#ruby quick

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.