Rue: Web of Deceit - Part 14

Life, Crime

The New Year rolls around and Rue is once more called into the office of The Spider, having apparently received just what he wanted for Christmas and having a new task for the young superhuman. One that makes them question how far they'll go to prove their loyalty to the villain.

Rue wakes up the morning after Christmas with a text from their least favourite number popping up on their phone, "I got quite the Christmas present last night, Little Morsel. Come see me after the new year and you can help me make use of it."   Rue lets out a groan, dropping their head back on their pillow. They stay like that for a while, hoping against all odds that perhaps they’d imagined the text, but another glance at their phone screen confirms that that’s not the case.   They send a quick message back, “Understood.”   Still feeling a little weaker than usual, Rue decides that last night’s Christmas dinner is a good enough reason for them to stay in bed until almost noon, when their bladder makes it known that they need to get up and head to the bathroom. They can hear the TV on in the living room, and so they head there afterwards, teasing Doug relentlessly about his flirting with Tara until he threatens to deprive them of the legendary Christmas leftover sandwiches.   By the time the New Year arrives, Rue is feeling less terrible physically, the injury healing nicely. Mentally, the dread of getting back to work is settling in.   They drive to The Six-Nines with Doug, wearing a dark blue hoodie (courtesy of Rani and Nadia) and a leather jacket. They head into the club, the atmosphere inside unchanged, and head up the familiar set of stairs towards the office.   The familiar scent of cigars, booze and bad cologne invades Rue's senses as they approach Spider's office. The pervading miasma that once made them gag is starting to seem less sickening than before, and they aren't sure whether that's a good thing or not. They knock on the office door and await a sign that they should enter. It takes a moment, but soon enough they hear a clattering on the other side of the door. Rue had learned long ago that looking through the walls in the Six-Nines wasn't worth whatever they might see, so they continued to wait, and a few moments later, the Spider's gravelly voice echoed from the other side.   "Come in..." It didn't feature Spider's usual arrogance, and soon enough they could see why.   As they walked in, Rue could see the room had been thoroughly trashed and the Spider himself sat behind his desk, his head resting on his hand as he pressed a cool glass to his forehead and groaned. It would appear someone had a pretty intense New Year's.   They arch a brow as they take another step towards the desk, their foot bumping against a near-enough empty bottle of whisky, the bottle slowly rolling on the carpet.   ''I could come back later if this is a bad time.'' Rue offers, carefully eyeing the hungover man in front of them.   "Now, now," he says, grimacing as he tries to speak normally, "Little Morsel. You know it's always a good time when you're here to visit..." he chuckles under his breath, "But I suppose you're not here for a social call, so why don't you take a seat."   Rue crouches down to set the toppled-over chair across the desk back upright, ''You wanted to see me,'' They begin matter-of-factly. ''Something about a Christmas present?''   He looks confused for a moment before realisation dawns on him and he grins again, "Oh yeah, of course," he looks among all the clutter on the desk and takes out another pouch. My tech guy finally managed to crack that mobile phone you brought me. Truly, I got just what I wanted for Christmas this year."   A sense of dread creeps over them, their shoulders tensing slightly as they wonder what Creel might have found on Jasmine's phone, ''Oh?'' They say inquisitively. ''Anything worthwhile?''   "Oh just this and that," he says, sitting back in his chair with a self-satisfied grin on his face, "But most of that can wait for later. I've got pretty big plans... But for now, I need you to deliver a package for me."   ''Of course,'' Rue says, becoming accustomed to the errands Creel gets them to run. ''Where do you need me to take it?''   "You ever heard of Manchen Robotics?" He asks, raising a brow, "I have something of an... arrangement... with the owner, Eli."   ''Can't say I know it,'' They admit with a shrug. ''What sort of arrangement?''   "Kid's a bit of a creep really," Spider says, nonchalantly, "But he has a big thing for Suplex, and pays very well for any information about her," he grins again, placing a tightly bound package on the table before Rue, "He's going to be pretty happy with what we've been able to get in here."   Rue takes the package from the desk with a grimace, the idea of Creel selling this information to some sort of stalker making their stomach churn. They decide not to voice their aversion, instead getting up from the seat and holding the parcel under their arm.   ''Anything else I should know about this? Has he paid already or should I be picking up the money and bringing it back here?''   "He should have a payment ready when you get there," Spider continues, "Be careful with it, this is no chump change. Guy's got more money than sense. Get back here in one piece and we'll call it two G's, deal?"   They raise their eyebrows at the prospect of earning two grand for a quick errand, ''Deal.'' They say with a small smirk, turning to leave the office. They tuck the package into their jacket, zipping it up as they head outside. After a quick chat with Doug, Rue starts walking out of the Recreation district, making a turn into a side alley close to the bus stop.   They pull out their phone, typing in the number the number that they memorised before handing the business card to Arthur.   After a few rings, the abnormally low-pitched voice of Alec Upton echoes through the handset, "Hey, Rue. You okay?"   ''Hey,'' They begin, the realisation of double-crossing the Spider starting to dawn on them suddenly. ''Can we meet somewhere?''   "Sure thing, Rue," he says, suddenly feeling the grim seriousness with which Rue speaks, "When and where?"   ''There's a small cafe on the corner of Heathervale,'' They answer, the establishment in question not too far from the outskirts of town. ''How quickly could you get there?''   "I'm not far out from there at the moment," he responds, "Maybe half an hour?"   ''Perfect, I'll see you there.'' They end the call, walking to the bus stop and getting on a moment later. It takes them a little over twenty minutes to get to the right stop, the houses in this area a lot fancier than Rue is used to. They've walked around this district only a handful of times, but they remember the cute little café down the street, the smell of freshly baked pastries and cakes drawing them in. When they'd first come across this place, they'd spent a long time simply staring through the window, longing for the luxury treats as they hadn't eaten a proper meal in days. This time around, Rue actually walks inside, the little bell above the door chiming happily as they make their way over to the counter.   Despite their nerves about the meeting with Detective Upton, their mouth salivates at the sight of the pastries, and they end up purchasing 2 seriously overpriced glazed cinnamon buns to take home, as well as a hot chocolate to have in the shop as they wait for Alec to arrive. They sit down at a small table in the corner of the café, away from the windows and the other handful of customers.   The scene feels almost serene as Rue takes in the area around them. The white noise of the café, the sounds of the registers and the constant movement of cashiers and patrons, almost makes Rue wonder what it might have been like to live a normal life. They don't dwell on it however. Rue learned long ago that there's no point imagining what might have been when reality is staring you right in the face, and nothing reminds them quite so much as when the familiar face of Detective Upon makes its way through the front door.   He quickly spots Rue and takes a seat in front of them. He looks a little worse for wear himself, but has clearly made the effort to look presentable. He smiles in that reassuring way of his as he begins, "Hey, are you okay?"   ''I'm fine,'' Rue says, their tone still serious. They scrutinise the detective's face for a moment, reminded of the man's secret identity, part of them curious how his powers work. They pull themself out of their thoughts, instead contemplating how to approach sharing the information with Alec, ''Did Jasmine ever tell you about my first encounter with her?''   "We had something of a discussion after you took that bullet," he says, sitting forward on his chair and whispering, "She mentioned that you got her out of a bit of a scrape at the courthouse."   Rue winces slightly. ''Well, I might've caused more trouble than that scrape was worth,'' They say softly, looking down at their jacket. They unzip it slightly and give the detective a peek at the parcel. ''Got a delivery for someone called Eli, owner of Manchen Robotics...'' They glance around the cafe, paranoid that anyone else might be watching them or listening in. ''Apparently he pays good money for any info on Suplex. Got a thing for her, Creel said...''   "Oh god," Alec groans, grimacing somewhat at the revelation, "Yeah, Eli's a bit of a problem. He's been following Rachel since the early street fighting days, but he's smart and rich. Makes him tough to pin down," he thinks for a moment, "Any idea what's in the package?"   ''I can't say for sure, but I imagine anything that he might have found on Jasmine's phone...'' They say guiltily. ''So what do we do? I can't give you this without getting into some serious trouble, considering the amount of money Creel is looking to gain from this, but I also don't exactly want this creep to get his hands on anything that could endanger Rachel...''   "Okay, so we're talking some photos, her phone number, probably their address..." he says, thinking it over, "I'd be a lot more concerned if it were Rachel's own phone we were talking about," he takes another long pause, "I have an idea here, and I think you should deliver the parcel."   Rue stares at the detective for a while.   ''Sorry, I was waiting for the punchline.'' They deadpan, zipping up their jacket again, the package hidden from view once more. ''You actually want me to deliver it? As in give-Suplex's-stalker-her-address-and-walk-off-into-the-sunset deliver it?''   "Well, maybe not quite so poetically," he says, grinning slightly despite himself at their bewilderment, "I'm suggesting we bait him into acting out, it wouldn't take long, and then we can finally nab this creep," he sighs a little, seemingly concerned, "I'd prefer to use a fake address, but Spider's a paranoid bastard and I doubt we could tamper with the package without them knowing about it."   ''Oh. Yeah,'' Rue replies, ''I guess that works.'' They pause, tapping their fingers on the table. ''So I just... Carry on?''   "For now? Yeah, pretty much," he says, leaning in close and speaking even quieter, "I'm sorry about making you do this, but we need you to stay in Spider's good books as much as possible. The more you see and can get evidence of, the more we can get him for."   ''I'd be lying if I said I was thrilled to cross him,'' Rue whispers back anxiously, ''but I've got my own reasons to want to see him caught, so I'll carry on.'' They get up from their seat, taking another look around the cafe to make sure no one's watching. ''I'd better get going, can't keep Creel's customers waiting.''   "Of course," Alec says, nodding as they stand, "I know it's tough, but hang in there. We're going to take down all these creeps."   Rue gives the detective a weak smile before walking out of the cafe, turning down the road and continuing their journey to the address listed on the package. It's another ten minutes before they get to the right street, where they end up gawking at the size of the driveway leading up to the mansion. Despite Spider's warning about the hefty sum of money they were about to receive, they hadn't quite expected the level of extravagance that they were faced with now. ''Okay, super rich creep.'' They mumble to themself before they press on the buzzer by the gate.   To be continued...