The Complete Ruby Redfort Collection: Look into My Eyes; Take Your Last Breath; Catch Your Death; Feel the Fear; Pick Your Poison; Blink and You Die. Lauren Child
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into my eyes
THE MUTTERINGS WERE GETTING LOUDER; Hitch knew he was getting near. He switched off the flashlight and followed the voices. Were there three now? A dim green light was filtering out from under a door – suddenly it opened and Hitch’s heart leapt as he watched Ruby being half dragged, half marched across the passageway by none other than Baby Face Marshall.
Not dead, thought Hitch, just furious.
Ruby wasn’t taking it lying down. ‘I don’t like people messing with my hair buster!’
You tell him kid, hissed Hitch, his hand reaching for his revolver.
Clancy was standing by the basement door. Unlike Hitch and Ruby he had not studied any plans, and was unlikely to make it through the maze of corridors. What to do? Should he go in or get help?
As it turned out he didn’t have to make a choice. An elegant hand reached around and took him by the throat.
‘Hello waiter boy, you looking for something?’
Hitch had his gun trained on Baby Face, and was waiting for him to relax his hold on Ruby. No, too risky. He would have to creep up behind him, take him by surprise.
Baby Face was enjoying the moment.
‘So you think you are pretty smart, huh? Clever enough to outwit me?’
‘It wasn’t so hard,’ said Ruby. ‘You see Baby Face, you aren’t a good checker – you left me with a very handy gadget, a life saver as it turns out. Always check the prisoner for life-saving gadgets, don’t they teach you that in creep school?’
Baby Face didn’t like that, he didn’t like it at all. He wasn’t going to be told his job by some teenage brat. He reached into his back pocket to pull out his knife and as he did, Hitch ran out of the shadows, karate chopped him in the back of the neck and Baby Face Marshall slumped to the floor.
‘Nice to see you kid.’
‘About time you showed up,’ said Ruby. ‘Thought you must have been busy stuffing yourself with canapés.’
‘Canapés? Nah, they give me indigestion.’ He took a good look at her. ‘You OK Ruby?’
‘Never felt better,’ said Ruby, smoothing her hair and dusting herself off.
There was a buzz and suddenly light as the power came back on, and there was Valerie Capaldi standing in the doorway, holding a diamond revolver to Clancy Crew’s temple.
‘Well, well, well, if it isn’t the secret agent extraordinaire and his little pet.’
‘Hello Nine Lives,’ said Hitch. ‘I almost didn’t recognise you – something about you is different, more distinguished somehow… It could be the red hair, or perhaps it’s the scar. You know it suits you – adds character.’
Valerie Capaldi scowled. ‘You’re going to regret that you disfigured me. I’m going to kill you and I’m going to kill the boy and when I’m done I’m going to kill the girl. How about that?’
She wasn’t lying, anyone could see that.
Nine Lives raised the little gun and pointed it at Hitch. ‘Any last words?’ she said.
‘Let me think,’ said Hitch, ‘I’m sure I can come up with something.’
Ruby felt for the dog whistle still around her neck.
Nine Lives took aim. ‘Too bad I’m gonna mess up that nice suit of yours.’
Ruby brought the whistle to her lips and gently inhaled.
‘Well I guess it’s time to say adios,’ laughed Nine Lives. ‘Look into my eyes – they’ll be the last you see.’
‘Not quite!’ shouted Ruby.
Her voice appeared to be coming from just behind Capaldi, who spun round in confusion – just enough time for Hitch to lunge towards her and grab hold of the diamond revolver.
Only Nine Lives Capaldi wasn’t letting go. They struggled, Nine Lives lashing out with her claw-like nails, scratching at Hitch’s face. Blood everywhere. Clancy was finding it hard to breathe, his throat caught in her grasp.
Then there was a shot.
Valerie Capaldi’s smile twisted into an expression of surprise. Her hand loosened its grip on Clancy and moved to clutch her heart. She looked up at Hitch. ‘You killed me?’ she said as she slid to the floor. In her left hand the diamond revolver glittered, a pool of crimson forming where she lay.
For just a second the three figures were frozen. Hitch had so many times fought Nine Lives only to watch her somehow leap to her escape – wounded but always alive. Could it really be over?
Suddenly there was a roar of anger from Baby Face Marshall as he flung himself at Hitch, sending him sprawling across the room.
The key! The Count!
Ruby seized the moment. ‘See you in one minute Clance, I gotta do something.’
‘Ruby, don’t go!’ he yelled.
Hitch called out something but Ruby couldn’t make out what it was. She didn’t have time to wait – her watch said one minute to midnight. With the lights back on, the Count would surely have found the glass key – the Buddha might already be gone.
She sped across to the inner vault just in time to watch as the Count reached his hands into the glass cylinder. He looked up in surprise as Ruby plucked off her remaining shoe and flung it hard at his head. It hit him square in the face and he lost his balance – just for a second, but it was enough. At that moment the clock struck midnight, there was a whirring sound, and in the blink of an eye, the glass cylinder shot up through the ceiling.
The Count cried out in fury as the Buddha disappeared from view. The vault was plunged into blackness for just a second and when the lights flickered back on, the vault was empty – he was gone. All that was left was the glass key glinting on the stone floor.
Where is he? Ruby was dumbfounded. He’s got to be in here somewhere – there’s no way he could have gotten past me.
But it was if the Count had simply dissolved away.
Suddenly the passageways were swarming with agents and security guards. When Ruby walked outside she saw Baby Face Marshall being led towards a waiting police car, his hands cuffed, his nose bloody. Not such a pretty sight now.
‘I’ll get you, brat, you see if I don’t,’ he growled.
‘Tell it to the judge, Baby Face,’ shouted Ruby.
‘Hey Rube!’ Clancy came running towards her, flapping his arms Clancy-style and sort of hopping up and down. ‘Boy, am I ever glad to see you, I thought maybe… you know… you’d…’
‘Gone to a better place?’ replied Ruby. ‘Nah, not me Clance my friend – it takes more than an evil genius to get me popping my clogs.’
‘Which reminds me,’ said Clancy, ‘I found your shoe!’
‘Gee thanks, I wondered where that had gotten to – turns out these just might be Dorothy’s “ruby slippers” after all. Don’t s’pose you got my glasses there too? These contact lenses suck.’
A hand ruffled her hair. ‘Hey there Ruby, long time no see.’
Ruby looked up to see the friendly face of Agent Blacker.
‘Thought you might possibly want a jelly donut,’ he said, handing her a brown paper bag. ‘Nothing like a near death experience to give you an appetite.’
‘Hey, you read my mind,’ said Ruby.
Hitch, meanwhile, was talking into his watch transmitter. He looked dishevelled, perhaps even tired, but his easy cool was back. ‘Yes, Baby Face has been apprehended,