The opportunity finally presented itself, and Owl's vigil soon came to an end.
The murderer bid his friends goodnight as they slipped inside a brothel, but he did not follow, which made Owl's hackles rise. Instead he turned and headed off into the night, making his way toward a poorer district. Silently, Owl tailed behind him, sticking to the rooftops where she could and following a discrete distance behind on the ground when the rooftops ended. The average homes and businesses soon made way to dilapidated buildings and streets lined with rubbish and piss and worse, the smell strong enough to make her gag--but she'd been down in the sewers themselves before and nothing was worse than that.
It was quieter here, save for the sounds of fighting cats and the raucous shouts of a drunkard arguing with no one. It was a good, secluded place to confront him--but she didn't confront him just yet. She had to be certain it was him. She needed proof, as she had with Rufus that one night at the brothel, when they had taken down a man who preyed on whores. It was the worst part, the anticipation, the fear that she might not be quick enough, the worry that maybe she was wrong or maybe he wouldn't do anything questionable...
But that was when he slipped around a corner and into an alley--and before she could catch up to see where he'd went, a muffled yelp rang out, the sounds of a struggle, and the "shhh, shhhh" of someone trying to hush another person. A person who had begun to sob.
Owl's heart stopped, but she used to broken crate to vault up and catch the edge of the roof, silently haul herself up onto her belly, and crawl to the edge to watch. And sure enough, to her horror, it was the man in the hat, only his hat had been knocked off in the struggle and he now clutched a shabby-clothed boy, no older than twelve, in his arms, a curved dagger pressed to the boy's throat. His hand covered his mouth, wrenching the boy's head back, and he smiled perversely as he took a drought of the kid's oily hair.
"Shhh, it's okay. It's okay. Be quiet now," he whispered, and cast a look around the alley as though planning his next move. "Shhh. Everything's going to be okay, little one. I'm gonna take real good care of you."
The boy struggled as much as he dared, tears streaming down his, and the man only pressed the knife in tighter as he started to walk them both backwards out of the alley.
It was all the proof Owl needed.
She just had to be smart about this, or this would become a hostage situation--or the boy would be accidentally injured.
Reaching into her pocket, she drew am enchanted fuiyun card and flicked it to the ground at the man's back, and before he could take another step, a hideous beast erupted into existence, a creature ten feet tall and covered in pus-oozing boils, too many mouths, and saliva that hissed when it hit the ground. It roared, its breath hot on the man's neck, and he was so startled he howled in alarm and dropped the boy as he spun to face the terror looming before him.
And as he spun to face one horror, Owl dropped from the roof behind him, fisted a hand in his hair, and snapped his head backwards even as she viciously drove her knee into his kidneys once, twice. He went down like a felled tree, breathless in agony for several long seconds before he heaved his stomach onto the cobblestones, adding to the filth of the place.
Owl had her sword out and pressed to his neck before he could finish. "Move and I'll chew you up and spit you out like the rat you are," she growled, while her illusion still towered behind him, snarling and swiping harmlessly at him. The urchin was already gone; the moment he was free, he'd booked it, and Owl didn't blame him, though she hoped he'd be okay.
At least he'd be safe from the likes of this asshole.
Needless to say, Owl was late for her training.
It had taken time to truss the creep up, and time to march him along to the nearest patrol. She shoved him at the surprised guards, quickly told them she'd caught their good man about to prey on another urchin, and then she'd booked it before they could ask too many questions.
That could get messy fast.
In any case, it took a lot more time than she'd anticipated, and now she was running a good twenty minutes late for her actual training session. Hopefully Herrick wouldn't freak about that, she hoped as she slipped into the warehouse where they usually met.