Who: Sam {Narrative} What: Rory hunting becomes something more. Where: Random alley in Rainier Valley. When: This evening Warnings: A few swears.
There was only clear thought in Sam’s mind as the days after the memory thought passed. Rory’s leaving, for whatever reason couldn’t be right – this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. His vanishing was lumped in together with Freddie’s kidnapping, an absence that couldn’t be explained. Each time she passed his room, a lump got caught in her throat. Each sound at her window or in the hall was rushed towards, hoping it would be him. It never was and she couldn’t sleep with worry and guilt.
She took to the streets, even after the disastrous attempt of finding Rory with the Cipher and Corbinian. She kept on her own, in the same outfit. No lit areas, she faced what little fears she had left in favor of hunting. Each alley was scoured, she stopped people, ditching her mask as she did so, asking if anyone had seen the Inkblot – Rorschach – a man with a broken nose and had shaved his head. Nothing turned up, aside from a few false trails. Had he left Seattle? Her stomach flipped and she kept on, cancelling baby-sitting jobs in favor of looking – searching, like she should have been for Freddie ages ago.
A few nights had passed in this manner when she’d headed down a random alley – debating ending early so she could eat. When was the last time she’d done something like that? Instead of Rory or an empty alley – or even a hooker on a corner who she could just ask a question to – there were several men, large bulky and with a flash of a bag passed between them which couldn’t be good. Crap. She came to an abrupt halt, heels digging in. Time to turn around.
They didn’t miss her though and one called out. The three turned and gave each other one shared look before approaching. Sam didn’t think as much as react. What Rory had taught her had really only been if someone had a hold of her. She took off, running down the alley she came down – dodging right and then left. Adrenaline pushed her on, along with the nagging voice that sounded an awful lot like her missing roommate until she reached a dead end with a dumpster. Double, double crap. Where the hell was a vigilante when you need one?
“For a mask, you’re running a lot.” The tallest cracked his knuckles before grabbing her arm. The others approached. “You going to squeal about what you saw, chicken?”
She only glared. One, she wasn’t a chicken. Two, who said squeal anymore? Three, she wasn’t scared. Not really. Sort of. What would Rory do in this situation? The answer wasn’t very promising and Sam in that heart-beat chose to improvise. She used her weight to bend forward, yanking the thug out with her. His balance was off and he went toppling before the next got her. She wasn’t very quick and the next grabbed her shoulder, before she could react. “Fucking bitch-”
Her mask was yanked off – so much for anonymity made by wishes – before Sam thought. Oh right. Wishes. “You know,” she said carefully. “I wish you guys were bound up and gagged. Right now.”
It worked like a charm, like the magic it really was. Arms bound at the sides with blue, it then wound up and wadded in their mouths. Sam froze, staring at them for a long moment before a grin spread. She dug out her cell phone and dialed 911. She wondered vaguely what Rory would think of this before taking off for a fire escape’s stairs. If the police got these guys and they hadn’t been…well, really harmed, wasn’t that doing the right thing?