrong, of course. He truly did want to have tea with. Something that at the time had truly put Ruby on the backfoot. Come to find out, the poor shopkeeper had been selling people medicine. In actuality, it was vile, poison laced with lead and mercury.

Before long, Ruby and the Wardens had come to an, albeit tense, understanding. Seeing the value in her, Ruby was given a job, an apartment, and cash. For someone who had shown up destitute, with nothing spare the clothes on her back, it was a fortune. Since then, Ruby spent the last year running odd jobs for the Wardens.

At first glance they seemed nothing more than common criminals. In many ways that wasn't entirely wrong. However, when you and your people are abandoned by the government, someone has to step up. The organization wasn't pretty, but they provided for Hatra where no one else did. The people at the top, of course, lived in luxury, or at least as much as could be found somewhere like Hatra. Those people also provided clean water, stable infrastructure, steady trade, and relative safety. A thing didn't have to be pretty to work well.

That certainly wasn't to say they were some beacon of civilization. The Wardens made money anywhere money was to be found. They sold drugs, weapons, ran illicit money lenders, and of course the list went on. Ruby certainly didn't have a great deal of moral high ground to stand on however, nor did she care enough to try and police people's poor decisions. The Wardens weren't evil, they were just an ugly inevitability. All things considered, the Wardens did less harm than good. That certainly wasn't something Ruby was sure she could say about herself.

Ruby came up to the top of a set of stairs, and out into the cloud covered gray of the rooftops. She had a lap of the roofs to go before she was finished with her run, and prayed it didn't start raining. It was surprising how much it could rain in the desert. It was well into the winter now, and though it wouldn't get cold enough to freeze, it was still rather chilly. For her part, Ruby found it refreshing after what felt like endless months of summer heat.

As hard to tell as it was with the cloud cover, Ruby guessed the sun was just above the horizon. Enough light to at least prevent any unfortunate foot placement. Regardless, Ruby chose to slow down, even if only to buy herself a few more minutes before the worst part of her day.

Feet slowly plodding over the wet rooftops, Ruby thought back to the ignored envelope sitting on her desk. At this point, she had stopped trying to guess what kind of odd job the Wardens asked of her. At a minimum of three times a month, they would come to her for something, sometimes far more often. Despite this, she was fairly certain that in the last year she had never done the same job twice.

Her favorite job had involved a trip to the port city of Jeddah, a strangely beautiful city, to deliver a briefcase of cash for the Wardens. It wasn't a fun journey, but she certainly wasn't going to complain about a paid trip to the beach. The worst had involved spending days clearing sand build up out of the lower levels. It was a miserable job, but something that had to be done a couple times a year, lest the city be swallowed by sand. She hadn't been alone of course. When the time came all the Wardens, save a few that necessity demanded be elsewhere, had to contribute. Ruby chuckled, thinking of how low she had once thought of the Wardens, only to continue being surprised.

Her run came to an end, Ruby rounding the final corner of the rooftops. As beneficial as the old woman's tutelage had been, that didn't stop Ruby hoping every morning that she wouldn't be there at the end of her run. She would love nothing more than to have a day free of the old bat. Once again, Ruby was disappointed.

"You're early. Another nightmare, was it?" White hair blowing in the wind, as the woman sat on the edge of the rooftops, staring out over the rolling sky.

Ruby had come to expect this, certain it was the old woman's semblance. That's not to say that it didn't still terrify her. "I get it, you know everything. Can we start?"

The old woman gave a melancholy smile, turning to look at Ruby, "No. We won't be training today."

Ruby's heart felt like it would jump from her chest at the relief. They had never once cancelled their morning training.

"You need to hurry back to your apartment. You have guests," the words came softly almost as if she were saying something Ruby should already know.

Ruby's face twisted in confusion, not sure why this warranted cancelling their training, "It's probably just Haziq, but I don't mind cancelling."

The old woman spun around, gracefully leaping to her feet, "Foolish girl! Since when have they ever delivered you a letter in the middle of the night?"

Ruby paled at the sudden change of tone, trying to figure out what the old woman was playing at, "They leave me letters all the time, it's not unusual for me to take a few hours to respond."

"Yes, you fool, but not in the dark of night. Yet you ignored the damned thing! I told you to turn down Haziq months ago. You should have left that damn boy where he was!" the woman stormed at Ruby now.

"Haziq? I don't…"

"The nephew, the one you pulled out of that drug den months ago. The one who would have died an overdose, if not for you playing the hero," the old woman had gone cold and venomous now, standing mere inches from Ruby, "This is a mistake you can't run from Ruby Rose."

Ruby felt her blood run cold, she should have known. Nothing was a secret from the old woman, but this felt like something else entirely. It was as if the woman had looked straight through her soul. Ruby twisted her face in anger, not bothering to reply as she stormed off.

As she left the old woman quickly returned to her impassive calm, letting her mouth twist into a vicious smirk, "Time to get started indeed."

Ruby wanted to calmly walk off, and she did, for a time. Despite her desire to appear in control Ruby found her pace increasing with each step, until she was in a dead sprint. As much as she hated the old woman, she couldn't help but admit that she was somehow always right. The only time the woman's words had fallen hollow was in regards to a job she had done for Haziq almost six months prior.

Her running route brought her about ten miles every morning, but the direct route was a rather short trip. Despite her training, and excellent physical condition Ruby found herself sweating profusely by the time she was half way back. She couldn't fathom what was coming, but a feeling in her gut told her it was bad. A feeling that increased with another twist in her gut with each corner she rounded.

Finally, she rounded the last corner into the hallway of her apartment. It was clear at once that something was amiss. If she got a visit from the Wardens it was always Haziq, sometimes accompanied by Daud. The sight that greeted her was a half dozen goons standing around outside her door. Uncertain of what to expect, Ruby approached with measured steps, trepidation running through her. Within a few steps, she was noticed, the goons standing upright to face her, from where they were leaning against the walls. Ruby began to curl her fingers, readying her aura and semblance for a fight.

"Ruby!" Hazique shouted, stepping out of her open doorway, "Where the hell have you been? You didn't even open the letter!"

Ruby allowed herself to relax slightly, coming to the realization that the men hadn't sought her out for malicious reasons, "N..no, I had shit to do. Did you go in my fucking room?"

Hazique seemed at a loss for words a moment, seemingly torn between fear and the urgency that had brought him, "Ah...well,yes. It's not important. There's an emergency, hurry and clean yourself up, you look," his nose scrunched up as Ruby got closer, "and smell like shit."

"What emergency Hazique? I swear to god, if it's your cousin again.." the exasperation clear in Ruby's voice as she rolled her eyes.

"No! Ruby, you must hurry, Sadun is waiting for you. Has been waiting all morning!" Hazique spat out as he did his best to usher Ruby into her apartment.

Ruby felt her gut twist again, at the mention of Sadun. This was serious, "Shit!" Ruby slammed her door as she tore her clothes off, grabbing the letter to see if it contained any further information.

COME SEE ME IMMEDIATELY

HAZIQUE

Ruby rolled her eyes in frustration, quickly getting in the shower, the water running cold over her skin. In a matter of minutes she was dressed, wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and jacket; hair still dripping from the shower. Exiting her apartment to the Wardens waiting on her, Ruby set off with them toward the heart of Hatra.

The Wardens had countless offices set up throughout Hatra. Most were simple and poorly furnished, meant as places to run local operations out of. If someone were to mention a Warden office it would be almost impossible to know which one they were talking about. Hatra covered six square miles of land, with most of the buildings having somewhere around one hundred floors. By Ruby's estimation the entire city was around six hundred square miles of land. With the countless small breaks between buildings, and renovations it was impossible to know for certain. Regardless, she was certain that it was a massive area.

There was one office in the city however, that no one got confused. That was the Heart of Hatra. A rather melodramatic name, in Ruby's opinion, but unarguably fitting. Nestled in the centermost structure, and encompassing the top twenty floors, sat the primary operation center for the Wardens. This particular visit was only Ruby's second, and she wasn't any more eager than the first. She was taken to the eighty-second floor directly, without any stops along the way.

Ruby had noticed how in movies and comic books the villain would always be at the top floor, or nestled in a basement. The reality was a bit different. There were no basements here in Hatra, and no one wanted to be that close to the ground. It was too easy a target. The same could be said for the top floor. The building itself sat at a total of ninety-two floors, making it shorter than the surrounding buildings, and thus almost impossible to land on it. Ruby knew enough to know that she was at the heart of an nigh impenetrable, or depending on your viewpoint, inescapable fortress.

She found herself escorted to a set of ornate wooden doors, intricately carved patterns breaking up the dark face of the wood. The lush hallway leading to them, lined with guards, like suits of armor in a medieval castle. As Ruby approached a set of guards opened the doors. They had no need to knock, Sadun likely already informed that she was on her way.

The room itself looked entirely out of place in a city like Hatra. Instead of the prevailing theme of dilapidated and creepy, the room was massive, and elaborately decorated. Rich wooden furniture was strewn about, covered with thick velvet cushioning. The carpet was so thick that it sank beneath her feet. Only one corner of the room was actually set up like an office, with a massive wooden desk, but lacking the customary chairs.

The way the room was set up spoke more of who Sadun was, than the lavish decoration itself. If Sadun was speaking to you from behind his desk, you weren't in a position to be sitting down. If you were, he would invite you to sit across from him on one of the couches in the opposite corner. Just as he had invited Ruby to the last time she was here, just as she was hoping he would do again today.

Sadun himself stood in the center of the room leaning on a simple dark wooden cane, matching his furniture. The man had dark skin, and darker hair with streaks of gray running through it. At one point in time his eyes would have likely been described as a vibrant yellow. For at least as long as Ruby had known him, she would describe them as a dull amber, sitting in sunken sockets. He did not dress elaborately, as one might expect. He instead wore cream colored slacks, and a white polo shirt, with the only jewelry being a single gold ring he wore on his left hand. He was quite the opposite of what one would expect in a man of his station.

"Miss Ruby, please have a seat. We have much to discuss," he spoke softly, gesturing for her to sit on the couch near the door.

'That's certainly a good sign,' Ruby thought, not sitting but instead approaching the man to shake his hand, "Sadun, I would say it's a pleasure to see you again, but something tells me this visit won't be much more pleasant than our last meeting."

As Ruby sat, Sadun mirrored her, leaning his weight on his cane. Inwardly Ruby laughed at the fake crutch. She had figured out on her first visit that the man had no need of a cane. It was just another part of the image he crafted for his people. The simple clothes, the cane, the soft spoken manner, if the fierce loyalty of his people, and the admiration of most of Hatra was anything to judge by, it worked.

Sadun frowned at Ruby's words, "No, unfortunately you are quite right. I will make this quick though," he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be an impacted bullet and casing, "Do you know what this is Miss Ruby."

Ruby leaned in, taking a closer look as Sadun set the items on the rich wooden table between them. Ruby knew what they were of course, the question was what exactly they were. Ruby picked the bullet and casing up and looked closer, "Spent round, 45. caliber ball round, Mistrali produced, based on the marking on the casing." Ruby knew you couldn't get ammo like that here. Sadun, forbid the sale of anything above a 9mm round, and only hollow points at that. He didn't want bullets ricocheting and going through walls. It was an interesting place to draw the line when it came to illicit arms sales, but better than none. Mistrali produced was strange too. Nothing from that far away made it to Hatra.

"This was brought from outside Hatra. Unlikely it was sold here either. Not much profit left after bringing ammo this far." Ruby continued to list off what little she could deduce from the single bullet. She guessed there was probably some foreigner causing trouble that Sadun would want dealt with. It wasn't going to be her easiest job, but she'd had worse. As she continued to ponder the thing her mind froze, 'But why am I here? Why didn't someone else bring this to me?'

The words of the old woman echoed through her head, leaving Ruby terrified of whatever Sadun would tell her next, 'You should have left that damn boy where he was!'

"The same things I have managed to figure out," Sadun's voice small and weary, "This," he punctuated letting silence fill the room for a moment, taking a shaky breath, "this bullet…was used to kill my nephew last night."