Previous Chapters: http://www.comicvine.com/forums/fan-fic/8/ravager4s-fan-fic-archives/660884/#1
Disclaimer: I do not own any DC characters or locations. All rights belong to DC Comics.
Rating: T+
Note: So, some heavy stuff going on in this chapter. As always, I'm always open to comments of any kind so long as they're constructive, so don't be shy.
Rose Wilson: The Ravager #21
Int. Silverstone General Hospital – Night
Rose reacts instantly. Still in her cop uniform, her hand flies to her gun. Before she can even draw it from her holster, however, Jerry flicks a small knife from his sleeve into his hand and holds it dangerously close to Holly's neck. With his other hand, he wags his finger at her, tauntingly.
Jerry: Ah, ah, ah. You really don't want to be doing that.
Clenching her jaw, Rose's fingers slowly leave her gun. She glances around the hallway for anyone else, but the wing is deserted. It's after midnight, most of the staff has gone home by now.
Rose: Hiding behind a child? Classy.
Jerry: Simple insurance.
Rose: What the hell are you doing here?
Jerry: I wanted to chat, that's all.
Rose: Take the knife away from Holly's neck and maybe we'll talk.
Jerry: Ah, but you see, if I do that, then you go for your gun and try to shoot me. Not much of an incentive, is there?
Was worth a shot.
Rose: Just talk.
Jerry: Now you're getting it. See, your nightly adventures as the vigilante Ravager–or rather, The Blade, as they're calling you nowadays–make it very difficult to get any kind of hold on this city. Before you came along, oh it was easy, you saw yourself what I had going. But now... well, I'm afraid it just isn't the same.
Rose: Well gee, sorry to ruin your fun. Do you want me to buy you an ice cream cone, make you feel better?
Jerry: Ah, sarcasm, it really is unbecoming of a lady.
Rose: You're breaking my heart.
Jerry: Are you quite finished?
Rose: Oh please, continue.
Jerry: Anyway, as you can no doubt assume, allowing you to continue running around at night unchecked and causing trouble is unacceptable.
Rose: So this is your big plan to stop me? Threaten Holly and tell me to back off? The moment you leave and she's safe, I put a bullet in you.
Jerry: Yes, that would be problematic, wouldn't it? I suppose I could take her with me, but then kidnapping isn't really my forte. I'm not Pavoni, after all, I have standards. But there are other ways to get you to do what I want, other... people to go after. As you've seen.
A cold sensation begins to spread throughout Rose's body. She tenses up, flinching at the indication.
Rose: You... you're the one who put her in here, aren't you?
Jerry: Well, not me specifically, but I did give the order. Was supposed to be shot in the stomach, though... much greater chance of survival. Oh well, can't go back and do it over now.
Tightening her hands into closed fists, Rose grits her teeth and glares a hole through the man. The cold numbness from before is gone, now replaced by seething hot anger.
Rose: You son a b*ch... you're a dead man, I swear.
Jerry: Rose, there is something you need to understand. The people that work for me, well, they're everywhere. There isn't a place you've been where my eyes aren't watching. Take this hospital, for instance; it's no exception. I have people working here for me, as well, and they do what I tell them. For example, should anything happen to me, they have very specific orders to 'pull the plug' on your poor friend. Would be a real shame, wouldn't it?
Rose flinches, her eye twitching slightly at the declaration. She takes in a deep breath, arms shaking at her side now, she's clenching her fists so hard.
Rose: So what? You want me stop? Fine, I'm done.
Jerry: My, that was quick. One would think such a decision would at least take some time to think over... how much do you care for that woman, I wonder?
Rose doesn't answer, merely swallowing a hard lump in her throat.
Jerry: But no, I'm afraid that isn't what I want, either. You see, I wouldn't have you simply give up doing what you do; you are quite good at it. I would merely see your actions... overseen.
Rose: What are you talking about?
Jerry: You'll be working for me now, that's what I mean. If you even think otherwise, your girlfriend dies. Then, I move on to Holly here. Everyone you hold dear, gone.
The numbness is back. Rose swallows, her gaze slowly moving towards the floor.
Jerry: Thinking things through, are you? Please, take your time, I don't have anywhere to be tonight. A tough decision, though, isn't it? On the one hand, you could just shoot me now. Of course, the aftermath would lead to that cop, and this girl, both dying. You'd stop me, yes, but lose everything in the process. Or, you simply listen to what I tell you, and everyone lives. Your move.
Slowly, Rose's hand moves back to her gun. She fingers the side of it with her thumb, contemplating whether or not she really should just shoot the b**tard.
Maybe he's bluffing. Maybe he doesn't have sh*t against me, maybe Holly and Becky aren't in any danger... As soon as the thought goes through her head, she drops her hand back down by her side again, closing her eye. No, I'm not making that mistake again. No one else is dying because of me.
Rose: Fine...
Jerry: What's that now? Speak up a little, I couldn't quite hear you.
Rose: I said fine, a**hole. I'll work for you.
Jerry: Really now, that is no way to talk to your employer. I suppose we'll have to work on that.
Rose: Just tell me what I have to do.
Jerry: For now, take dear Holly here back home, get some sleep, go to work in the morning, all that good stuff. Tomorrow night, nine o'clock, come to the old toy factor in the East District. Be sure to dress for the occasion.
On that note, Jerry removes the knife away from the sleeping Holly and stands up, slipping his hands into his coat pockets. He gives her a small nod, then turns to leave.
Jerry: Have yourself a goodnight, Rose.
Int. Rose's Penthouse Suite – Night
Rose kicks the door open lightly with her foot, as her arms are mostly occupied by carrying Holly. The poor girl was able to wake up long enough to make it back to the car, but then she fell fast asleep again. Rose didn't have the heart to wake her up again, instead carrying the girl into the building and up through the elevator. Letting out a long breath, she brings Holly into her bedroom and tucks her in. Then, she heads back into the living room and just stands there, staring out the window.
There's nothing she can do, that's what she keeps telling herself. If she wants the only people in this world who matter to her to stay alive, then she has to do whatever Jeremiah Belmont tells her to do. There isn't any way around it, the b**tard has her on a leash.
Still, she won't let Jerry get away with this. Somehow, someway, she'll find a way around it. She'll find a way to make him pay without putting Holly or Becky in danger. She just... needs to think on it, that's all Surely, she can come up with a plan. For now, though, all she can do is go to sleep and prepare herself for the next day.
Halfway to her bedroom, though, she stops, letting out a sigh. Turning back around, she heads into the kitchen and reaches up to one of the top shelves. She pulls out a bottle of vodka and pours herself a couple of shots, downing them both in quick succession. A small cough escapes her lips, as the liquid burns on the way down. Briefly, she contemplates a few more shots, but knows she won't be able to get out of bed in the morning if she does. Putting the bottle back up on the shelf, she walks back into her bedroom to get some sleep.
Int. Silverstone General Hospital – Day
Sitting at the edge of the bed again, Rose leans forward, elbows on her knees. She brought her lunch with her, but she doesn't eat. The nausea in her gut is too strong, brought on by the sight of Becky sleeping and hooked up to all those machines, barely hanging on to life. Instead, she just watches, hoping to herself that Becky will pull through.
Rose: You know, the day, uh... it's been pretty boring without you. I mean, I finally got to drive the cruiser, but... there's no one to talk to. The day just... kind of drags when you're not there. Everyone's pulling for you down at the station, you know. They, uh... they already bought your cake; it's vanilla, your favorite. Because you'll pull through, right? Of course you will...
A long moment of silence passes over the room, as Rose bows her head and closes her eye.
Rose: I, uh, I just want to say, I... might have to do some things... things you probably wouldn't be happy about. I don't know what, yet, but I will... eventually. But, I'm doing it to protect you, I want you to know that. You and Holly... as long as I keep you guys safe, then I'm still doing good, right? Yeah...
Swallowing, Rose takes in another deep breath and then slowly stands up, running her fingers back through her hair.
Rose: Well, I should probably get back out on patrol... already been here a little too long as it is. I'll be back tomorrow, Beck... just keep fighting, you hear me?
Looking down at Becky for another few moments, she finally lets out her breath and turns to leave. Her day is still far from over.
Ext. Slaton Toy Factor – Night
Ravager drives up to the front gates of the old abandoned factory, giving the place a long look as she kills the engine. It strikes her as an odd place for a meet up, but then villains are never ordinary. Removing her helmet, she hops off her bike and walks up to the chained iron fence, wondering just where the hell Jerry is. She got here on time, with a minute to spare, actually. So where is the b**tard?
As soon as the thought goes through her head, a phone begins to ring. It's a high, shrill sound that grates the insides of her ears. Scowling, she glances around, searching for the source. Her gaze falls on a small, pink cell phone taped to the gate in front of her. Staring at it for a few moments, she walks over and picks it up. According to the caller ID, the person on the other end is someone called “J”.
Ravager: Cute...
Flipping the phone open she holds it up to her ear and listens as the familiar, smug voice speaks to her.
Jerry/Phone: Ah, you're on time, I see. Good. I do love it when my workers are punctual.
Ravager: Just get on with it. What do you want me to do?
Jerry/Phone: Have you heard of S.T.A.R. Labs?
Ravager: The research company?
Jerry/Phone: That's the one.
Ravager: What about it?
Jerry/Phone: Well, it just so happens that they have a facility located right here in Silverstone City. As luck would have it, this particular facility also contains something of great value to me, something I need you to get for me.
Ravager: So you want me to steal you something from S.T.A.R. Labs?
Jerry/Phone: Will that be a problem?
Ravager: Just tell me what it is.
Jerry/Phone: Good. Now, what I'm looking for is contained in their storage vault, under the file name C-67. The code to open the vault is 83934.
Ravager: And you know this how?
Jerry/Phone: Eyes everywhere, remember? I just need someone like you to go and get it for me. But do be careful, security is pretty tight around S.T.A.R. Labs these days.
Ravager: Why am I not surprised?
Jerry/Phone: I’ve uploaded the building's blueprints to this phone, do study them carefully before running in without a plan. When you've retrieved the objective, give me a call; it's the only number on speed dial.
Rose: I'll try to remember.
Jerry/Phone: And keep in mind, Rose, if for any reason you should fail, Rebecca dies.
The call ends a moment later. Staring down at the phone, Ravager frowns and flips it closed, then places it in one of the reinforced compartments on her belt. She takes a brief moment to herself, breathing in deeply, and then returns to her bike to get on with her job.
Int. S.T.A.R. Labs Facility – Night
It's times like these that Ravager wishes she had a little bit more training in the art of stealth. Sure, she's good, but she's no Batman. That fact made itself evident when she tripped the alarm that alerted the entire facility of her presence, coming with a blaring horn, flashing red lights, swarms of security, the whole nine yards. A few teams of goons have already tried their luck in stopping her, but they didn't last long. Ravager isn't screwing around right now; she has a mission to accomplish, and failure means... well, failure isn't an option.
Turning the corner of the wide, open corridor, she comes face to face with another group of five or so security officers. One of them holds a large, bazooka-like weapon, pointing it at her and firing. She sees it coming before he even pulls the trigger, in turn jumping up and over the incoming projectile, a glowing red energy net. She lands on the guy's shoulders, kicks off of him, and moves through the other attacking guards in a matter of seconds. She throws punches, kicks, elbows, all strikes meant to cripple but not kill. Stealing from these people is bad enough, she doesn't need to murder anyone.
Storage vault, storage vault... come on, where are you?
She comes to a fork in the path, stopping only a moment as she tries to remember which way to go. Eventually, she heads left, sprinting down the corridor. Turning another corner, she halts at a large metal door blocking her path, a door with the word 'storage' written across it in big yellow letters.
Jackpot!
Standing in front of the access panel, she pauses a moment, trying to think of what the code was that Jerry gave her. With her heart beating so fast and adrenaline pumping through her, she's having trouble thinking straight. Within a few seconds, however, she remembers, typing it in and taking a step back as the security panel emits a loud whirring noise.
Computer Voice: Override recognized, security disabled.
The heavy door then slides open, revealing a long chamber beyond. Ravager sprints inside, looking around for her target. She sees several rows of storage containers, each one marked with a different label. Finding row C, she runs down the room until coming across the sixty-seventh container and quickly pulls it open. Inside the container is a small metal cylinder, no bigger than a ruler. Though she would like to know what exactly it is, there's no time to sit there wondering about it. She has to get out of here, now.
Guard: She's in the vault! Spread out and find her!
Ravager looks up, peering over the row of containers towards the entrance to the vault. Another team of security goons have moved in, these ones wielding what look like some kind of electric energy weapon, a gun with metal prongs that crackles with sparks.
Mental note: don't get hit by that.
Moving towards the back of the room, Ravager goes around the side of an empty row of containers. She hides herself behind what looks like a large drilling device, equipped with lasers and computer screens. Not even worth thinking about what something like that is used for. Waiting for one of the security guards to wander into range, Ravager jumps out and attacks with a sweeping kick to the head, dropping the guy instantly.
The other men in the room all begin to converge on her location, but she's already on the move, sprinting towards the door. As she nears the end of the room, one of the guards pokes around the edge of a container and fires his weapon, emitting an explosive wave of electricity at her. Unfortunately for him, she saw it happen before he even fired, allowing her to lunge away to the side, roll forward, and kick the weapon out of his hands, then put him down with a chop to the back of the skull. Reaching down, she picks up his fallen weapon with her free hand.
Ravager: You don't mind if I borrow this, do? Didn't think so.
Racing forward, she fires off a couple of potshots at the morons who get in her way. She saw the effects of the weapon in her precog, nothing more than a high caliber stun. The two men go down hard, but they're still breathing. Wasting no time, she continues out of the room and back down the corridor. Triggering the alarm had messed her up before, but now that she's calmed down and has a handle of things, she determines exactly where she is, according to the floor plans she studied earlier.
Turning a corner, she passes by a large set of doors and stops outside a small hatch on the wall. She glances quickly both ways to make sure no one is closing in on her, then opens the hatch and climbs inside, taking hold of the ladder and scaling upwards. It's a small maintenance shaft used to get to some of the more hard to reach areas of the building, and leads straight to the ceiling. It would have made a great entry point, had the rooftop hatch opened from the outside. For now, though, it acts as her escape.
When she reaches the top of the ladder, Ravager opens the hatch from the inside and pushes it open, allowing her to jump out onto the roof. She lowers a hand to her belt for a moment and clicks a small button on it, the one that initiates her bike's autopilot and homing beacon, bringing it right to her. Sprinting to the far side of the roof, she jumps onto the exterior ladder and slides down to the ground.
The moment that she reaches the ground, a team of guards on the outside open fire with non-lethal weapons. Of course, getting hit with them will still hurt, and likely leave her a drooling wreck for a few hours. Best not to get hit. Diving behind a nearby dumpster, she takes cover and waits. The loud hum of her motorcycle's engine beings to approach, drawing the attention of some of the guards. They turn to look behind them, giving them just enough time to get the hell out of the way before being run over.
The bike drives straight up to the dumpster and stops roughly ten yards from Ravager's position. Without hesitation, she leaps out from cover and mounts the vehicle instantly, gunning the engine and exploding forward with astonishing acceleration. She hits a hundred and fifty in mere seconds, disappearing away from the S.T.A.R. Labs facility before the security team can even aim another shot.
Ext. Silverstone City Slums – Night
Ravager stops her bike in a back alley, away from prying eyes. She stares down at the small metal cylinder for a few moments, pondering what the contents could be. Unfortunately, she doesn't really see a way to open it, and so her curiosity will go unsated for now. Instead, she pulls out the pink cell phone from earlier and dials the number.
Jerry/Phone: Ah, Rose, good to hear from you. And sooner than I expected, too.
Ravager: I got your... whatever it is.
Jerry/Phone: Of course you did, I never had any doubts.
Ravager: Now what?
Jerry/Phone: Now, we meet up so you can deliver the item to me. I'll see you shortly.
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Chapter #22 Preview: Now under Jeremiah's employ, Ravager begins to descend further and further down the criminal path, earning to attention of the local authorities, authorities that she is a part of during the day. But if she tries to stop, those closest to her will pay the price, forcing her to continue on her fall from grace.
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