Chapter Text
Bobby knows it can’t be good that Rumi, Mira and Zoey have been called in in person. Celine usually reserves that for hiring and firing, and the occasional high-profile case. He’s certain she already knows they’ve been working in secret, and as much as he respects his boss and the handsome paycheck he gets each month, he doesn’t blame is girls for going behind her back. He’s in full support, really. After Rumi had told him everything, he’s surprised they didn’t all just quit outright. He’d have followed them, too. Suitcase packed and all.
They’re risking a lot doing this, he knows. So he wants to protect them. He treats them like his own. Life hadn’t dealt him a hand that permitted him to build a cozy, charmed life; kids, a partner to come home to… So this is as close as he’s going to get. He’s known Rumi since she was an awkward teenager. And when Zoey and Mira came along, it was pure serendipity for Rumi, for him.
That’s why he can barely breathe once he gets back to the house after his narrow escape. He had to watch helplessly as Mira and Zoey were taken by men he presumed to be SAJA. He wants to run to them, but there's too many of them, and he's no good to them dead. It’s his job to protect them. From the world, from Celine sometimes, too. And he couldn’t even do that.
As soon as it’s clear, he rushes towards the rubble, towards Rumi’s unconscious body and turns her over. His stomach drops as he takes in her injuries. She’s barely breathing.
“Hold on, Rumi, I’ve got you.” He scoops her into his arms and carries her back to the safe house.
Bobby fights hard against his shaking hands as he pulls the glass from Rumi’s gut and stitches the wound. He cleans up her face and arms and lays her in one of the beds at the house, hooks her up to some fluids and extra blood to help ease her recovery. As much as he hates to admit it, they don’t have time for a slow recovery. Mira and Zoey are in danger and he needs her if they’re going to get them back.
He works furiously to track Mira and Zoey from Rumi’s bedside. He can’t stop now. And once Rumi is on her feet again, they’ll have to move fast to get them back. Derpy, who’d been scooped up by Bobby in the escape, curls up beside Rumi on the bed, keeping vigil on her resting form all the while.
The tiny clock in the corner of Zoey’s computer screen reads 4:37am by the time Bobby figures out where they’ve been taken. Back to where it all began in that disused warehouse. He mentally berates himself for it not being the first place he thought to start, but clear as day, on the hacked CCTV cameras, he sees the same van pull up and Mira and Zoey being hoisted out and into the building.
Rumi groans in her sleep and shifts uncomfortably him, her brow furrowing in pain, but she doesn’t wake just yet. Bobby’s heart breaks for her.
“It’s okay, kiddo,” he whispers, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “We’ll get them.”