The Red Claw
It is the nature of vigilantes to be well-known by the populace. Those under the thumb of the government are listed publically, for the people to know who their supposed saviours are; those working under their own jurisdisction often have a reputation in the areas they function, either as protectors or as maniacs, which may then spread to the city at large. The Red Claw is oft-described as the latter; his next target for the night is seen as the former by most, her location tipped off to him by a legally-spotless contact, who in turn receives their information from unknown sources linked to another vigilante. He cannot say for sure that the unknown source is not a criminal, but as long as he never figures out who they are, he never has to kill them for their actions, or his contact for associating with criminal elements.
Time has passed since the Red Claw's judgement of Jonathan Cape. He is now in the Blood Blocks, so-called for being a particularly gruesome place to live and die in. A reputation not helped by its local protector, the gas-masked monster known simply as Graffiti - the Red Claw does not necessarily hunt down vigilantes for the sake of halting their actions, criminal as they may be, since to do so would be hypocritical, but he has received word that, as a matter of course, Graffiti's usual activities include unnecessary indulgences in darker urges, such as prolonged torture of her victims and subsequent display of their corpses in her depraved works of art.
He passed her latest work of art just a few minutes ago. One bullet puncture, multiple knife injuries, including severe genital mutilation to the point of exsanguination. Likely an individual deserving of death. Not of prolonged torture, however. To indulge in vices such as cruelty is to be no better than a criminal. This is unacceptable to the Red Claw, and so he must hunt her down and bring an end to her actions. The punishment is death, and nothing more.
As he walks, he comes to the backside of a street. This would not be a notable event in itself, but for the two individuals who have chosen to break into and out of a building in plain sight. Common thieves, then, and easily dealt with, though the Red Claw is presently beyond a comfortably-accurate firing range for just two targets. As he approaches, however, features of the black thief's outfit come into focus more readily, in particular a black hoodie and combat trousers of familiar style. The description of Graffiti's lacking outfit comes to mind, and it occurs to the Red Claw that this may be the very same individual. He understands that the nature of vigilante hunting is often defined by a lack of success in actually finishing them off before they can escape, and in those cases prefers a quieter approach than he would usually utilise. Additionally, the Red Claw cannot presently identify the individual alongside the suspect, though they are seemingly a thief; they could be a generic criminal element, or they could be a vigilante cohort of Graffiti. Or, perhaps, they are simply a civilian dragged along with the suspect, in which case her death would preferably be avoided.
Overall, the Red Claw sees too many potential failure factors to risk spooking his target. Though it deeply pains the Red Claw to do so, knowing the further torture will be performed by Graffiti if he lets her go free, the Red Claw does not fire at either target, instead simply walking toward them in plain sight, a calm stroll suggesting minimal threat. If the Red Claw can memorise the suspect's face, perhaps even acquire a real name, he can utilise the information to assist a future attempt on Graffiti's life, should the opportunity to do so arise. Or, alternatively, have her incapacitated through less direct methods. A rare, but oddly satisfying way for the Red Claw to go about his duty.
@Xandrya@fluorescent
