"I won't be held down by who I used to be. She's nothing to me."—Weight of the World, Evanescence
…
"Did you get any sleep last night? Or were you just planning to run on fumes all day?"
"Fumes sound great to me" Mackenzie groaned; running a hand through tousled brownish-blond hair, and nudging past her roommate to get access to the ever-important coffee pot "What were you up to last night?"
"Same old, same old. Drinks, dancing, inappropriate men—"
"Sounds fun, Liv."
"It was. Have you talked to that brother of yours lately?"
"I'm going to pretend you didn't ask me that."
"What? Why is mentioning him such a bad thing?" Olivia mused; accepting the brimming cup of coffee that Mackenzie handed her, and taking a sip while awaiting a reply. Naturally she knew that the subject of family was a touchy one, where her long-time friend and roommate were concerned, though Liv would have been a fool to pretend that the often close-lipped manner Mackenzie had when dealing with her family did not trouble her. After losing her own parents just one year prior, she often found herself longing for that sort of connection—a connection which Mackenzie herself seemed to shirk as easily as someone does a winter coat after the first taste of spring.
She loved her friend to death, of course, but even that depth of affection was not entirely enough to sweep away the concern she felt over how Mackenzie Gordon seemed, for all intents and purposes, to be more than content to simply be alone.
"Mentioning him isn't a bad thing" Mackenzie replied; taking a sip of her own coffee, and closing her eyes for a moment to savor the rejuvenating warmth before speaking any further "But trying to push me for details on our latest argument, if you want to call it that, is."
"Come on, Kenz, he loves you."
"He's got a damned funny way of showing it."
"From where I'm sitting, wanting you out of a job that has actually put your life in danger on more than one occasion doesn't seem that unreasonable."
"Don't use my brother as a means for furthering your own campaign against my job, Liv."
"Why not? He's got a rather formidable case that kind of complements my own."
"I'm sure he'd be proud to hear you say that."
"He damned well ought to be" Olivia stated; placing her mug of coffee on the marble countertop of their apartment, and leaning her elbows against it so that she could place her chin on the impromptu platform formed by her hands "And seeing as I'm the only one of the two of us you'll actually willingly talk to—"
"You've taken it upon yourself to be the one to talk me into quitting for good."
"Yep."
"Can you try me again when I'm off tomorrow morning?" Mackenzie pleaded; suppressing a yawn, and once again dragging a hand through tousled hair as she scooped up her coffee cup and padded towards the door of her bedroom once again "I'm working a double tonight, Liv."
"Yet another reason to get out while you still can. The woman's overworking you."
"What if I happen to like that?"
"Then I'll say you're crazy. Arkham-level crazy" Olivia dead-panned; laughing at the rather obvious scowl that Mackenzie leveled her way before disappearing into the darkness of her room, and likely the impending relief of a shower. As she may have predicted, she received no response, save for the muted plink of the coffee mug against the bathroom counter, followed by the steady hiss of the shower nozzle spraying water against the tiling and plaster of the bathtub. And although Liv may have wished she could think of some other means of carrying on the very conversation that her friend seemed determined not to have, she was forced to do nothing other than retrieve her own beverage and take her seat at her usual end of the sofa, her spine giving a soft pop as she stretched back against the cushions, and reached for the remote that was jammed between them at the same time.
Of course, had she known what she would find when she flicked the television on, she might have opted to leave well enough alone…
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman. Today we bring you the story of a night on the town gone horridly wrong, resulting in the deaths of both Thomas and Martha Wayne—"
"Hey—hey Kenz" Olivia called; hauling herself to her feet, and tossing the remote on the coffee table before hurrying towards her roommate's partially open door, and pushing through so that she could come to stand just outside the bathroom, and holler over the volume provided by the spray of the shower that was currently fogging up the mirror above the sink.
"You're gonna want to hurry up in there so you can see this."
…
"You're late. You know I don't like that, Mackenzie."
"Sorry, Fish. Got caught up in the news."
"The news. Well, at least you're honest" The older of the two women acknowledged; stepping down from the chair she had been perched upon beside the bar, and coming to stand before her newest would-be protégé for a moment so that she could take in her appearance for herself. Her hair had been tied back in a haphazard ponytail, though the usual flyaway strands fell, as always, to rest upon the dark blue fabric of her shirt. The girl's familiar hazel eyes were faintly bloodshot, as well, likely as a result of yet another hectic shift working the night before. But perhaps what grabbed Fish's attention the most was the almost haggard quality to her otherwise youthful features, one dark brow quirking as she reached forward to brush a thumb against Mackenzie's cheekbone before pulling away and stepping around her to head back towards the bar.
"What news, honey? You aren't going to leave me hanging, are you?"
"Thomas and Martha Wayne are dead" Mackenzie supplied; aware of the sudden straightening in her boss' posture, and using that to her advantage as she moved to follow her employer while simultaneously tugging the spare hair tie from her wrist in an attempt at corralling her unruly locks still further "The police are going to prefer a quickly closed case, and they'll probably look for any reason to pin the whole thing on the first halfway decent suspect."
"You know who has the case?"
"No."
"You should" Fish advised; pausing in the act of removing a bottle of bourbon from one of the lower shelves beneath the bar's countertop, and leveling a glance at Mackenzie that ought to have frozen her to the spot, but for her exhaustion that stood in the way of common sense "Word on the street is the case was handed down to one James Gordon."
"Seriously?"
"Would I lie to you, dear?"
"I—no. No, I know you wouldn't" Mackenzie managed; her voice cracking in mid-sentence, and causing her cheeks to warm a bit as she ducked her head, and pretended to fiddle with the hem of one sleeve "I never meant to suggest that you would."
"You can't imagine how glad I am to hear you say that, Mackenzie" Fish admitted; something in her tone hinting that it carried a bit more of a warning than its overt honeyed quality might initially suggest "Would you be an angel, and join me in the alley in an hour?"
"Um—sure?"
"Good girl. And make sure you don't decide to let your better judgment get in the way when you get there."
"My—better judgment?" Mackenzie stammered; curiosity once again getting the better of her, and prompting her to remain in place, instead of stepping aside as Fish made to pass her by "What does that mean?"
"It means I know you well enough by now to realize that you still have a bit of a conflict of interest where your family is concerned" Fish reasoned; straightening just a bit so that she could look down at the young woman standing before her with a half-smirk toying at the edges of her mouth.
"And I need to know that if your brother does come knocking on my door, you won't go giving him any reason to believe that we know a single thing about that tragedy that happened last night."
Naïve new hire or not, even Mackenzie knew enough to recognize the barely hidden threat that resided beneath Fish's warning, the goosebumps that formed on her skin causing her to shiver as she stood aside and let her employer pass, before taking to the task of restocking the bar.
No matter what the cost to her own personal sense of security, she was not about to give Fish a reason to doubt her loyalty, any more than she was about to give her brother a reason to think she couldn't take care of herself…
…
Hello there, my dears! And welcome to a rather unexpected *second* foray into a story for 'Gotham'! I can't really explain how this one came to me, other than saying that it quite literally hit me out of the blue and I could not be persuaded to stop thinking of potential plots once I had started. So, with that said, I certainly hope that it meets with your approval. I'd hate to continue working on something that no one wanted to read!
As always, my heartfelt thanks go out to every single one of you that has taken the time to read this and give it a chance thus far! I humbly implore any and all of you that are willing to leave some feedback on whether or not you would be interested in further chapters…and of course, any input on a potential pairing for Mackenzie would be greatly appreciated as well! At the moment, I'm rather attached to Ed Nygma…but of course I would be willing to consider other options, if anyone has any to share!
Until next time (I hope?)
MOMM