Ruby Redfort: try not to scream

The dress fitted Ruby perfectly. It's skirt was just above her knees and it made her eyes stand out even more. She brushed her hair into a low ponytail with her parting down the middle. In defiance she slipped on a pair of sneakers, just in case she needed to make a quick getaway.

There was a gentle knock at her door.
"Come in," answered Ruby. Dan entered wearing a gray suit and a tie that matched her dress. Hitch, Ruby thought.
"Wow," whispered Dan. Ruby didn't hear him. "You ready?" he asked, nervously.
"As ready as I can be, I guess," said Ruby, turning to him. He looked her up and down. In the short time he had known Ruby Redfort, he had never been this jittery around her. What was going on? This was unprofesional and slightly stupid. He needed to stop thinking about this.

They walked downstairs and the phone rang in the living room.
"Do you want me to pick up?" asked Hitch, thinking it was The Count. Ruby shook her head.

"Hello," said Ruby as she answered the phone.
"Hey Rube," It was Clancy.
"Oh, hey Clance."
"Where are you guys?" Oh no. Ruby had forgotten about meeting Clancy.
"I'm so sorry Clance, we can't make it," she heard him sigh. "I gotta go," she put down the phone.

As they drove in the car to Spectrum 1, Ruby felt Dan's eyes on her. Hitch had his headphones in listening to what Ruby assumed to be music. He couldn't hear anything.
"You nervous?" asked Ruby.
"A little," replied Dan, sounding very nervous. "Are you?"
"Slightly. You never know what's gonna happen in these things," sighed Ruby.
"I wouldn't know. It's my first proper briefing," It all made sense now. Dan was a trainee agent who had been hired for this case because he was the only one who would blend in with Ruby. She reached over and held his hand.
"It's not that bad. Just LB taking for a while, telling us what to do, going over the rules and then realising I'm going to break every single one of them," she giggled. He grinned. Somehow he felt completely safe when he was with Ruby. He would gladly follow her into no-mans-land if she told him to. There was something about her that just made her more important and trustworthy than anyone else in his life.

When the car was parked, they followed Hitch into a huge room. There was a round table with name tags by each seat. There were some seats around the outside for anyone who was invited to spectate the meeting. Ruby recognised most of the people in the room. LB was wearing a white suit and, surprisingly, some shoes. Her classic red lipstick stained her lips a perfect crimson shade. Agent Delaware, head of Spectrum 1, was as always wearing a blue suit and his glasses. Agent Zuko, Blacker, Kekoa, Sam Colt and Froghorn were sat in the spectator seats. They all waved at the three of them as they entered. Ruby pointed out every Spectrum agent in the room to Dan and he pointed out the British agents. There weren't many British Secret Service agents in the room although Ruby hadn't expected there to be lots. They needed agents to stay in England to help out there. Hitch went over to stand with LB as Dan and Ruby went to speak to Blacker and the others.

"Hey guys," said Blacker. They each offered their own words of encouragement before Ruby and Dan were called to the table. As they turned to leave, Froghorn took hold of Ruby's arm gently.
"Good luck, Ruby," For the first time, Ruby Redfort saw Myles Froghorn smile. And not just a little smug smile or one to remember Bradley Baker. He was genuinely happy to see her.
"Thanks," smiled Ruby.

Dan and Ruby took their places at the table as LB rose to her feet. A Spectrum agent by the name of Emerson handed out the case files to all who sat down.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," said LB noticing Ruby. "Boy and girl, welcome to today's briefing. As you are all aware, Count Von Viscount has recently returned after three years of absence. It is critical that we find him, arrest him and shut him down before he does anything bad," Ruby could sense that her boss was incredibly nervous. LB looked straight at her and Ruby nodded. She smiled sweetly and LB continued to speak.
"Currently we only have two living agents who have ever seen The Count in person, only one of which you could claim to have survived him. These are Ruby Redfort and Art Hitchen Zachary." Ruby noticed Hitch rolling his eyes. It was plain to see that he hated being referred to as Art Hitchen Zachary. Hitch suited him fine.
"If she doesn't mind, I would like Agent Redfort to come and speak to you about The Count. Ruby?" Ruby sighed. I hate you LB, she thought. She stood up as her boss sat down. She decided the best approach was to just warn people of this psycho and sit back down as fast as possible.
"Thank you, LB for that introduction and for definitely warning me that you were going to make me speak," she said sarcastically. Most of the agents laughed a little.
"I am sure some of you will already know about the various issues we have had with Victor Von Layden and his many associates. The Count himself has no known motive for his evil ways other than pleasure making him an incredibly dangerous individual. As it stands we assume that over the past few years he has been creating a fool proof, elaborate plan to potentially destroy Spectrum and kill all those who he finds threatening. By that I mean, Hitch, LB, Blacker, Froghorn and myself. Anyone else who becomes involved, Agent Zayn for example, could become a target. We at Spectrum ask for your help in the sense that we all keep eachother safe from this man. Trust me when I tell you, he will stop at nothing to get his revenge. We pushed him into hiding for three whole years and now we could suffer huge consequences. I'm sure I speak for both LB and myself when I say that we will do all we can to ensure the safety of both Spectrum agents and British agents. Please be careful," Ruby slowly gained confidence as she continued to talk. All of the agents in the room looked fascinated by this teenager who was so wise beyond her years.
"I would also like to address the potential survival of Lorelie Von Layden. As her body was also never found she is also assumed to be alive. She is the daughter of The Count's old and dead friend, Marnie Novak. This woman, although she is six feet under, brought about the demise of the greatest agent Spectrum had ever seen, Bradley Baker. Lorelie could possibly be even more dangerous than her mother. She is a woman of many faces. A mistress of disguise if you will. There is only one way of telling who she is. This is the smell of her turkish delight perfume. If you smell it, run. Run fast. We will also do all we can to protect every single one of you from her. Now, I think I've blabbed enough so I will hand you back over to LB," Ruby sat back down. All of the agents in the room had listened to every word she had said. LB smiled at her and continued to brief the agents on the mission itself.

"Agents Redfort, Zayn and Zachery will take the lead in the field. Both of the Spectrum agents are highly qualified and have my full trust. Zayn will participate in some of the field training classes instructed by Redfort, Colt and Kekoa to make sure he is ready for what is coming. All the information we have is in those files we have handed out. Please go over it in detail. Agent Blacker and Agent Froghorn will take the coding and research side of this operation and we will have all teams on high alert. For now, be very wary and follow Redfort's advice; it's pretty good. We will re-meet in a few weeks to reassess the situation."

The agents filed out slowly until it was only Ruby, Hitch, Dan and LB left.
"Great speech, kid," said Hitch, patting Ruby on the back. LB coughed. "You were good too up until you said my name," They all chuckled.
"Sorry Hitch but the Brits are all about using real names. To them I'm Agent Byrd,"
"I think LB suits you better," said Ruby.
"I agree. Loveday Byrd isn't exactly something you think of when you see me," mused LB.
"And you should definitely stay as Hitch. I can't imagine calling you Art,"
"Thanks Ruby. I'm quite fond of being called Hitch,"
"You did good out there Redfort," said LB as she turned to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow,"

Ruby smiled. A compliment from LB was like a knighthood from the Queen.
"Let's get you two home," said Hitch.

The car ride home was full of chatter about a manner of topics. The one that interested Ruby the most was the fact LB was wearing shoes. When the silver convertible pulled into the Redfort's driveway there was a figure sitting on the front step. The figure of a boy.

Hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reading it, new one coming soon xxx