Under My Protection

by CowboyCrusader

It's been a month since the events of Batman: Under the Red Hood. Ms. Catherine Li, former assistant to the Black Mask, is preparing to go into witness protection in return for testifying against her former boss. The Red Hood has a vested interest in her surviving long enough to put the crime lord behind bars for good. She's under his protection, whether she likes it or not.

Sources close to the district attorney's office have intimated that the case will likely be dropped due to lack of evidence.

The tall brunette groaned softly she pulled out the keys from her purse, slid them into the worn, half-rusted lock of her apartment door, and twisted with a satisfying click. Another meeting, which meant more uncomfortable questions and more paperwork. Even she had her limits when it came to the latter, and the former had her on edge tonight. She was happy to be home… well as far as this hole in the wall could be called such.

But the Black Mask is still under investigation for his alleged complicity in Joker's escape from Arkham.

She crossed the threshold and swung the door behind her, locking it and sliding the deadbolt across the frame just to be safe. She dropped her purse in the corner and kicked her heels off into her shoe rack. The tall woman yawned loudly and stretched before heading towards the washroom. After a long day like today she needed an aspirin or twelve.

The guards charged with aiding and abetting the escape were found murdered in the Gotham courthouse jail, while the alleged crime lord, Black Mask, was released on $1 million bail for his suspected involvement, and is currently awaiting a hearing.

The faint sound of her television set could be heard in her living room. She could just catch the faint voice of a news anchor and she felt a sinking feeling in her gut when she heard the vicious criminal's name. What's more, she couldn't recall keeping her television set on before she left that afternoon. Against her better judgement, she found herself turning around in the hallway and heading towards the entrance to her living room.

Prior to his arrest, Black Mask was being strong-armed by the mysterious Red Hood.

Brown eyes opened wide in surprise. This was old footage, an old newscast from over a week ago. There was no logical reason for it to be playing on her tv. Those eyes grew even wider as the telltale sound of a pistol being cocked sent shivers down her spine and she froze.

"Miss Li, you're a hard woman to find."

Sorry this is such a short chapter. It's my first fic and this is more of a teaser really than a full, quantifiable chapter. I'll be adding more detail in further chapters and rest assured, I've actually thought this story out for the most part.