The streets were quieter than Rick was used to, the route through the slums of London to drop off his sister at her school. It was because of the pressure caused by the presence of the men from the Black Cross.
'An act to secure the safety of the commoners in old London.' That's what they said.
They won't bluntly state that it is to secure the Nobles from them.
Who else could be the culprit for all these attacks that are befalling Lauxdale?
Obviously not a Noble.
So, they have no one to blame other than the powerless slum rats.
"Seriously, they should always be here," said Joanna.
Elfric snapped out of his murderous thoughts, hoping that his sister didn't pay attention to him. But the look on her face told otherwise.
"Brother, you have been having these weirdest, scariest looks on your face these days," she raised her brow.
She couldn't get over the murderous look she saw on her brother's face the other day. Elfric was the sweetest and kindest boy she had ever seen. He wasn't capable of displaying such hate, or at least that's what she thought.
She disregarded the thought; maybe she was just overthinking this whole thing since she had a lot of free time this past week. Being suspended from school made her realize just how long a day actually is.
"Was I?" he acted dumb.
"Guess the stress is finally getting to me." He mumbled, faking a grin as he ruffled his sister's brown hair, changing the topic.
"Carol…" Joanna mumbled.
"What about her?"
"I don't want to see her."
Rick hummed as he glanced up at the sky, which was tinted gray from all the fumes and cars' discharge.
Not the sight that he was searching for, but he figured that he would have to make do with it.
'Till one day I change this tinted sky to a clear one…with my own hands,' he thought.
"I see why you are saying that," he finally said. "But I think everything would be alright now."
"What?" she scoffed. "You think that she would just…I don't know…change?"
Elfric chuckled, watching the way his sister's expression reflected her every word.
"I didn't mean that, but you never know what could happen," said Elfric.
'You don't know what might have happened to her in these few days,' he added in the back of his mind.
That night at the Gotham tower. He was the one who saved her and her father – barely saved them, but still, that doesn't change the fact that she would have been dead without him.
'Right, you forgot to get rid of that blonde and her father,' Orathan exclaimed out of the blue.
'Stop stalking, devil,' Rick said. He glanced at his sister, who decided to ignore his existence.
'I can't just unhear your conversations,' Orathan protested. 'What are you going to do?'
Rick took a deep breath. The Frankensteins didn't slip his mind, but…he believed that it would be a waste to just put them on fire as well, not when they haven't witnessed much anyway.
'They have only seen me threaten Crane that day,' Elfric explained.
'I doubted that they understood half of what Crane was saying back then, not in the position that they have been in. It was hard enough to grasp they were going to die.'
'You have a point,' Orathan finally agreed.
"I always have a point," Elfric said out loud.
"What are you talking about?" Joanna puzzled.
It was hard not to hear Rick in this pin-drop silence despite the same number of people on the street as every day.
"Nothing, sister," said Elfric. "Just talking to myself."
She studied him for a second.
What happened to him that he has changed so much? She wondered.
That once warm and affectionate aura was slowly starting to fade from around him, not that she was scared or anything…just curious about what happened in a week that would make him change so much.
"Oh my god, where are they taking them?"
The gossip from the crowd ahead of them caught their attention, but they never stopped. There was no need to see how two Black Cross guards were dragging a middle-aged man to the back of their car.
Completely ignoring the cries from him as he pleads innocence.
"Where are you taking me!" the man cried out. "I was only stopping to check my bag?!" he struggled, but the grip from the two men was too much for him.
"You can plead innocence before the judge," said one of them. "If you are truly innocent, then you will walk freely. If not, that means you're adding to charges of treason!"
Elfric scoffed in disbelief and anger. Dragging a man from the middle of the street based on pure speculation.
"Show me the warrant for my arrest at least!" the man exclaimed, still caught in their harsh grip.
The two guards gazed at each other for a moment. Guess the request was too hard for them as there was never a warrant to begin with. One of them turned to look back at the man who seemed to have the slightest bit of hope now, as he believed that he had cornered the other two.
"The Black Cross has issued the Red Protocol in London city," said one of them. "Now get a move one!" he forced the man into the car, slamming the door away before he caused any more commotion.
Red Protocol…the word made the people quiver in fear.
Fear that Elfric was able to smell – he wondered if it was an ability gained. But no, there was no need to have anything special to see the fear that coated the eyes of these poor people.
Their daily lives were already a living hell, Red Protocol only added to it.