Ruby Quick

August 9th 1896 was the day that Ruby Quick took her first breaths, and the day her Mother took her last. Without meaning to, on the day she was born, Ruby took her first life, which was that of her mother's. In later years, in her adult life, killing would become second nature to her, as Ruby found herself embroiled in the feud between the Lombardi mob and the Macini mob. These were certainly dangerous times.

[rubyquick]

Ruby Quick && Colin Flanagan

[rubyquick]

[rubyquick]

[rubyquick]

| Gettin' Out of Town |

The road to Memphis had been quieter than Ruby had anticipated. It seemed there was a flow of traffic no matter what route she took. Eventually, after meeting traffic jams in all directions, she decided to drive to Memphis by coming through Kentucky. A little bit longer than she hoped, but Ruby was taking no chances. 

Only the day before had been the day of the bombing. The day she planted the charges and blew Macalester's sky high. The day she shot Colin...

After the destruction and violence in the streets following the explosion, Ruby had quickly rushed home to wash. Despite her injuries, she refused to go to the hospital or any doctor. She knew there would be quite a body count, and many injured. It wouldn't do good for her to be there, seeing that she had plugged Victor Madison with a bullet in the shoulder, and Colin Flanagan with another two. 

Not only that however, she had hesitated when shooting Colin, and Giovanni had seen her. She knew he had seen her hesitate.

Did he know? Was her life now in danger?

It was all a bit much for Ruby, especially considering she thought she had killed Colin. It wasn't until Freddy, a kid who lived in her building that Ruby used to obtain information, came with news to her that Colin was in a coma. It still wasn't good, but at least he wasn't dead. The Lombardi Mob would now truly be gunning for her. Ruby needed to get out of town for a few days. 

As she had driven to Memphis, coming by Kentucky, she was jumpy the whole way, and in pain. Her voice was still hoarse from the amount of smoke she had inhaled. Her left arm was bandaged from palm to elbow; because she had a gash in her palm that needed tending to, and the skin on her forearm was raw and pink from where she had been burned. A lump at the side of her head gave her throbbing headaches, and the little cuts on the back of her thighs made it uncomfortable for her to sit down. 

Ruby couldn't help but wonder what her Aunt would say to her when she seen her. She was a mess. She tried to wear her best clothes, to make herself presentable, but Ruby knew herself she didn't look at all any better. 

Stopping off at a Gas Station to refill, she anxiously glanced at every car that passed her, wondering whether the barrel of a Tommy-Gun would jut out from a window and put a few rounds into her as retaliation for the bombing. Or even if Giovanni ordered it. She had put herself in real danger by hesitating, and now the unknowing was making her more paranoid. 

From the station she dialled a call to the Grocers where Freddy was an apprentice to Mr. Thompson, his uncle. After the operator put her through, thankfully Freddy answered. "Any word yet, kid?" Ruby asked, exhaling the smoke she had in her mouth. "Nuthin' Rubes, still in a coma. No change yet." He said, in his thick Chicago accent. "Who told you this?" She asked, a bit sharper than she meant. "I was hanging around the nurse's station, this chatty girl told me. I'm taking her out to the Stingray this Friday." He told her, obviously proud of himself. 

Ruby had not told him her connection to Colin, just wanted to be kept updated, so he didn't know how serious the situation was. "Alright enjoy Kid, I'll be back the day after tomorrow. I'll sort you out then. Give my regards to your Uncle." She said, and with that hung up the phone.

She returned to her car where the young guy was still filling up the tank. He kept glancing at her, and Ruby knew he was itching to say something. She was in absolutely no form for this guy if he commented on her appearance. 

And just then, it happened. 

"What happened you Mrs. Been in some kind of accident? Walk into a door? Fall down the stairs?" He asked, with a leer that he obviously meant to keep hidden. 

He obviously thought Ruby was married, and the recipient of domestic abuse. It was as if she just seen red. She couldn't remember what she done straight after that, or what she had even said, but she found herself standing at the trunk of the car. 

She wielded a tire iron in her hand, and briskly walked around the car to where he still filled her tank. Without a second thought, Ruby brought it down hard into the back of the boy's skull. 

Once. Twice. Three times.

He fell to the ground in an instant, letting the pump fall from his hand, causing gas to pour out into the street. Only then did Ruby look around to see if the coast was clear. No cars. No other houses. No people for miles probably. 

The kid's skull was a mess of blood and brains. She couldn't believe what she had done. Clasping a hand over her mouth in disbelief, she quickly wiped the tire iron on his shirt and replaced it inside the trunk. 

Speeding off, she began to get hysterical. Sobbing. Punching the wheel.

But she didn't just sob for the boy. She sobbed for Colin. She sobbed for her friends. She sobbed for her family. She sobbed for herself.

It was probably best, especially at that moment, that Ruby did not know that the boy she had killed at the station was only fourteen years old...

[rubyquick]

[ben-garland]

All That's Gold is Gilt || Ben & Ruby

[ben-garland]

The grin didn’t falter as he stepped into the apartment; it only seemed to get wider as he followed Ruby into the kitchen, her hospitality contrasting with her ever-direct choice of words.

He had long since learned that a loose and open nature was not the sort of garment she often clad herself in, but oh, how it suited her when she did.

"In the icebox, Ruby? Really?" he laughed as he leaned against her kitchen counter, hands grasping the edge on either side of him. "Remind me to take you out to the Stingray; maybe they serve their whiskey and the like straight up without chilling it like a, well like a girl, I guess.”

A hazardous choice of words, perhaps, but he held a teasing glint in his eyes. And it wasn’t as if he did much better; she kept her own illegal provisions out of immediate sight; he failed to even bother, and filled and semi-filled bottles of amber and clear fluids that had been reaped from the left-over money of his old lucrative career were scattered around his own residence, hidden only out of slight guilt on the occasions that Letha dropped around.

Before he could be met with any sort of retaliation, he pushed himself from the counter and made his way back over to the door, where a coat-stand stood nearby that held what he could only assume was a jacket of hers. “We should make that a date, actually,” he called back behind him. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to wrangle you out of work.”

He picked the jacket from where it hung, returning with it to the kitchen where he held it out to Ruby in offering, a signal that if she was ready to go, then he was ready to go- after she brought whatever she needed, of course.

Ready to go back into a cold and lashing rain, where at the end of city streets two men unknowingly waited with death and disaster behind their unturned backs.

"To answer your question, though; I’m fine, I stopped for coffee over at Elliot’s before I made it here."

A lie. But when it came to driving people to commit the deeds he himself sought revenge for, well, isn’t that already enough to stomach?

[rubyquick]

With a sardonic smile, she closed the refrigerator. She did not take too kindly to his comment about chilling her booze like a girl, as he had put it, but she couldn't help but smile a little at his boldness. Her eyes followed him as he went to where she hung her coats, and watched him choose one for her. There had been two hung up, and he held one to her. "Maybe I'll hold you to that, Ben." She said, speaking about this date in particular. He was always so bold with how he spoke to her, but she knew him so long now, and so well. 

As he brought her coat to her, she pulled open the kitchen drawer, taking the pistol within. Ruby checked to ensure that it was loaded, before stowing it in her purse which lay open on the counter. She took the coat, and hung it over her arm. "Alright come on then. You know where we are going right?" She said, closing her handbag, slinging it over her shoulder and crossing to the front door. She turned off the lights, and then, just to be cheeky, placed the coat he had chosen from her back on the hook. She grinned cheekily to him as she took the other, and made her way outside into the rain.

[rubyquick]

[rubyquick]

Reluctance -|- Ruby & Colin

It seemed now more than ever Ruby’s head began to spin, as she stared at Colin down the barrel of her gun. When Giovanni had told her of the plans considering the bombing, something kept nagging away at Ruby. She had wanted to tell Colin, try tell him keep away, but she couldn’t. No matter what arrangement they had going on, and the friendship that had blossomed between them, their loyalties were still to lie with their side; Colin with the Lombardi mob, and her’s with the Macini mob. Ruby had lost faith in religion many years ago, but she had prayed the night before, praying that Colin would have to stay away. She would be guilt-ridden if he died that day in the bombing, but now she found herself in different circumstances.

She had her pistol pointing at Colin, and Giovanni was right behind her, watching. Something told Ruby that Francesca was probably near two. Both of their bosses probably watching. She knew she couldn’t falter, she had faltered enough as it was. When Giovanni shouted at her to take the shout, she had shouted back that she was taking it. Her eyes had glazed over, but she knew it wasn’t from the physical pain she was enduring. It was because of the predicament she had been put in. 

Ruby clocked back the trigger, and blinked back the tears. She had never let anyone see her cry before, why would she do it now? As much as she tried to be brave, it wasn’t happening, but before she knew it, she had pulled the trigger, before she could even had more time to think about it. It was probably best of that way, otherwise she could have been put in a situation. He would probably have done it if he was in my shoes, she tried to tell herself, but she wasn’t all too sure it was the truth. 

It had been like a nervous reflex that made her pull the trigger, but after the first shot, she quickly followed with another. Hoping to end his pain right away. She would hate if he had to suffer, like the Lombardi man earlier who she had given a pity kill to. It seemed Colin had just looked at her as she fired the shots. Ruby was unable to look at him, with the shame, so closed her eyes. She wouldn’t let Giovanni see how it had affected, so kept her back to him. I am sorry Colin, she thought to herself.

Composing herself, she knew she had to show Giovanni that she wasn’t affected by that. She had to show him that he was just any other Lombardi to her. Her eyes were dry now, and she couldn’t help but be impressed with how she regained herself. Ruby turned to Giovanni and gave him the biggest smirk she could muster. “I’m going to go and look for some of the others! Try not to get yourself killed!" She said, before running off out into the street again. She couldn’t get the image out of her head, of how Colin had looked at her. It would have been better if he didn’t see, but he knew in his last moments of life she had betrayed him. 

[colin-flanagan-blog]

Colin was just trying to get to someone, anyone. He’d been separated from any other Lombardi by the blast, alone and worried as he tried to make his way through the rubble, choking on the dust in the air. He needed to find Daniel and he needed to know where Ruby was. The former he could protect-and would protect at any cost-and the latter he could just make sure she was okay.

He desperately hoped that Ruby hadn’t come today, that she’d had the luck to stay home away from the explosions and gunfire. But he also knew that if she was here, there was nothing he could do to help her without risking both of their lives and marking himself as a traitor. Still, he needed to find her if he could.

The need to find Daniel was even worse, mind immediately brought to the time he had not been there for the younger man. He didn’t want to find out second hand that he’d been shot; he couldn’t go through that again without the guilt eating him alive. It was his job to protect Daniel and that was what he was going to do, no matter what the cost to himself.

So Colin made his way through the trashed alleyway, gun gripped tightly as he stepped over rubble and corpse alike. His chest clenched but there was nothing he could do for the dead now; he just had to keep going to protect the ones who were-hopefully-still alive.

He heard a voice behind him, familiar amongst the yelling and gunfire the filled the air. Ruby. One found, one to go, he thought to himself. He turned to face her, glad to know that she was alive, even if he wasn’t pleased to know that she was here. What he didn’t expect was to be staring down the barrel of her gun.

Once.

Twice.

He watched Ruby’s fingers tighten on the trigger, gun jumping in her hands as a bullet left with a bang. She echoed her own movements, and the second bullet joined the first in his abdomen. Fiery hot pain radiated from the places where the hot metal had embedded itself in him, eyes locked on the face of the woman-the friend-that had shot him. 

His gun clattered to the ground, hands clasping over his stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He couldn’t hear anything but the blood rushing in his ears and the sound of his own heart stuttering in his chest. It was as if the whole world around him had gone silent, leaving him alone in his pain and confusion. He crumbled to his knees, vaguely aware of the fact that Ruby had left.

Get up! He shouted at himself. Get up and live! Live for Daniel! He told himself almost bitterly, thoughts tinged with the aching burn of gunmetal and betrayal. He shoved himself to his feet with a pained groan, a new wave of red staining his hands and shirt as he leaned against the wall. Unable to move without the support of the wall, he stumbled along, leaving a bloody trail behind him. 

Every step sent sparks of pain through his body, making him want to give up, but his mind kept him going. Daniel. Daniel. Daniel. He told himself with each step, knowing that it was the one thing that could keep him on his feet. He didn’t get far before his vision started to blur, everything blending together despite his attempts to blink it away. He could see the road, see a way to safety and perhaps even to Daniel, but he couldn’t make it there.

His hand, soaked wet with sweat and blood, slipped off of the wall and he collapsed. Despite his attempt to catch himself, his head hit the side of a chunk of rubble with a resounding crack when he fell.

And then there was nothing.

[rubyquick]

Reluctance -|- Ruby & Colin

It seemed now more than ever Ruby's head began to spin, as she stared at Colin down the barrel of her gun. When Giovanni had told her of the plans considering the bombing, something kept nagging away at Ruby. She had wanted to tell Colin, try tell him keep away, but she couldn't. No matter what arrangement they had going on, and the friendship that had blossomed between them, their loyalties were still to lie with their side; Colin with the Lombardi mob, and her's with the Macini mob. Ruby had lost faith in religion many years ago, but she had prayed the night before, praying that Colin would have to stay away. She would be guilt-ridden if he died that day in the bombing, but now she found herself in different circumstances.

She had her pistol pointing at Colin, and Giovanni was right behind her, watching. Something told Ruby that Francesca was probably near two. Both of their bosses probably watching. She knew she couldn't falter, she had faltered enough as it was. When Giovanni shouted at her to take the shout, she had shouted back that she was taking it. Her eyes had glazed over, but she knew it wasn't from the physical pain she was enduring. It was because of the predicament she had been put in. 

Ruby clocked back the trigger, and blinked back the tears. She had never let anyone see her cry before, why would she do it now? As much as she tried to be brave, it wasn't happening, but before she knew it, she had pulled the trigger, before she could even had more time to think about it. It was probably best of that way, otherwise she could have been put in a situation. He would probably have done it if he was in my shoes, she tried to tell herself, but she wasn't all too sure it was the truth. 

It had been like a nervous reflex that made her pull the trigger, but after the first shot, she quickly followed with another. Hoping to end his pain right away. She would hate if he had to suffer, like the Lombardi man earlier who she had given a pity kill to. It seemed Colin had just looked at her as she fired the shots. Ruby was unable to look at him, with the shame, so closed her eyes. She wouldn't let Giovanni see how it had affected, so kept her back to him. I am sorry Colin, she thought to herself.

Composing herself, she knew she had to show Giovanni that she wasn't affected by that. She had to show him that he was just any other Lombardi to her. Her eyes were dry now, and she couldn't help but be impressed with how she regained herself. Ruby turned to Giovanni and gave him the biggest smirk she could muster. "I'm going to go and look for some of the others! Try not to get yourself killed!" She said, before running off out into the street again. She couldn't get the image out of her head, of how Colin had looked at her. It would have been better if he didn't see, but he knew in his last moments of life she had betrayed him. 

[rubyquick]

Smokin' Pistol -|- Ruby & Giovanni

[sanguisrex]

Of all the things he needed to hear in that moment, his name was not one of them. He had an angry Francesca who was no doubt bristling by now prowling somewhere in the Walgreens, his men were being shot not ten feet from him, and he needed to focus on surviving—but no, instead he was looking for the source of the voice.

I’m fine! Worry about yourself, Quick!

He was about to return to more pressing affairs when he noticed something disturbing about the exchange taking place before his eyes. His gaze followed Ruby’s to a man he vaguely recognized, someone he’d seen on Francesca’s side before—Lombardi, no doubt. Why was she hesitating? Why hadn’t she shot him yet?

Oh no. He would not have any more insubordination, not today. Whatever Ruby was thinking, she needed to sort it out quick, otherwise Giovanni might have to put a bullet through her head instead.

Take the shot!

His voice was hoarse, but he was pretty sure he got the message across. Now it remained to be seen whether or not Ruby was the traitor she was currently making herself out to be…

[rubyquick]

She looked to Giovanni, and then back at Colin. She could hear Giovanni behind her telling her take the shot. Her eyes were welling up, she didn't know whether it was from the smoke or not, but she would not let Giovanni see that. He was becoming suspicious of her lately as it was. And she was suspicious of him too infact. 

I AM! she shouted back, finding her voice to be able to say that to him.

[rubyquick]

Smokin' Pistol -|- Ruby & Giovanni

Although her voice was still quite hoarse, she tried to clear her throat. She hoped that would have got his attention, but she could barely be heard over the sounds of gunfire, people, death...

GIO- Are you alright?!

She managed to say, her voice breaking off mid-sentence, but she knew it would loud enough for him to hear. Suddenly, however, she heard a noise behind her and turned. 

Ruby froze. Before her stood Colin. She was so glad that he was alive. Guilt had hung over her the past day or so, knowing she was going to be planting the bomb. She almost smiled, almost, because she suddenly realized she had called for Giovanni, and he was probably watching her now holding a gun at a Lombardi without shooting. She stood rooted to the spot, torn on what she should do. She hadn't enough time to think.

[madison-victor]

Paris is Burning -|- Ruby & Victor

[madison-victor]

“Fuck—!” Victor shouted as a bullet buried itself in his right shoulder. He’d thought he could dodge it, but obviously that wasn’t the case. As soon as it hit he had fired his own gun out of instinct alone, it bouncing off of the bumper of the car uselessly.

He pressed his palm over the wound, feeling the blood seeping out, and he could hear her laughing.

Ruby Quick, he thought instantly. He recognized the voice.

"Fuck," he growled, knowing there was no way he could get her in his sights before she shot him again. His right arm was still working but the pain made it hard to use, and the likely bruised rib on his left side left him limited there too. There was nothing he could really do.

He turned to the shop he’d been standing in front of, noticing it was unoccupied, closed, but that the storefront window had been cracked with bullets. He lifted his leg and kicked it until it shattered, then climbed carefully inside, figuring it was as good a cover as any… for now.

[rubyquick]

She let her legs slide out from underneath her once more, slumping against the overturned car. Ruby was feeling dizzy, and light-headed. Never in her entire lifetime in the mob had she been involved in anything as insane like this. Chicago would be ripped apart in the aftermath of this, Ruby just wished she lived long enough to survive it. She heard a shout from Victor and knew one had hit. Yes!

Throwing her head back, she laughed, but it came out as more of a hoarse cackle, like a witch from a storybook. It even slightly frightened her. She quickly began to reload her pistol once more, and noticed a Lombardi man staggering towards her. At first she couldn't see properly, but after a few moments she noticed that half of his face was a bloody mess, burnt away from the explosion. He was screeching, like nothing she ever heard, so Ruby quickly put a bullets in him. He hit the floor, howling now, clutching at his stomach where she had shot him. 

Ruby took a chance to peer around the car when she heard glass smashing. She was just in time to see Victor climbing in through a broken window. "Coward!" She tried to call after him, but her voice broke off. With all the smoke, and all the shouting, her throat felt like she had swallowed a bowl of nails and they were ripping away at her oesophagus.

Now Victor was gone, Ruby felt she was safe enough (for the moment) to come out of cover. The Lombardi man was still shouting to the sky, for God to help him. She felt nothing but pity for the man, thinking that that could have been her. Or it could be someone she knows right now somewhere around here. Using the car to get up from the ground, she limped across to the man and looked down at him. From the eye that remained, he looked terrified. The other side of his face was a mess. She decided to put him out of his misery and give him a coup de grâce, putting a bullet between his eyes. 

The sight of his face turned her whole stomach, and Ruby threw up that morning's breakfast onto the road beside him. It ripped her throat all the more, and she noticed there was blood in her vomit. She probably had a small tear in her throat from the smoke damage. 

Glancing around, she quickly made her way across the street, heading for Walgreens. She needed to find Giovanni, and get him out of there. Well she could at least try. He was probably still inside with Francesca, unless they were now out on the street. It was hard to tell with the smoke and ashen filled air. 

She noticed a car up the lane between the Italian restaurant and Walgreens. That must be the car with the guns, Ruby thought, so darted up the alley. Hurriedly, she pried open the trunk, to find it empty. It wasn't the car. Her heart sang, for she knew that she would run out of bullets for the pistol soon enough. 

Noticing a door to her right, the side door to Walgreens, she noticed Giovanni crouched down behind a counter. From her line of view, she couldn't see Francesca. 

[rubyquick]

Ruby at the Ritz

[madison-victor]

Paris is Burning -|- Ruby & Victor

[madison-victor]

Victor wasn’t entirely certain who was shooting at him, but he was sure it had to be one of the Macini. He ducked as bullets ricocheted off of the building he was standing in front of, and it was that moment that he realized his reflexes had suffered. He was injured so he wasn’t moving as fast as he normally would, and that currently deaf ear he was suffering from certainly wasn’t helping. With his vision hindered by the smoke and ash, he knew he really was at a disadvantage. He didn’t know how he was going to fight in this condition.

He could only hope that whoever was firing at him was in as poor of shape as he was because he doubted he could get out of this without opening fire. A glance down each side of the street showed him there wasn’t any easy way out. There must have been more than one bomb…

That doesn’t make sense, he thought, brow furrowing in confusion.

Why would Giovanni blow up the only escape routes? All of his men were still here and, as far as Vic knew, so was he. Why would he screw himself in such a way?

Victor squinted, seeing the silhouette of a car. That had to have been where his assailant was. The fighter in him wanted to run screaming into battle, his rage over the explosion and betrayal making his blood boil, but his ears were ringing and his head wound was making him dizzy. Going into a fight right now was suicide, especially since he didn’t know how many people were ducking out behind that car.

They had cover, and he didn’t.

So he had to gain some sort of footing.

"Hiding? Come on, come out and fight like a man!" Victor shouted.

[rubyquick]

Falling against the car, Ruby quickly opened the magazine of her pistol. As fast as she could, she pulled a few bullets that she had loose in her pocket, and quickly began fumbling to reload the gun. Once she had the bullets in, she quickly closed it and spun it, reloading it once more. The smoke had made her throat feel raw, so she tried to swallow hoping to lubricate it. Instead, it felt like swallowing sand. She was panting, trying to catch her breath, but was finding it difficult. She tried to lick her lips to get a bit of saliva. Her brown coat was now a mess of black soot, dirt and blood. Half of her sleeve was even gone from when it caught aflame beforehand. 

The blood oozing from her palm made the gun difficult to hold, but Ruby managed it nonetheless. She didn't even realize she was sitting in glass, only the discomfort as pieces were digging into the back of her thighs, bare due to her dress. Ruby sometimes wished for a day that it would be acceptable for women to wear pants, she couldn't see it happening for some reason however. 

Her eyes darted around looking for a familiar face. Somebody. Anybody. Colin came to mind, for she knew that he would be there. It was as if her heart sank as she thought about scenarios when he had been blown up with the explosion. The pair still had a lot to sort through, to find out. This was the Windy City, and it was a dangerous place to live.

Where was Giovanni? Where was Felicity? Where was Ben? she thought to herself, still unable to concentrate. The blood in her hair was now beginning to dry, but blood still oozed from the wound, into her ear and down her jawline. Hearing Victor shout to her brought her back to her senses.

Ruby managed a hoarse laugh, and made it as loud as she could. She used the ground to get up into a crouching position. As the car was on it's side, she couldn't use the windows to see Victor, so she momentarily stuck her head around the car and brought it back in, just so he could have enough time to see her. "But that's the thing Victor-!" She shouted to be hard, her voice cracking. Every word ripped at her throat like a knife. "-I'm not a man!" She shouted over the cries of the wounded and crackling of fire. Ruby pointed the gun from out around the side of the car and began letting off shots. She wasn't risking sticking her head out, for fear Victor would put a bullet between her eyes. All she could was hope some of her bullets hit something. She was safe in cover, for now. 

[madison-victor]

Paris is Burning -|- Ruby & Victor

The first thing Victor became aware of was the pain. It was radiating from his left side and his head mostly, though he could feel it absolutely everywhere. The second thing he became aware of was the smoke, filling his lungs, making him cough, making that left side hurt even worse. Cracking his eyes open it was all he could see, even when he lifted his hand to try and wave it out of the way.

He tried to sit up, squinting, hearing muffled cries in the distance. He couldn’t hear out of his left ear at all which concerned him, though it was hard to care when he realized he was mere feet away from the flaming remains of the pharmacy he had minutes before been standing in front of.

Through the screaming pain in his skull he managed to register what had happened.

A bomb.

"Fuck," he wheezed, coughing as more smoke entered his lungs. Even though a large part of him wanted to lay back down and not move for a while, he forced himself to his feet, wobbling and even falling once before finally escaping the cloud of dust and debris.

Leaning heavily against a store window, he shed of his jacket, finding that it had been damaged beyond repair. He yanked his tie off, loosening his collar so that he could breathe a little easier, caught his reflection in the glass of the window. His hair was askew, and he was absolutely covered in dirt. Blood was seeping from a wound on his forehead as well as several other, smaller cuts.

He was in bad shape, but considering his history, he’d been worse.

He saw someone approaching from behind him in the reflection, and, adrenaline racing, grabbed his gun from his belt, turning as quickly as he could, ready to fight if he had to.

[rubyquick]

Shoving her two index fingers as far as they would go inside her ears, Ruby braced herself for the explosion. She had not expected the explosion to be as loud and forceful as it was. She could feel the impact of it inside the skip, and if she had been able to hear, she would have heard the skip scrape along the ground as it was pushed a few feet in the blast. Despite having blocked her ears as best she could, Ruby was still deafened by the explosion. 

Clambering out of the skip, Ruby was amazed at the sight before her. Rock, brick, fire; everywhere. Debris was everywhere. She didn't have time to even wield her weapon and return to the street (as planned), because she suddenly felt an unrelenting force hit her square into the back, driving her a few feet forward. Since she was so close the first explosion, Ruby was unable to hear the second one down the street, and was completely unaware of the third one nearer to her. 

The explosion had thrown her forward among the rubble of what was left of the back of Macalester's. Confused, and startled, Ruby quickly tried to regain herself and stood up, but winced with the pain. The arm of her old brown coat was aflame, so she quickly batted it with her other sleeve, putting out the flames. She could feel something warm and sticky dripping down the side of her head, gelling the hair to her head. But that didn't matter, she was quickly brought to her senses once her hearing came back. She could hear the cracking sound of gunfire. 

Brandishing her pistol from her pocket, she gingerly clambered over the rubble up the alleyway she had came down moments beforehand. Her leg was throbbing too, and when she looked down she discovered her knees had also been badly grazed when the blast threw her forward. She still had not noticed the large scrape on her leg from where the nail had ripped her earlier. 

Goodness, the smoke! she thought to herself, beginning to choke heavily. It was as if she couldn't catch her breath, and she had to lean against what was left of the blackened wall of the Grocery Store. She began to empty reach, almost throwing up. When the smoke began to clear, Ruby could see that there was chaos in the street. 

Had the Lombardi's planned a bombing too? Where did them other two explosions come from? It doesn't make sense. Why would they set up a bomb near their own drug warehouse. 

None of it made sense to Ruby. When she made it into the street, the place was a mess of smoke, debris, and bodies. People's bodies were strewn everywhere the whole way up and down the street. Now she realized there had been a bomb set up each end of the street. It was blocking their escape route!

She had been told there would be a car with proper big weapons like rifles and Tommy guns, but how was she going to find it in this confusion? She noticed an overturned car in the street, but that wasn't it. Her plan was to use this for cover, she quickly limped over behind the car, but on her way she noticed Victor Madison. He looked badly shook up. That Bastard!

As she was limping, and still half-coughing from the smoke, none of her shoots would have hit, but Ruby could hear them fly through glass, and pound off metal. They must have hit everywhere around where he stood but not Victor. She quickly rolled behind the car, accidentally sticking her hand in glass in the process, causing another big gash on her palm. If the adrenaline wasn't coursing through her veins like greyhounds at a grand national racetrack, she would take more care, but in that moment she felt something strange. She felt alive!

[rubyquick]

| Planting the Bomb |

There was no denying that Ruby Quick was excited, giddy...

If she had found out one thing about herself over the years, since joining up with the mob, it was that she truly enjoyed the thrill she got from moments like this one. Her hands and legs trembled slightly. Her heart was beating in irregular motion. The adrenaline coursed through the veins in her body. Her stomach felt like someone was twisting it in a knot; unsettling the butterflies that resided there, and sending them into a wild frenzy. She felt alive.

Although she was excited, she was nervous too. Nervous she would be found out and unable to proceed with the task in hand. Nervous she would be shot and killed. Nervous that Colin would be there with the Lombardi mob. Nervous that the charges pressing against her skin through her handbag would accidentally go off...

As all of this was going through her mind, Ruby was also trying to be the master of deception; to blend in with the civilians so as not to be detected by any Lombardi mobsters lurking around the street beforehand. She had donned her poorest looking clothes; a grey cotton dress, preferably suited for winter, hidden beneath a brown coat, and so nobody noticed her, she had put on an old cloche hat, pulled down to her eyebrows. The handbag she had clutched to her side was a large one, in order to contain the charges, and her weapon, but also so it didn't look abnormal in any way. 

Ruby came to a stop outside the Grocery Store alongside Malacester's; the Lombardi drug front that was posing as a legitimate Pharmacy. She pretended that she was looking through the window at items inside the store, when it truth, she was checking if the coast was clear in the reflection of the glass. Seeing that it was, she quickly slipped down the alley in between the Grocery Store and Malacester's. 

Although the overpowering stench of urine and faeces pervaded the place, Ruby continued on down the derelict alley replete with graffiti and overflowing trash cans. She noticed there were flattened cardboard boxes and empty hooch bottles; so it was evident to her someone often slept here. It was a good thing they weren't there that morning, otherwise Ruby would have had to have taken care of them and all. Crouching down behind one of the trash cans, holding onto a slimy cobble in the wall for support, she waited for Tommy. He was to give her the signal when everyone had arrived to go in and set the bombs. That wasn't his only job, however, as Tommy had also helped her in the making of the bombs themselves. He was in America trying to rally support for Irish Republican Army with their War of Independence against the British, and as they were experts in guerilla warfare tactics (bombs, ambushes, etc.), his talents came into good use in aiding Ruby.

While waiting in the alley it seemed her heart had kicked into overdrive. It thumped like horse's hooves on a dirt. 

Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump.

The butterflies in her stomach felt like they were as keen as mustard to escape. The constant danger was a thing Ruby thrived on. She often speculated that she got pleasure from dangerous life-threatening situations. 

Her mind was brought back to reality once she seen Tommy give her the signal. Gathering up the handbag carefully, she crept quietly down the alley to the back of Macalester's. The only sounds were the sounds from the street in front, and the faint scrape of the heels of Ruby's shoes on the cobblestones. Once at the back, she was encountered by a locked door, but she had been expecting this. Who wouldn't lock the doors to a huge shipment of drugs? 

Ruby pulled the hat from her head and shoved it inside the bag. Then she pulled out an old rusted thin screwdriver. Carefully, and as quietly as possible, she began fiddling at the lock with the screwdriver. Once she had the lock pushed down, she took a slide from her hair, and used it to flick the bolt over. The door opened with a creak.

She abandoned the screwdriver and the slide, knowing they would probably destroyed in the blast anyway. Taking out her pistol, she pushed open the door and entered.

There was nobody inside which was one less obstacle for Ruby to handle, but the sight before her truly awed her. From floor to ceiling, there were crates, filled with heroin, cannabis, cocaine, probably other drugs Ruby didn't even know about. She couldn't even estimate in her head the worth inside that room. Part of her would have loved to hide a crate or two, make some money from it, but she knew the message that was being sent from this was bigger than a few Clams. 

Closing the door behind her, she took the bombs from within the bag. There were three of them. Each one was six pipes tied together with twine. They then had wires pushed into the tops of these pipes which were dipped in mercury. Ruby carefully attached an alarm clock to each of the wires that were dipped in mercury. All the while, her heart was beating faster and faster. 

She could feel a bead of sweat rolling down her temple. This was very dangerous. If one of these accidentally went off, she was a goner, and Ruby Quick was by no means a bombs expert. "They use this kind of stuff to destroy Quarries." Tommy had told her while they made them, making her all the more nervous when handling them. 

Taking her pistol and the three alarm clocks from the handbag, she flung the bag into a corner with the hat she had worn as a disguise still inside. Usually she would have been worried about throwing away clothing, because the world was advancing more and more every day and Forensics could probably use the clothing to track down who it was, but she knew they would be obliterated in the explosion. She rigged up the three bombs with the alarm clocks, and set each of them for two minutes to give her time to get away.

She placed each of them in a corner of the room, and Ruby ran for her life. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, bursting through the door. All she was thinking about now was about getting away, saving herself. Clapping her hands over her ears, for she knew there would be a loud noise that would nearly deafen her, she took a right, running behind the Grocery Store.

Ruby knew she needed cover from the explosion, and the clock was ticking. It was as if the Lord above had been looking down on her, as a Skip lay behind the Grocery Store. It was filled with old furniture and junk, but Ruby didn't care, she dived in amongst the rubbish for protection. The adrenaline was pumping so much, she didn't even feel the loose nail rip her leg. 

[stellarussell]

I’m not entirely certain what my youth and gender have to do with it, but missing out on the lovely weather is a shame for anyone, really; especially after the cold winter.

Can’t exactly afford not to take care of business, though. Sometimes I think about hiring an assistant to handle the paperwork for me, but y’know what they say. If you want something done right you have to do it yourself.

[rubyquick]

Sounds like a boring job if you ask me. Searching through a load of paperwork, making a few calls. The only thing I'd enjoy from a job like yours is finding out personal things about people. That is what you do, right?