Chapter 1 - Murphy Romero
The bar wasn't really her scene. She wasn't much of a drinker, the taste of alcohol was sickening to her, and she was never able to understand how or why people were able to consume to much of it.
But despite her distaste for the bar scene, she found herself sitting in a booth all by her lonesome. She patiently swirled the ice in her cup around, watching the patrons of the bar drink themselves into a drunken stupor. She scoffed at them all.
Fools, all of them
Naomi's face twisted in disgust, watching these people engage in tomfoolery was quite entertaining, but still bothersome nonetheless. She was uncomfortable at this moment, part of that reason was due to the fact that she was socially awkward. Not much of a people person. She was terrified of engaging in conversation with others, granted she lacked the communication skills required to even have a decent conversation, but she also despised people, often times she evaded places that were constantly bustling with activity.
Two's a crowd and three's pushing the boundaries she always reasoned.
But now, being in such a crowded place was really irking her nerves. She was uneasy and it was obvious in her posture, from the way she chewed on her bottom lip, and scowl she held as she watched everyone. But she was on a mission. A tedious task that required keeping her composure, and baring a night of incompetent bar patrons, and the hungry eyes that practically undressed her.
This is ridiculous. She tapped her fingers on the wooden table. It's already 1 o'clock, she's been waiting, and watching for approximately 2 hours.
Watching him. Watching Murphy Romero.
He blended in well with the doltish crowd. He sat at the bar, ordering shots and beers. She was surprised he was still conscious.
She sighed. She wanted him to leave so badly. So very badly.
She ground her teeth together, her nails clawing at the table. Naomi was so concentrated on her prey that she failed to notice the gentlemen who had approached her, and flinched when he spoke,
"May I join you, sweetheart?"
She looked at the man startled. She was barely able to see him,but was able to make out his formal attire, slacks, a button down shirt and a sleeveless vest. He held a long coat in his hand, then placing it down on the seat closest to him. Naomi looked up at his face, the lighting in her corner of the bar was dark, and she was only able to make out some features of his face, including a bandanna that covered the lower half of it.
Such an odd choice for an accessory She thought while looking at him.
He cleared his throat, "May I?" He gestured to the seat across from her. She smiled, although an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach about having a stranger join her, especially when said stranger is a man.
"Yea, um, I guess" She smiled sheepishly.
Stupid. You were supposed to say no She mentally slapped herself. As the man sat down, Naomi glanced back over to Romero, sighing when the man spoke again,
"Sorry, to bother you"
Lie.
He's been watching her. Watching her from the minute she walked into the building, how she evaded conversation and physical contact, how she sat down quietly in the darkest end of the bar. It all intrigued him. Especially how she kept her eyes fixated on the guy at the bar, such a dangerous look in them. He's just been waiting for the proper time to come and introduce himself, to really observe her. He could care less if he actually was bothering her.
"But as you can see..." he smiled, lifting his hand and gesturing around the bar, "...This place is crowded" he said and Naomi smiled and nodded. The man slightly leaned forward, pressing his elbows on the table, watching her sit back in her chair, evading eye contact. Her attention was elsewhere, and he frowned, following her gaze subtly. She was looking at him again. Smiling, he cleared his throat, chuckled and tapped his fingers on the table. Naomi instantly looked back at him,
"Huh, sorry"
The man smiled, well she assumed he smiled from the way the top half of his face contorted. "And I noticed you were sitting all alone" Naomi nodded, chuckling. She sighed,
Go away
"You seem a little...tense" he pointed out. Naomi frowned,
"Just tired" she lied. He knew this but smiled anyway.
"How about a drink?"
Naomi shook her head smiling, "Nah, I'm not much of a drinker. I had only one drink, and it was water"
He giggled madly, "Nonsense. A shot of whiskey never hurt anyone" Naomi sighed before nodding. She slumped forward and watched as he ordered two shots,
"Right away sir" the waitress said before leaving the two to themselves.
"I'm don't like the taste of alcohol"
And for what seems like the first time she starred into his eyes. They were dark, and mischievous. She bit her lower lip, which seemed to captivate him . He let his eyes fall to the plump, painted lips, before slowly traveling back up to her eyes.
Hm. He was an interesting character.
"But since you already o-"
A loud slam on the bar counter cut her sentence short, and also startled her. She jumped in her seat, and looked over to Romero, whom she almost forgotten about. Shit. she thought,
"How about another round guys?" Romero said loudly, all the patrons at the bar cheered.
"Did he startle you?" the man in front of her snickered, Naomi smiled, laughed to herself and looked back up at him,
"A little"
The man tilted his head to the side, "You don't talk much do you?" The answer was obvious, but he was almost desperate to have her speak to him, and heavens knew how much he hated engaging in idle chat. She shook her head slowly,
"I don't really like talking to people" she admitted. He smiled, nodding his head. It was a reasonable answer.
Soon their shots came, and Naomi just stared down at the bronze colored substance. She chewed the inside of her cheek, grasping the small glass in her hand,
"A, ah, toast" He spoke holding his glass up. She smiled, raising a brow,
"To what?"
He pretended to ponder before he spoke again, "Hm, I'm not sure" he paused, looking back into her eyes, "but raise your glass anyway doll-face" Naomi half smiled at the nickname. She lifted her glass to his. They connected with a clink, and Naomi downed her drink. Wincing at the sting in her throat. She shut her eyes, forcing the drink down.
She hated the taste, and shivered involuntarily. The man giggled,
"See sweetheart, that wasn't so bad was it?" When Naomi opened her eyes sshe was taken aback. The lower half of his face now exposed. He smiled, but something was off.
(Are those scars?) She stared at the lower half of his face. They were indeed scars, and they extended from the corners of his mouth, up his cheek. He was always smiling.
He shifted in his seat, looking into his lap, he frowned,
"It's, uh, impolite to stare, doll" He spoke lowly. He was uncomfortable, it was obvious and she wanted to stop staring at them, but she couldn't bring herself to..
(What happened to you?)
When he cleared his throat she slowly looked back into his eyes, taking short glances to watch him tongue the scars.
"I'm-ugh, i'm sorry. It's just...Nevermind"
He grinned, giggling he spoke,
"Wanna know how I got 'em?" Naomi gasped. Would he really tell her? Must be a touchy subject. "Hm? Do you doll-face?"
Slam.
"Well guys, it's time for me to start heading home" Romero said. Naomi sighed,
Fuck. She wanted to stay and chat with her new 'friend', she was enthralled by him. But she was nnot about to throw her 'task' out the window.
She glanced over at Murphy, who was gathering his things to leave, and she did the same. She picked her bag up from the floor, opening it and ruffling through it. The man eyed her curiously. Then she threw a few bills down on the table, "My half I guess" He sighed,
"No, no. I got it" he handed the bills back to her, she took them hesitantly. "Chivalry still exists, toots" He spoke. "Names, ah, J, by the way"
Naomi smiled warmly, "Naomi"
The bell above the front door rang, and when she quickly glanced over to the bar she grimaced,
Romero left.
"Well, I have to go. But you have a nice night sir" She waved, and nearly ran to the front door. J watched her. What an interesting girl.
Naomi never traveled around Gotham at 3 o'clock in the morning. She'd be begging for trouble if she did, a city like this one isn't safe. Not safe at all. But being out this late/early was actually quite peaceful, no cars, no noise, and most importantly no people. It was fantastic.
But alas, she was not wandering around the city this early to enjoy the serenity and the silence. No, he was on a mission.
Murphy had been walking around aimlessly for 30 minutes, stumbling, and mumbling incoherent things to himself as Naomi followed close behind. She was ready.
Let's begin.
Murphy halted and held his stomach, "Shit" he mumbled while running to the curb. He vomited, groaned, and then vomited some more. Naomi sighed,
Gross.
Slowly she approached him. He was doubled over, clenching onto his stomach as he emptied it. "Fuck. Shit" he cursed, oblivious to the fact that he was being observed. Naomi tilted her head to the side, holding tightly in her hand a rag. With animal like swiftness, Naomi had Murphy in a headlock, roughly pressing the rag against his face. "Who the hell-Get the fuck off of me" He struggled, but it took little effort for Naomi to restrain him, he was not a very large man.
"Sh" She cooed softly into his ear.
Slowly he began to lose consciousness, his eyes drooped close and his breathing evened out as he became limp in her arms. Naomi smiled at his body. He will pay.
Slowly he regained consciousness, and Naomi watched closely as he blinked his eyes open. He shut them instantly because of the bright light within the room.
He coughed, "Where the h-hell am I?"
Murphy panned his eyes around the room, he saw no one. The room was bright, despite thefact that he appeared to be in some sort of shack. Wooden walls, floors. It was also drafty. He shivered, this place was disturbing, and eary feeling thatmade him uneasy.
"Why the hell am I here?" He asked. Naomi chuckled, "Who was that?" Murphy coughed again. He struggled after realizing his hands and feet were bound together, and he strapped to a chair. "Listen I-"
He was struck in the face. Not with a fist, or hand, but a paper. It was a newspaper, the date: October 10, 1993.
"What the hell is this?" Murphy questioned. He was more annoyed than he was frightened.
"Read it"
Romero scoffed, rolling his eyes dramatically. "What the hell fo-"
"Just fucking read it!" Naomi yelled. Her anger was apparent. Murphy skimmed through the paper, and Naomi growled, "Out loud"
He sighed, "Last night Police were lead to a gruesome sight by 9 year old Naomi Okamura. T-the young girl , ugh, the young girl..." Murphy stopped, slowly he looked up into the darkest corner of the entire shack. He heard a groan before Naomi barked out,
"Read it!"
Although she'd much rather not have him read it, a reminder of a tragic day that she'd rather not have in her head. Anymore.
Murphy spoke again, "Police were lead to Patricia George, who was unconscious when they arrived. Both Patricia and her daughter wore matching bruises on their body. Immediately they were taken to the hospital, upon further analysis, doctors discovered that Patricia had been raped, while her daughter on the other hand had, fortunately, only been badly bruised. Police are searching for Murphy Romero, well known drug dealer in the city. H-he" Romero paused again. Only this time it was to laugh. "Is this what this is about. Are you-are you that bitches daughter. Yeah, you are. Shit, I remember that skank mother of yours..." He laughed, "She wa-"
Slap
The back of Naomi's hand met his cheek, and just as fast as it was received, it burned. She revealed herself now, his eyes narrowed. "Don't talk about my mother that way you bastard" She nearly yelled. "Once I'm done with you-"
"Done with what. What are you going to do? Hm? Once my men realize I'm gone they'll hunt you down" He laughed arrogantly. Naomi's lips curled into a smile.
Impatient man. She hates the feisty ones. The ones that talk back with a constant attitude.
"I'll go get my tools" She whispered to herself. Murphy kept his eyes on her as she walked away.
"Come on, just let me go. Don't embarrass yourself, honey" He laughed smugly. Naomi ground her teeth together.
So annoying
"If you let me go now, I won't tell my boys on you" He spoke, then sighed. "Come on. It was not even a big de-"
"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!"
She stabbed him. A knife to his throat. His eyes widened. Had this bitch just stabbed him? He heard her heavy breathing, the brought his eyes up to hers. Anger. Sadness. But no regret, or remorse.
"Your getting on my nerves" She whispered while slowly twisting the blade. He screamed as the blade pushed further and further into his flesh. His blood pooled onto her hands, but she continued. He began to choke, the blood he spat from his mouth had splattered onto her face. She grimaced. She hated the mess.
Further and further she pushed the knife,
Until...
The knife fell to the floor, Naomi sighed. "You didn't suffer as much as I wanted you to. The way I wanted you to" She mumbled. She had something much worse planned for Romero. Much, much worse. She just couldn't take the constant chatter from the man. Naomi was at times short tempered.
She looked at the body thoughtfully. Now comes the most tedious part. Where to hide the body.