A certain fury and rage had remained deep within her, undeniably in presence and strength that she didn't bother trying to ignore or bury, even as she was finally cut loose from her home of the last five and a half years. A grudge she didn't bother attempting to rid herself of or move on from during both the trials or her time behind bars, the latter of which could've been avoided entirely and the former which could've been an easy win, if her so-called "friends" hadn't left her out to dry as they had. Her hatred of them only continued to fester in prison, not that they seemed to care, never once having tried to meet her or even start a correspondence. No, why would they, after all, the whole reason she was behind bars for so long was because they refused to come forward with her alibi, one that was quite fool-proof, she might've added, given the night and exact time of the crime she was jailed for she'd been with all seven of them outside the city on an off-the-books mission, ending the conspiracy once and for all with the death of Cinder Fall.
She still had to wonder just why they'd left her out to dry as they had, but she supposed it hardly mattered anymore, she was out now, and had all of zero prospects. Initially she'd tried to just find some measure of legitimate work, but the reputation of that crime she was indicted for followed her everywhere she went, and because of that, any interviews she'd arrived for usually ended just after she'd given her name or if they'd recognized her face. It was infuriating, to say the least, and even her own family in her father and uncle seemed to opt to keep their distance from her, and of course her sister was no-contact, given she was one of her old "friends" that didn't give her alibi. At the current point, she could only see two options, neither of which being particularly appealing to her. Still, anything seemed more appealing than being homeless after six months out of jail with nowhere to go.
Her first option was to work as a prostitute, given some pimp in Vale's red light district had approached her first while she was just trying to pass through, and offered her a job despite recognizing her. It was not an appealing job prospect, and if she were being perfectly honest, she felt as though she'd rather take any other opportunity before looking towards prostitution as a way to make money and survive. That being said, of course, her only other prospective work at this point was... not very appealing either, but she supposed she'd at least keep her dignity.
A life of crime, not that she even knew where or how to start, but the thought of being a career criminal was more appealing a thought than that of a career prostitute. Despite her lack of general knowledge however, she did at least know who would have that kind of information, and had spent these last two months of homelessness tracking him down. It was difficult without any available resources, but she'd managed, finally tracking down the address of Roman Torchwick. She wasn't sure how he'd managed it, but the man managed to get all his files wiped completely off the government systems, completely erasing his entire criminal record and allowing him to somewhat walk free, now supposedly living on the straight and narrow while living a quiet life in downtown Vale. She didn't buy this for a second, of course, she knew him well enough to know that even if he wasn't directly involved in crime anymore there was no way he wouldn't have kept at least one foot partway in the game.
Stepping up onto the wooden patio of the two story house Torchwick called his home, she turned her eyes left and right, taking in the environment with a small squint in her eyes. This was a suburb on the outskirts of the city, a small neighborhood with maybe twenty houses with direct access back onto the main road, and seemed to reside around the lower-to-middle class area as far as wealth and development went, though that was of course still markedly better than places such as Vine Street where most of the city's Gangs resided. Roman's house was around the middle of this neighborhood, the area having a mostly straight layout with no off-shooting branches and just a single lane directing in either direction. It was a nice enough house, she supposed, though she couldn't help but feel as though she would've expected Roman to get something a little more high-end than what she was currently standing before. A simple house, standard construction for the area, nothing that made it stand out from the others in the neighborhood aside from maybe the steel security door in front of the normal wooden one that came with the house by default.
Sighing lowly as she identified the doorbell's location, she looked herself up and down before trying to ring the bell, sneering slightly at the fact that all she'd really managed to cobble together was an old wifebeater that was torn off just slightly beneath the breasts, a black skirt, and some sneakers. Legitimately, these along with some ill-fitting undergarments and socks from prison were all she had to her name. She was dirty, beat up, bruised, her hair was unkempt, and by all means she just looked exhausted, not having gotten a lick of sleep in the last two and a half days now. Hardly presentable as she might've been, there really wasn't much she could do about that right now, and jumping in the canal wasn't really an option at the moment. With a shrug of her shoulders, she stepped forward and pressed the doorbell button, looking up to the camera in the corner and giving it a middle finger before speaking.
"Fuck you Roman, you gonna answer the door or what?" She spoke in a mildly annoyed manner, before raising a brow as she heard his voice emerge from a speaker right beside the door.
"Had a feeling you'd find your way here eventually, Red. Either that, or I'd have found you in a brothel sooner." She couldn't help but roll her eyes as he spoke this, before perking up slightly as she heard the doors unlock. "Doors open, if you got any mud on your shoes, leave em' at the door."
A shrug escaped her as she opened up the twin doors and slipped out of her sneakers inside, setting them on the tile just beside the doormat before looking up and seeing Roman at the top of the stairs giving her an inquisitive look. Rolling her neck out, Ruby stretched in place for a few seconds before finally making her way upstairs, halting at the top and maintaining about a meter of space between herself and Torchwick, locking eyes for a moment before the man started to chuckle lightly, turning around and beckoning her to follow with a gesture over his shoulder.
"So. Only two reasons you'd be here, and something tells me one of them is much less likely than the other." He'd led her into one of a couple bedrooms, this one he was evidently enough using as a sort of office space. There was a decent computer setup with a security station adjacent to it that held several monitors, one for each camera in and around the house, all on a closed system that she imagined he'd ensured couldn't be remotely hacked. "I'm thinking, you either wanna tell me off one last time and swear you'll find some incriminating evidence against me, OR, you're looking for work. Tell me, which is it, little red?"
"Well firstly, it's Ruby, and with how my height and my *ahem* has developed over these last now six years, I don't think "little" is an accurate term anymore." Ruby groaned in a somewhat exasperated and tired manner, gesturing to her height and chest that had developed, the former of which having since leveled out at around 5'7" and the latter settled at a K cup. "Secondly... I need to make some dough, and all legitimate workplaces and companies immediately turn me away once they either hear my name or recognize my face. Figured you could either give me some work or hook me up with someone who needs a hand."
"Hah! Ah, so my old goody two-shoes pursuer is now looking for a life of crime, is that is? Oh, this is just too good!" Roman bellowed as he plopped down at his computer, but his laughter was somewhat short-lived as he looked her up and down and frowned slightly. "Strip."
"W-What the fuck?!. I-I'm not a fuckin-"
"Shut up, and just do it. There's a bin next to you, put your items in and close the lid. I can't guarantee I won't get a boner, but the purpose of this is quite important, I assure you." Roman spoke quickly, motioning with his hand for her to shut her mouth, before gesturing with the same hand for her to get on with it. Though hesitant, Ruby eventually complied, blushing a blood-red shade of red as she removed every article of clothing and tossing everything inside the bin, and closing it as instructed. "Alright, now stand still, one last thing I need to do."
He approached her with device that scanned with a green light and had a blue screen on the user's side, running it around her head, waving it beside her ears and around her private areas, before stepping away and setting the device down, a satisfied nod of the head emerging as he looked at the results that came from a computer she could now see the bin she'd put her clothes in was plugged into. Turning back to her, Roman nodded and gestured for her to open it back up and redress, something Ruby very eagerly did as she hated the feeling of being nude in front of anyone, even more so one of her old enemies.
"I was scanning for trackers, listening devices, anything that could be used to incriminate me. You wouldn't have been the first to attempt a sting operation on me since my records got scrubbed." He explained curtly, before running a few things on his computer, finally turning back around to her and crossing his arms. He'd allowed her enough time to redress before looking at her again, opting for eye-contact as he wanted this relationship to remain strictly professional. "So. You wanna make some money, eh?"
"Yeah, that is what I said. I don't really care what the work is, as long as I'm not a prostitute, whore or stripper. You know I'm good with a gun, too, if anyone needs a shooter." Ruby explained, resting her hands on her waist and cocking her hips to the side, her eyes kept forward as she focused on the man in front of her.
"Well, let's get some things straight, alright? I don't care how good I know you WERE at shooting people. It's been the better part of six years since you've held a gun, and there's a lot more to crime than just shooting people if you aren't an idiot. Additionally, no, I don't have any work for you specifically. I simply don't know if I can trust you yet, for all I know, this is just another elaborate sting operation. Besides, I ain't a criminal, y'know. Everything I say and do, it's all inference and observation."
"Please!" Ruby suddenly pleaded, bringing a fist up to her chest, her eyes suddenly brimming with tears and teeth clenched hard as she tried to stop herself from crying or panicking. "Please... it's either this or sex work. I don't want to be a whore or prostitute, this is my only other option..."
"Look... I'll make a call, see if an... acquaintance of mine has any work for you. From what I've heard, he runs a delivery service in Vine Street. Dangerous work running packages there, what with all the gangs, but hey, if it pays and isn't sex work then it's enough, right?" She couldn't help but frantically nod her head in affirmation, desperate not to blow this last chance she had at her disposal. "Alright, I'll make a few calls, call in a few small favors. Your license should still be valid, from what I've pulled up, at least. You'll need a car, a gun, and a mask since you won't want any of the gangs recognizing a face and holding a grudge, and should at least have a way to defend yourself and a method to get from A to B quickly."
"Th-thank you! Thank you... I-I really-"
"Don't say anything about it. As far as anyone is concerned, the car was an anonymous gift, and you purchased a firearm out of your own pocket because you felt unsafe on the streets, got it?" She nodded once in confirmation, prompting Roman to stand up from his chair and lead her out the door. She slipped her sneakers back on before stepping out, but scraped any gunk off in the rocks beside the driveway before hopping in the car with new benefactor. After all, the last thing she wanted was to irritate her new benefactor by tracking mud into his car...
Their first stop was the auto dealership, albeit a somewhat fishy one. Roman explained to her that the owner of this dealership made a lot of money from repossessions and some other questionably-legal activities, but both he and the dealership owner emphasized that he wouldn't be interested on taking her on for any work until she had a better resume to look at. It was fine enough by her, and she got well enough that they were more talking about criminal experience than actual working experience, all she needed for the time being was a car and a full tank, which was provided to her without complication. No payment, she owned the car, a small, low-end white sedan that had nothing really standing out about it besides some decent gas mileage and a pretty good gas tank, capacity-wise. She understood this was a small favor Roman had called in, and that he hadn't gotten her anything particularly unique or expensive, just something cheap and reliable.
The next stop wasn't much more exciting, but it was much more illegal. A mobile gun truck shop. Sold guns and ammo at a discount from the normal shops, but it had no serial number and there wasn't any receipts or anything like that, nothing to trace. Most of the weapons were extremely expensive, but this guy also supposedly owed Roman a few favors, she she was hooked up with a simple .45 caliber pistol, a three 12 round magazines, and three boxes of 24 rounds. 72 cartridges in total, she'd have enough to reload each of her mags once, or enough to reload one magazine three times. It wasn't a particularly grand amount of ammo, but it was more than she remembered carrying for Crescent Rose back in the day, though these rounds were much smaller and lighter. She was at the very least sure that if she needed to fight and possibly kill someone, or even a small handful of someones, it would be sufficient.
Final stop was a clothing store, where Roman was kind enough to give her 300 lien for clothing and a mask. He didn't enter with her, and he'd given her pretty strict instructions on what kind of items to get. First a mask that concealed her face, a hat she could tuck her hair into as well, followed by gloves and finally a decent jacket. She had some leftover funds, so Ruby got herself a white tee shirt, black track pants, some plain white undergarments that actually fit, a new pair of socks, and a new pair of shoes that, like the new bra and panties, actually fit. For the mask she got a black and white bandana, her hat was a simple black baseball cap with a white bill and front. Plain black working gloves, and a black track jacket. She had a few dollars left over, so she got herself a few candy bars from the counter, eating one before walking out and stuffing the rest in the left pocket of her jacket.
With all the immediate purchases made, the duo finally made their way into Vine Street, gang territory. Unfamiliar grounds overall to Ruby but she supposed that outside of walking up to a house today, it was keeping up with the trend of unfamiliar territory. It was only a few short minutes of travel once they'd entered the area until they'd pulled up to a motel situated right beside a gas station and convenience store... and of course a brothel right across the street. Wouldn't be a hood without at least one of those around, she supposed, but shook the thought off as she followed Roman into the Motel. It was set up as a sort of square, two stories with a set of stair leading up to the second floor walkways at the entrances at either side, both gated with chain fence albeit at the far end it opened up to an alleyway as opposed to a parking lot and reception room.
"Alright Red, time for you to meet my "acquaintance." He's part of the Ringers and handles delivery services, They call him Garett. He agreed to take you on for a job to see if you're worth anything, so make a good impression, maybe he'll have some more work for you." Ruby just nodded in understanding, following behind Roman as he spoke and stepping out from behind him as he knocked on the door so that her employer could get a good look at her. It was silent for a few seconds that felt so long to her, but eventually the man that Roman had mentioned answered the door, or at least she assumed it was the man. He was a dark skinned man of a somewhat bulky build, wore a green shirt and black slacks as well as a green baseball cap with a mesh backside, his look was finished off by a dark stubble covering his jaw and encircling his mouth. "Ah, punctual as always. Been too long, eh Garett?"
"Yo, good seein' you again dawg. This the one you was talkin about?" His voice was deep and somewhat husky, but easy enough to understand. Roman just chuckled slightly, before slapping Ruby on the back and smacking her yelp slightly as he nudged her forward.
"That's right. She was a good shot last I met her six years ago. Take it you recognize her?"
"Yeah, we heard about all that. You know how risky taking on a Huntress is, even if they never graduated or are in her situation?" Garett's declaration brought a small internal groan to Ruby as she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Her arrest over half a decade ago made her unemployable on the legit side of things, and her history as a huntress in training made her difficult to trust in the criminal world. Still she supposed she should at least be thankful they were giving her a chance at all, it was more than anyone on the legit side of the fence gave her.
"Y'know, you'd have a point if she hadn't went to prison. You know how they treat Hunters that "fall from grace?" It isn't pretty, I'll tell you that." Roman laughed lightly, before patting Ruby on the shoulder and giving her a slight shake. "So, Red, why don't you tell us about your time in? Clear the air a little bit."
"Hunters whether they're graduated or not are stripped of all human rights and legal protections while serving their sentence, and are exclusively thrown into maximum security prisons regardless of their sentence or crime. They'll only ever be put in with male inmates who are informed that the only thing they can't do to Hunters who "fall from grace" is kill them. The average time it takes previously mentally-well Hunters to commit suicide while serving their sentence is six months, six days if they're female. Doesn't help that you're punished if you try to defend yourself, if a male inmate tries to force himself on a Huntress that's fallen from grace, the girl is expected to just take it, if they try to fight back, prison guards will assist with the act before dragging them out to one of the pillories in the yard for public use, not that can't just drag them out for the same purpose whenever they want, reason or none. If you're a woman and finally reach the end of your sentence like I somehow did, they'll extend it by a day to have one last day of "fun" for all the men in the prison before tossing you out the door with nothing but a bag underwear. Don't even have the courtesy of letting you have a shower before they toss you out." Ruby described, shivering slightly as she remembered her stay in, a stay that never really calmed down her entire sentence. "Oh, finally, they're barred from ever doing federal or hunter work, may not join any national or private militaries, militias, or law enforcement groups, and are forbidden from speaking of the leaving conditions in any capacity. Any discussion of time or conditions behind bars, detailing what I am right now, or committing any crime again for Hunters that have "fallen from grace" is considered an act of terrorism, and punishable strictly by life under the same previous conditions in the case of females, public execution for males... Oh, and before I forget, we're stripped of our semblance when we arrive in the prison."
Both Garett and Roman initially weren't listening too much, but started staring as she got passed the first sentence, somewhat slack-jawed with a disturbed expression that became more and more obvious the further Ruby described the conditions. A sort of awkward silence dominated the space for about a minute, with Garett tugging uncomfortably at his collar and Roman scratching the back of his head in an awkward manner, both while Ruby just shuffled in place, idly wondering if she'd just blown her only shot at this line of work. Another minute of silence was only broken by Roman clearing his throat to carry on with the job.
"Erm... Well, I never knew it was actually THAT bad, but ah... Shit. I'll have to get one of the guys with a truth validating semblance to get you to say all that again some day, but if even half that is true... god damn. If the latter bit of all that is true, then you just became a domestic terrorist by telling us all that, huh?" Roman breathed out heavily with wide eyes, before looking back and forth and patting Ruby on the back in a noticeably more gentle manner than before. "Alright, let's just move on... Garett, you said you'd have a job for her?"
"...huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, there's some Trident gang bustas over in North Westbrook at the rec center. They got some deal underway, small-time, just a handful of foos buyin overpriced stock from a couple of bustas. Break up that deal and bring the goods back to me, any thing else you grab there is all yours... and make sure you lose any heat if the cops show up... in your case more for you than for me. I can take goin to jail awhile, but your punishment gon be way worse gurl... payment will be based on the condition of the goods and how quick you can get it done." Garett described the mission, receiving an affirmative nod from Ruby as she turned around and started making way back to her car. However, just as she heard the door click shut, she felt Roman grab her shoulder.
"Hey, be careful. You can't zip in and out of the fray like you used to, and I'm willing to bet your aura is magnitudes weaker now, too. Sure, theirs will only take two or three shots to break, but you're just as fragile while packing less heat than they'll likely be carrying, and with your figure being as obvious as it is even through the baggy clothes, they aren't gonna be shooting to kill. Timing is a factor for a bonus but that bonus is meaningless if you can't even finish the job. Slow and steady, play it carefully, and don't do anything stupid... and maybe, just maybe, you won't get dragged off to some Trident Gang loser's basement." She rolled her eyes at the latter part but gave him a thumbs-up nonetheless in appreciation of the warning, before stepping through the gate and hopping into the sedan. Ruby of course didn't intend on being dragged off to some loser's goon cave, but she resolved in her mind to heed his advice and proceed with caution nonetheless...
Ruby opted to put the mask over her face and tuck her hair into the hat before arrival, which was easier said than done given it had grown out so long in prison and she hadn't gotten a haircut yet. Nevertheless, she found the deal going on on a basketball court at midnight, and she pulled up along the sidewalk of an adjacent building, moving up along the wall to get a proper angle on the group. Three buyers, four dealers, four more guys hanging by the couple lowriders they'd clearly driven there. Eleven hostiles overall, not ideal, it'd be easy for them to overpower her if she just went in guns blazing. She had to either play this fight smart, or she had to shock them enough with her audacity to give her a long enough opening to exploit.
She bided her time for a few moments, watching the deal play out and looking for anything that could be used to her advantage. Her eyes eventually settled of a forklift beside the four lowriders that had an exterior propane tank, close enough together that if she shot it a few times and detonated it, there'd surely be a pretty substantial chain reaction. A chain reaction that would potentially kill or maim the four guys by the lowriders, and shock the others long enough to rush in and put most or all of them out of commission before they could put forward a proper response.
With her mind made up, Ruby leaned out from behind the corner and let off a trio of shots towards the propane tank in quick succession, cringing as the first two shots missed the mark, but made up for the scuffed skills with the third shot flying true and detonating the tank. A decently large ball of flames exploded out around the forklift, consuming one of the lowriders and the ganger sitting on its' hood, followed shortly after with the following detonations from the lowriders' gas tanks following suit. Smirking from the lightshow she'd caused, Ruby rolled around the corner, her satisfaction deepening as the seven still in the middle of the court had turned in their shock towards the explosions.
Charging in, Ruby popped off a shot at each of the seven guys remaining, aiming for center mass as she quickly recognized she'd lost much of her edge from the first trio of shots, putting a second shot into the two with SMGs. She couldn't help but cringe slightly as she watched them fall down, but instead of reloading with her last mag, she shoved the pistol into her pant pocket and yanked the SMG out of one of the thugs' hands, spraying him and the other SMG holder down with a stream of bullets before throwing herself back and rolling over her shoulder, narrowly dodging return fire from some of the other thugs trying to pick themselves back up and snapping the gun towards them and dumping out the rest of the magazine while sweeping the SMG back and forth. She didn't know if she killed them, but she knew they were down for the moment, and that she needed to pounce on the opportunity.
Tossing the empty SMG back towards her car, Ruby noticed a short barreled pump action shotgun with no stock fall out of one of the thugs' hands, and two bundles of hard cash from one of the buyers', so moved in quick to scoop those up alongside the package she'd been sent to collect, or rather packages, in this case. Three bricks of a white substance wrapped in a clear plastic wrapping, and collecting the three bricks into her arms quickly revealed them to each weigh about a kilogram. With that done, she fired her shotgun one-handed towards the only ganger that was trying to get back up, putting him down with finality before stuffing her jacket's inside pockets with the bundles of cash and rushing off back towards her car. Wordlessly, she tossed the guns into the passenger seat she'd left open for a speedy getaway, and the plastic-wrapped white bricks through the open back seat window. Shutting the passenger side door, Ruby slid over the roof of her sedan and threw herself into the driver's seat, idly thanking her foresight not to turn the car off as she slammed the door shut and sped away from the scene.
She'd spent a few moments familiarizing herself with the camera layouts of the area, and had parked her car in a blind spot since she didn't want anyone connecting her license plate to the crime. She figured it would pay off, just as she figured the speed with which she'd executed the crime would, but she didn't hold her breath. She was hoping she'd be lucky here, but as lady luck had seemingly long since smiled on her, she wasn't counting on it.
However, after a few minutes of normalcy, and noticing she was almost at the motel without even an iota of chase or resistance on the way back, Ruby couldn't help but find her breath caught up in her throat. She knew none of the gangers saw her vehicle, she'd kept it out of their sight, and she was fairly certain nobody was watching her, but it just felt so... unlikely, that she'd get away so easily like this. However, as she pulled into the alley behind the motel, she killed the engine and lights, sunk back in her seat, and waited for a few minutes.
After waiting about ten minutes, Ruby finally released a large breath, and slid back upright in her seat. Looking back at the bricks, she noted they looked to be in effectively perfect condition, there wasn't even any scuff marks on the plastic from when it was dropped on the ground. A deep sigh of relief escaped her as she exited the car and looked around for cameras or wandering eyes, but she stopped in her tracks as she heard a deep chuckle come from the motel's gated alleyway entrance.
"Hey, no cameras in this alley, I make sure of it. You got the package?" Garett asked as he opened up the gate, drawing a quick nod from Ruby as she stepped around her car and opened up the rear door on his side, revealing the three bricks. This seemed to surprise him, as he perked up slightly before gesturing for her to hold on a moment while he disappeared back around the corner. A moment later, he stepped back out with a small duffel bag, collecting the three bricks into the bag before giving her an appreciative nod. "I thought they was only dealin' weed today, usually just one bundle too. You brought me three bricks of way more valuable shit, I appreciate that."
"Uhm... a-and my payment?" Ruby couldn't help but stammer, drawing a muted chuckle from Garett as he beckoned her to follow him.
"Collect your guns before following, don't want any wandering bozos walking through the alleys noticing the stolen guns, they might recognize them and connect you to what ya just did." Ruby rushed to collect her weapons, holding the empty SMG in one hand and the yet unpumped shotgun in the other, before following Garett inside the motel, then into his room on the second floor. It was a quaint room, but she could also see that one of the walls was knocked down to allow him access to the adjacent room, the door into it being boarded up on both sides and the curtains drawn over all the windows. A quick glimpse around the room showed it to at least be well-organized, with bricks of various different substances stacked neatly on their own dedicated shelves, a large safe likely filled to the brim with weapons in one corner, and another that she imagined might've been used to stow valuables like hard cash and the sort. Everything else about the room however was mostly just the expected. A bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, the works. "Thanks again for bringing me that coke. I was planning on paying you like 30% of what I'd be able to sell it for, 40% if you were fast. If it had been weed you were bringing me, you'd maybe looking at 1,000 to 1,400 lien right now... But shit dawg, Cocaine is way more valuable, and you was still fast about it."
"O-oh... Ah... S-so I did good then?"
"Shit dawg, did you do good? I was expecting to only make like 3,000 lien tops from this, but I can easily turn this shit around for 80,000. I dunno about you, but I think that quantifies as "good" in my book, gurl!" He laughed lightly, before punching in the code on his safe and sifting through the inside contents. After about a minute, he turned back, and set the payout on the table in a black duffel bag. "32,000 lien, all yours. Now look, there's a keycard here as well, a room key. Room 216, I got a gut feeling you'll be good luck for me, so I might as well keep you close in case I need anything, got it?"
Ruby was struck dead silent for a few moments by the sight of so much money, but shook it off and nodded frantically in understanding, quickly scooping out the key and collecting the duffel bag. With a short moment to stammer out her thanks, Ruby rushed out and towards her new room. In a flurry of motions, she fumbled the keycard a few times but did finally manage to stick it in the door, frantically opening it up, stepping inside and shutting the door, locking it behind her before turning to take in her new room with a gasp.
A twin-sized bed with grey covers and a white pillow, a bedside table with a lamp on it, a fan with an overhead light, an old, bulky analog TV on the TV stand just ahead of the bed, a small dining room with kitchenette and all, a washer and dryer for her clothes, a closet for clothing that already had a few towels in it, and finally, a bathroom with a small shower. It was all a little cramped, but it was several magnitudes larger than her prison cell, and many, many times more comfortable than the alleyways she'd been sleeping in. Without even the slightest hesitation, Ruby stripped down to nothing and hopped in the shower, yelping slightly as warm water struck her skin for the first time since before her arrest and incarceration just over half a decade ago.
A low, long, drawn out and trembling sigh escaped her lips as she stood in the stream of warm water, not too hot as she'd long since acclimated to the cold water of rain and prison showers. Gritting her teeth, she couldn't help but sink down to her knees, and silently weep, albeit this time not for reasons of trauma. Despite wearing a face that spoke of pain and agony, some small, soft laughter emerged from her lips as her breathing became heavier and heavier, her ample chest rising and falling with each and every time she'd inhale and exhale, her heart clinging onto every moment of this pleasant sensation.
"God... Damnit... F-fuck... Fucking finally..." She breathed out heavily, eyes drifting down towards the filth washing off her at long last. Sweat, dirt, grime, and long, long dried bodily fluid that used to be white which she'd thought she'd cleaned off several times now, all of it slipped down into the drain mingled with water and her own tears as they flowed down her face. Tears of pain and suffering alongside those of happiness and relief as this much seemed like she'd finally caught a breath, even if she had no idea how long this would last.
Regardless, she vowed to herself that she wouldn't blow this chance, and that she'd rather kill herself than go back to prison of find herself someone's plaything ever again. Even if her old self would've fiercely stood against what she was now, she didn't care, she was just doing what she needed to to survive at this point. She was still alive, still fighting for her life, and that's all that mattered to her anymore... as well of course, as turning enough of a profit to live her life comfortably. That was of course one of the main goals of most career criminals, she figured, to be able to retire early some day and never have to work a day again in their life.
It was only about an hour later that she'd turned off the water, having eventually stood herself back up and taken to scrubbing herself off with the soap and scrub provided with the room. It seemed like the entire time, out until what seemed the last five minutes, she'd watched filth scrape, scrub and rub off and disappear into the drain, baffling her somewhat at just how filthy she actually was. Between the aged spunk of men she didn't know, dirt, grime and her own sweat, she could only wonder just how bad she must've truly smelled, and wondered how it was possible she'd become as blind as she was to it, but nevertheless, she was clean now, and as she killed the water, dried off and wrapped the towel around her breasts, she looked in the mirror and smiled as it seemed to her she'd at least retained the looks she had back in Beacon, if notably more mature now. She didn't look like the bubbly, innocent little girl she used to be, now she actually looked like she was in her early twenties, a look she felt looked good for her.
However, just as she was about to lay down on her bed after stepping out of the bathroom, she heard someone ring the doorbell. A low sigh escaped her lips, but she understood if it was Garett having more work for her, any rest would have to wait. So, with a low grumble, she stood upright again and approached the doo, opening it up and coming face to face with someone she didn't recognize. A coyote faunas that was maybe five or so inches taller than herself, looking to be about 6 foot, even, and of relatively average build. He had short and choppy ash blonde hair, fair skin, and blue eyes... as well as a lecherous, almost cheshire cat grin about him as he looked her up and down.
"Woah! Last couple girls Garett let use this room looked like total skanks, but holy shit, you're a god damn knockout!" The man chuckled, eyes glued to her breasts despite Ruby giving him a rather intense glare.
"Any reason you're bothering me? I was hoping to get some sleep, haven't gotten any in days." Her tone made it clear she was irritated and annoyed in equal measure, but he just chuckled and pulled up his wallet.
"Only people who use this room are girls that Garret's brought on. If nobody's home, no overhead lights above the door, if there's one person, it's a green light, but orange if there's multiple. He only puts up prostitutes here, so I was hoping for a night. Thought he would've explained that to ya when he brought ya on, he usually does?"
"What? What the fuck are you talking about? Garett gave me this room because I'm running jobs for him, not because I'm sleeping with people for his profit."
"Oh! Sweet, then he won't be mad if you talk 100% of the profits! Sounds like you got a good deal!" he cheered, giving her a thumbs-up despite the dead-panned expression she was giving him.
"I'm not a prostitute, you know. Go to the Brothel or something, but leave me alone." Ruby told him off, before trying to close the door, albeit not before he could jam his boot inside to stop her from closing it.
"Not even for 300 lien?"
"No. Not even for 300 lien. You'd have to pay me equal to what I just got paid for this last job for me to even think about it." Ruby rejected him coldly, hoping he'd take the hint and back off. Alas, he seemed to be persistent enough to continue.
"Well, how much did he pay you?"
"50,000." Ruby bullshit him with the payout, hoping to scare him off with her pricing point. However, her pupils only shrunk as he pulled double what she'd just bullshitted him for from the wallet.
"100,000 for a 12-12?" His cheeky grin said it all, but Ruby paused for just a moment, honestly considering the offer. She really didn't want to sell herself, but she wasn't expecting him to actually be able to back himself up with the dough. Stammering slightly as a large blush formed over her face, she tried to call him of his bluff, obviously the money must've been counterfeit.
"H-hey, don't you know it's wrong to pay someone with counterfeits?"
"Hey, it's real dough! Go ahead, inspect it!" She took him up on the offer, knowing well how to identify counterfeits from her criminal investigation classes in Signal and Beacon, least from what time she was at the latter. Counterfeits were easy to produce, but couldn't replicate a few key things that distinguished the real deal... things that these bills were, much to her surprise, completely legitimate. Shuffling awkwardly in place for a moment, Ruby considered her options. Sure, she wasn't a prostitute or sex worker, and she didn't wanna have sex for money... but 100,000 lien was 100,000 lien, and she needed the dough. With hard cash like it was, and off the books as well, she could pay hard cash for everything and avoid a paper trail for the tax man to follow... and she could very easily live a year or two off 100,000. Still, if she could manage, she supposed she might as well try to haggle.
"F-five hundred... f-for a 12-12..." She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised, but he easily put the money forward, making her eyes widen a bit more.
"How about for that much, I getcha for the twelve hours, and a 6-12 later?"
"H-how do you even have this kind of money?!. Aren't you worried about going bankrupt or something?!."
"Hey, you're working for Garett, so you should already know the scene and kinda money us pros are looking at. Besides, I've fucked the brains outta every girl who's ever holed up in this motel since Garett acquired the place, so it's a point of pride for me... also I've ah... I was blacklisted from every brothel in the city before I got rich, so this is where I usually chase tail. So, this good enough to fuck, or you want more?" Ruby bit her lip slightly, before sighing and opening up the door, allowing him to come inside. With a devilish grin, he pushed her back, kicking the door closed behind himself and allowing it to automatically lock as it normally did if it wasn't opened with a keycard since last locking. With one hand, he swiped off Ruby's towel, throwing it aside over the analog TV and leaving Ruby completely nude, a shocked and startled expression dominating her face as she was now face-to-face with his apparent bedroom ferocity.
Before she could say a word, he'd already removed most of his clothes and tackled her onto the bed, their lips crashing together frantically for a few brief moments. Only moment's later, he flipped her onto her front and started groping her massive milkers with his right hand while his left swiftly dropped his pants down, kicking them away as they were finally off and leaving just the two of them completely bare with each other. She felt this rich stranger press his member against her slit, eyes widening as she felt his left hand wrap around her throat. Her eyes darted back beneath her, and she gulped slightly as she took in the sight of his equipment.
"Holy shit, this guy's a monster! O-Okay Rubes, it's just twelve hours, y-you've gone way longer with guys just as big in prison, and besides, it's only one guy, not the 400 plus like last time! Th-this should be a cakewalk!" She tried to reason to herself. However, it only took her partner's first thrust in to realize that not only had she never felt someone quite like this, but that it was gonna be a loooooong night if her screaming with the first thrust was any indication. Nevertheless, She had 500,000 riding on her pleasuring this man tonight and again shortly after they were done, and for that kind of money, she'd like to think she was at the very least a woman of quality...