Ruby and the Ruby 2 (7): Ruby in the Rough

Jacques ran quickly.  The bluetooth piece was stationery in a remote part of the woods.  Hammer watched the arrow that indicated himself and was soon following the path to Ruby.

Hammer then saw an open window in the corner of the screen.  It held a report that detailed the specifics of the ruby that Sizzle was after.  Evidently, the ruby was extremely rare and was made out of a rare substance that, in the typed words of Director Drake Sizzle, were "essential for Plan: Reset, the details of which are classified and only viewable by myself."

The detective finished skimming the report and clicked back to the GPS page.  He was now on top of the signal.  Moments later, he heard a crunch under his right foot and a burning sensation on the bottom of it.

Whoever made this is cool

Jacques Hammer removed his foot and saw a small, sleek, black device in shards on the ground.  The bluetooth device must have fallen out of Ruby's ear or have been taken from it and now Jacques was at a dead end.

The broken device ironically made a sizzling sound as a tiny trail of smoke grabbed for the sky.  Hammer, feeling defeated, followed its accession to the sky with droopy eyes and then saw a larger plume of smoke a short distance away.  Feeling hopeful again, he ran towards it with quiet feet.

Hammer reached the edge of small clear area in the forest which was lit by small lanterns.  There was a groan and then annoyed murmuring as he found numerous agents, mostly men, surrounding Drake Sizzle and a young, rookie agent.

"Leroy, I told you to get water......not to throw it on the fire!" Drake yelled.

"I'm sorry, sir," said the rookie, Leroy, with his head bowed.  "I.....I tripped."

Sizzle glared at him for a moment and then turned to his other agents.  "OK, people," he said, shouting, "get this fire going again!"  Sizzle left the side of the campfire and moved to the edge of the clearing, where he sat in a nice chair next to some tents, watching his employees squirm as they tried to get a fire going once again.

Hammer looked away from the camp towards a hill that stood nearby.  On it, wrapped around a large tree, Ruby stood all alone, looking down at the ground.

Jacques Hammer quietly crept up the hill, remaining covered by the line of trees.  He emerged from them when at the top of the hill, but kept to the shadows.  "Ruby!" he whispered with enthusiasm.  "Ruby, it's me!"

Ruby sighed with relief.  "Hammer!  I'm so glad to hear from you!  I was sure you would come for me!" she whispered back joyfully, while remaining a calm composure since the camp could be watching.

Hammer continued. "I'm so sorry I got you into this mess!  I thought I was doing the right thing.  What exactly happened?"

Ruby responded quickly.  "Sizzle wants my ruby for one of his plans.  The rest of the agents are innocent and are just following his orders.  He's told them that I'm a threat to society and that he needs to get the ruby I stole back.  He brought me here right after you left and he is going to keep me out here in the bitter cold until I tell him where the ruby is.  But, I'm sure he'll just throw me into the jail then."

Hammer looked down at the camp.  No one was paying any attention to the lady in the red dress; they were still distracted with the fire.  Because of this, Hammer crept out from the shadows and cut Ruby loose.  "I am so sorry for getting you into this," he said, as he gave his warm trench coat to the shivering woman.  "Now let's move."

The two fled into the trees but soon heard yelling.  "She's gone!" came the distant voice of Drake Sizzle.  "Go get that menace!" he screamed.

At this Ruby and Hammer started running even faster.  Soon, however, agents began catching up.  They began throwing things at the two and shooting bow and arrows at them.

Ruby and Hammer jumped and swerved, turning corners here and there, not caring where they were going.  Drake yelled behind them, "We will get you, Hammer......and the little girl, too!"

A few minutes later, after gaining a healthy lead over the dozen agents, Ruby and Hammer emerged from the forest and found themselves in the Town.  Hammer ran to the alley between the Coffee Shop and the Dance Club and stopped behind a trash can that smelled horrible.

"What are you doing?" asked Ruby with fierceness.  "We're going to get caught!"

Hammer panted.  "Ruby...." he said, breathing heavily,"Ruby....where is the ruby?"

Ruby looked at him and bit her lip.  "It's with me," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Can I see it?" asked Hammer, who still exhaled heavily between words.

Ruby sat down next to hammer.  She reached for the shoulder of her dress and pulled the precious ruby out from the fabric.  It had been hidden within the sparkles of the fabric, a place where no one would find it.  "You don't know how uncomfortable it was to have it sewn into my dress," Ruby said.  "That ruby's been scratching my shoulder all day!"

Hammer laughed, finally returning to a steady breathing rate.  He took the ruby from her hands and examined it in his hand.  "How important is this ruby to you?" he asked her.

Ruby looked at him.  "It's not that valuable.....sentimentally, I mean," she said.  "I bought it when I was an actress.  It's not a family heirloom, if that's what you're asking."

There was yelling and the sound of trees being disturbed.  Soon, several agents came out of the trees and found the two, surrounding them.  "Give the diamond here!" one yelled.

More agents began to come and surround them, and, soon, only Sizzle remained in the woods.

"Do you trust me?" Hammer asked Ruby, looking at her in the face.

Ruby didn't hesitate for a second.  "Yes.  Always."

Sizzle emerged from the forest and gasped as he watched Hammer slam the ruby into the cement.  The gem shattered into dust as Hammer stood to stomp on the remains.  Even Ruby, following Hammer's lead, began to finish off her prized possession.

The ruby was done for.

Hammer stopped and stood up straight.  "It's over, Sizzle!" he said, turning to the new arrival who still stood in his place some way away, shocked by the recent event.  "There's nothing either that you want from either of us now!  Let us go!"

Hammer studied Sizzle's face but nothing changed in it.  All of the agents, too, remained stationery, pointing their arrows and projectiles at the two suspects.

Hammer knew that his defense had been weak and that this speech was not going to grant them freedom.  He wracked his brain for something else....anything else...but he found nothing.

Then Ruby walked towards the agents who stood around them, blocking their escape.  She stood mere inches from their weapons.  "Sizzle!" she yelled.  "I have the receipt that proves that I own that ruby.  You have no proof that I, or my friend Jacques Hammer, have done anything wrong.  If you don't let us go peacefully, then I will make a lot of noise.  And, sir, you are not going to like what I have to say.  I will tell everyone that the PSA, our protectors, the people who are supposed to keep us safe, terrorized me, an innocent woman, for committing a crime they had no evidence to prove that I had done.  So, I suggest you let us go now without a fight if you don't want to cause a firestorm of controversy and lose your job."

Sizzle stared at the lady in the shiny dress as he made his calculations.  "Let them go," he said with distaste,  "and go and clear out the campsite."

The agents put their weapons down and left the two, retreating into the forest.  Once they were all gone, Sizzle began to walk after them, but turned back to his two adversaries before he completely left.  "Good game.  Good game," he said with hatred and then disappeared for good.

Ruby and Hammer waited for a moment and then left.  Once they were out of earshot of everyone, Hammer began to speak.  "Good job back there," he said.  "I don't think I would've made it out without you."

Hammer paused for a time and then continued.  "I'm sorry I had to destroy your ruby.  I knew that as long as it was around, Sizzle would try and find a way to get it."

Ruby nodded, a smile shown clearly on her face.  "I know, I know.  Everything is fine.  Just....thank you for everything."  She stopped for a moment and then continued.  "So, what's next for the great detective?" she asked.

"I have no clue," Hammer said.  "I don't have any other cases on the table at the moment."

Ruby's smile grew bigger.  "I know a few friends who have some mysteries that could use solving.  Are you up for it?"

Hammer allowed himself a smile.  "Thank you.  I think that would be rather nice."

The two said goodbye and parted ways.  As Hammer walked away, he reflected on the past few hours.  This case had proved to Hammer that he still was a sharp detective who could solve cases.  And, if he could piece together a complicated web like this ruby case had been, what was to stop him from solving any other case.

Things were definitely looking up.

The time was 1:26 and Jacques Hammer had some boxes to unpack at his agency.

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A short while after the rest of the agents had left with all of the camping supplies and their disgruntled boss, a young agent emerged from the forest and headed for the town.  His name was Leroy and he wanted nothing more than to make his boss proud.  However, he kept messing things up and just ended up looking like a lunatic.

Leroy stooped down in the now empty alley.  Ruby dust still coated the ground, but all of it was unuseable, he knew.  He continued looking, but found nothing.  He then proceeded to pull the garbage can from its place.

Leroy smiled.

Behind the can stood a forgotten piece of the precious jewel.  It was only a fraction of the size of the original, but Leroy knew it would do.

He giggled with delight.  This would do.  This would more than do.

The End?