Authors Note: Written in three hours and posted for your entertainment.
Gotham City. Before the depression it had been something of a boom town, the kind of place that made metropolis look like Harlem. One of a kind architecture smiling faces the dreams of an entire generation at the height of the great party.
Back in the day if you could make it in Gotham City you could make it anywhere. A cultural and commercial hub for the entire world, the kind of empire that took lifetimes to make. At the center of it all Wonder tower, the shining gemstone of the pearl of the U.S. Overlooking the bright and shining spirals of the world famous architectural style that gave the city its name and a generation inspiration it was the heart of Gotham.
Now the once lavish red carpeting of the main hall of the building had faded a sickly brown moth holes and cigarette burns littered the entrance way and cobwebs covered every alcove. Rain poured in black as tar through long since shattered windows. The frames rusted dark brown with age, fallen apart from years of neglect. Rows of rotary dial phones left smashed abandoned and covered in inches of dust a reminder of the days of the stock exchange.
The only lights on this long condemned building coming from a lone flash-light and the occasional crash of lightning. In those momentary flashes the life came back to this place echoes of what once was shadows of a past life as sounds of the wind carry on as whispers in the night.
Footsteps echo out through the walls as the light of the torch flashes across a toppled over statue its face painted with a garish grin reflecting the rays right back to the man with the torch. His breath hung heavy in the air cold and thick as drips of water ran down from the ceiling, splattering onto the shoulder of his dark leather jacket.
He couldn't see a thing through the two inch eye-holes of the ski-mask, as he stumbled through the darkness almost dropping the torch as he spun around. The sounds of bats fluttering over-head combined with that face causing him to panic for a moment.
"How'd I get roped into this." He muttered to himself half laughing as the shock turned to adrenaline.
It was two hours past the meeting, and he was starting to get antsy. This was just supposed to be a one time gig, a quick smash and grab on a safe up on the top floor. He couldn't wait any longer, he was sick, and tired of wading around with that forty pound dufflebag of gear, and was ready to go home.
Just as he started to head over towards the busted down door to the old stairwell of the building a voice called out from behind him. "Ey boys looks like Tommy here thinks he can run round behind our backs and take it for himself." He knew the thick accent anywhere.
Turning around on the spot Tom hiked the hefty bag right back onto his shoulder trying not to let the ghastly vibe of the place get to him. His voice still shaking somewhat as he spoke. "That's not it at all man, I just thought-"
"Thought you'd be a right bowsie, and grab the take for yourself." Four goons stood together holding a knife a crowbar, and a baton between them. Each one of them was dressed in the exact same getup: Leather jacket, matching gloves, ski-masks, bluejeans, and sneakers. They weren't exactly the most professional, but the one doing all the talking had the pleasure of his own gun, held lazily with little regard for weapons safety as his thick irish accent came through.
Thomas froze for a moment before just laughing it off, and moving over to the rest of the group. He wasn't going to deny it as he moved over trying to lighten the mood. Though even as he walked he was half sure he was about to join the bodies of the homeless that seemed to crop up here all too often. For a long moment there was nothing but silence. The gun slowly raised up on the level.
"Woah there hold on Kav, if he wanted to run, I don't think he'd wait till now." A deeper southern voice called out. A bit of a friendly smile to go with it under the mask as a single gloved hand reached out to hold onto the end of the gun, just to try and lower it. "Come on, shooting first and asking never is more Reds thing." A rough sounding Gothamite accent calling out. "Up yours" belonging to Red.
For a time everything felt like it had frozen in time intense looks given all around while Tom held his breath. He could hardly even think, just looking at that cold cool metal as raindrops fell from overhead onto the long abandoned consoles, that slow methodical drip while voices faded into the background for him Kav and the southerner having their little dialog on if they should put a bullet in his head.
"Man Jay, you seeing this shit? Would've been better off goin solo." Red speaking up half bored out of his mind, and half pissed off. Pulling out a cigarette from inside of his own mask he tossed it right into the corner of his mouth. It had been almost ten minutes of just back and fourth arguing and from the sheer boredom in his voice he'd just about had it with the whole thing.
"Ey Jay, you got a light for th-" Red paused mid sentence, looking back over towards the arguing couple and then to Tommy before looking back to that empty spot where Jay had been only a few seconds ago.. "Hightower, Kav, you two see where Jay went? Or you two busy workin on your wedding vows?"
There was a moment of silence between the group as the masked men looked around. Drips of water falling down as the crash of thunder struck through the halls the entire building seeming to creak and shake with each passing moment. They blinked at each-other, stunned for a little bit, the glow of flashlights and the occasional flash of blinding lightning the only sources of illumination. Kav slammed his hand down swearing to himself in anger.
"Bastards probably half way up the fekkin tower at this point." Taking the moment to shove right past Tom, and start off up the stairs with a quick spring in his step. His sneakers booming out with each step as he moves right into a bit of a run. "Swear I'll blow his brains all over the tower if he thinks he can run off with an extra share."
Color finally began to return its way to Tommy's face, having been white as a sheet for the entire conversation. He wasn't dead yet, and that said something for his chances over all with this group. Even as the footsteps got more distant, along with the whispershouting of the angry Kav and Red ran up the stairs to keep up he couldn't bring himself to move. A single massive hand on his shoulder finally snapped him back out of his terror.
"Come on, let's get moving and get this over with." Hightowers deep southern voice rang out as he patted Thomas's shoulder. The large crowbar in his free hand hanging loose to one side in his grasp. "Before Kav remembers he wanted to ice you."
Hightower moved for the door soon after vanishing over the fallen door and into the pitch blackness of the dauntingly massive stairwell. Left alone for a moment Tom took one last look up towards the deep cobweb and dust infested hive that was the dome like ceiling of the lobby, and for just a moment he could have sworn he'd seen something move. He couldn't quite make it out, it was like some sort of shadow, or a bird of some kind. Either way it gave him shivers.
When he shown his flashlight up into the already partially collapsed roof of the room all that he found were broken tiles, hanging wiring and the remains of what had at one point been a noose, cut down years prior. The rope already having mostly rotted away from years of having been left to the elements. Not wasting another moment he moved right over the broken wooden door, and into the stairwell.
The stairs spun their way up for what seemed like miles into the abyss that was the building. The only signs that there even was a stairwell after a certain point the cones of light from his companions. He didn't like this at all, the whole thing felt wrong, but he was in too deep now. This was his life and there wasn't really any turning back from it, at least until they got their hands on that safe, and the money inside it.
Moving his way further and further along it seemed every fourth step was half ready to collapse the entire building covered in so much dust debris and general clutter that they may have been the first people here in years. The whole place smelled of rot, mildew, and decay, a horrific cornucopia of stenches swirling together in a miasma of disgust.
Trying not to breathe he forced himself along muttering to himself his own thoughts aloud. Yet as he was running that sound rang out which was all too familiar to him. Gunshots. There were four of them, a scream and then nothing. Bits of debris slowly rained down from on high floating before the cone of light, and he started to run faster.
"What happened I heard the shots." Tom called out in a whisper yell genuine concern filling his voice, as he made for that railing. Something moving up higher into the darkness like a shadow.
Coming up around the corner Tom came across the scene. There was Hightower laying against the wall, a peice of sharp metal sticking out of his chest, and Kav cursing up a storm as he moved back over to pick up his trademark pistol. The Irishmans right hand dripping down a slight bit of blood as he sucked on the wound for a moment stopping his cascade of colorful language.
Hightower spoke with a bit of a pained expression, ripping the bit of metal out of his own shoulder. There wasn't as much bleeding as there could have been but it didn't exactly look good for any of them. "Don't know the hell that thing was, but it just swooped in stabbed me, and snagged red."
"Things not human, tell you that much for sure." Kav chimed in shaking off his hand to one side and cursing under his breath again. "Shot it a few times but it knocked the fekkin gun out of my hand." Sounding angrier then ever but not exactly fearful. "Let's just get what we came for and get out."
"We're still going after this thing?" Tom started taking a few steps towards Kav, hardly able to believe what he was even hearing at this point. "Whatever that thing is it sure as hell doesn't seem to want us around."
With a swift motion Tom suddenly had the barrel of a gun in his face again, all the bravery of the moment enough to stand up for their right to flee gone in an instant. He held his hands up to either side of himself voice timid as a sheep. "H-hey I uh"
"You what?" Kav started shoving the gun into his face. "YOU WHAT?" The Irishman practically forcing the gun down Toms throat, as he shouted in that thick accent. Kavs veins practically ready to pop as he just shouts at the younger man.
A long pause filled the room as Hightower silently rips open his jeans. He grabs just enough cloth to wrap around the wound, pulling the knot tight in order to stem the bleeding. Shouting echoing off into the darkness, as the southerner simply narrows his eyes.
Kav's eyes locked right onto Toms as the silence built, the crash of thunder ringing outside. Rainwater rolled its way down the steps carrying with it dust and blood. The later seeming to be coming from much further up.
Ripping the gun from Toms mouth Kev gave one last look right dead in his eyes. "That's what I thought." Like a switch was flipped turning right back to his more calm and collected self. "Alright plans not changed."
Hightower came back to a proper stand, looming over either of the two men, still not saying a word as he tightened the knot once more. He looked just as worn down as the rest of them if not more. The expression on his face one of pure contempt for the situation. A low sigh escaping his lips as the giant of a man looked down to the ground.
"Get to the top floor, crack the safe" Kavs voice now almost too calm as he speaks trying to keep himself from yelling any more as he takes care to reload his pistol. "kill anyone who gets in our way, and then we all go home very, very, VERY rich men." A bit of cracked across his face as he tapped the gun right onto Thomas' forehead one last time.
Without another word from anyone the group began back on their journey up to the penthouse suite. They were on high alert, and they couldn't let their guard down for anything. Toms heart beat heavy in his chest feeling as if it were on the verge of exploding from a combination of adrenaline, and sheer exhaustion already. That bag in his arms felt as if it were growing heavier with each and every passing floor.
They passed by blown out doors with blackened corridors, corpses left long abandoned and forgotten in the hustle and bustle of gotham city. Some floors looked to have been lived in more recently then others, with used needles, or simple beds strewn about. Yet everything still felt so quiet as they moved ever on towards their lofty goal. Floors began to blur together as they made their climb, not a single one of them stopping to say a word.
Then it happened, a short glimpse of a shadow moving in the darkness. The rattling of something moving above. Kav slowly raised his pistol at the sound, Hightower moving back towards the wall half ready for something to come swooping down like the time before. Something moved again, and our more shots rang out. Flashes of light filled the stairwell as the shattering bang of the pistol going off filled the air. Kav loaded off a few more rounds into the ceiling following its movement, only stopping when the gun started to click. There was a loud THUD of something hitting the floor up above.
Tommy finally let out that breath of air that he'd been holding since the moment before the shots began. The grip on his heavy bag lessening as he could finally feel safe knowing they'd just taken down whatever that thing was.
Hightower leaned back against the wall, shaking his head. Ears still ringing he simply clapped his hands as silence filled the air once again. "Well Kav, looks like whatever it was picked the wrong psycho to screw with." A light sigh as he started to reach into his own jacket to pull out a cigarette. "Can we take a break n"
Hightower didn't get the chance to finish that sentence. A pair of black gloved hands ripped through the wall behind him, as if it was paper. Kav panicked at the sudden boom of a sound Hightowers own screams filling the air, as he was torn right through the plaster wall. The air filling with bits of asbestos, and drywall, as one of the magazines fell right over the edge of the stairwell and into the inky blackness.
Not even waiting for a moment Kav shouted "Fekking run!" Before starting off up the stairs, patting himself down for that one last magazine that he brought with him. A genuine look of panic on the mans face as he missed a step, almost falling right back down the stairwell. The sounds of Hightowers screams fading into the distance, while Tommy just tried to keep up behind Kav.
When Tom tried to speak it was little more then a stream of familiar expletives. He didn't like to curse any more then the next guy but this called for it. His face was pure white, his heart pounding in his chest. A pure panic in him as he just let the adrenaline do the work. He passed by Kav, running right slam through the rotten wooden door to the penthouse suite, before falling face down onto the ground.
Gunshots rang out from behind as Kav fired off into the inky black just screaming back at it. The way he stood in that doorway looking back down and calling. "You better run off you bastard." One could be mistaken for thinking he'd just held the line against an entire army of enemy troops instead of after a single whatever that thing was.
Tom flipped himself over onto his back, looking up towards the ceiling and breathing heavily. He could hardly move, barely think, and was struggling just to breathe. The delicate equipment lay strewn across the ground from when he'd fallen, the zipper burst completely. Soft blue carpet rest beneath his head and rain water landed down onto his head.
Looking back towards Kav and offering a bit of a smile, he couldn't believe that they'd actually made it to the top. Old style brass furniture lay all around this massive ornate room, the pillows, and parts of the carpeting already long since rotted away or stolen by birds or the like. The air felt so much thinner up here the sheer force of the wind having ripped away some of the many panes of glass that made up the giant dome of a penthouse.
In every cardinal direction a different gargoyle stood watch over the city, the faces of some completely broken off. Yet from up here even with the storms one could just imagine how beautiful a view someone could get of this place during the day. "Had to have killed em that time." Kav piped in, his own voice haggard and worn from the trip to the top.
The Irishman let out a bit of a laugh, stumbling his way into the room. His pistol out of rounds he simply threw it off to one side. Stumbling and half ready to pass out himself he made his way over to a single portrait in the center of the room. Massive in scale yet still in great condition for such a warn down hellhole of a building.
Running his hands along the surface of the painting and over to the frame Kav began to remove it from its decades long position. "Oldest spot in the book." He snickered to himself in a somewhat raspy voice most of his energy sapped right out of him from such a stressful trip.
Tommy did his best just to force himself back up to a stand, the young man beginning to collect his tools of the trade for this one job. Once they were done with this job, he was out. He couldn't care less what Kav thought about it or said, he was just done. This life hadn't turned out quite how he'd always imagined.
On the other side of the painting rested a large metal safe. It wasn't the most complex in design but boy was it big. Standing in at over six foot tall and three foot wide it was no wonder he needed such a massive painting to cover it over. Kav stepped out of the way, with a bit of a bow. "Right whole things been a ball of shite, just crack this and we'll be going away rich men." Walking right back away from it in time for Tom to wander up to work his magic.
"Just.. Just watch my back alright?" Tommy said more nervous then any other time in his life, before kneeling down at the base of the safe. This wasn't exactly what he was expecting when he was told it was an easy job. The pain of the run combined with all this stress having already left him on the edge of being little more then a blubbering ball. Reaching into his bag he pulled out a small leather roll of tools, and rolled them out onto the ground.
Everything he needed was still right there, and the drill was still in the bag if they needed to blow it the old fashioned way. He took a long pause looking over his tools. "After the third time I think it's safe to say it might not be dead."
Simply putting on his stethoscope, he decided on the more simple things in life. Eyes closing as he started to listen in for the sounds of the tumblers. This thing might have been difficult to crack but now that they had shot that thing down he was sure that they were safe. Right up to the moment that he felt something tap on his shoulder.
A chill ran down his spine, building up as he turned around. That hand was too big to be Kavs and Hightower had already been taken away. Looking behind him he saw a massive looming shadow in the darkness. It was like the very night itself had taken shape. In a flash of lightning he saw the bright blue uniform, and that yellow symbol on the figures chest. The icon of a bat proved to be the last thing he saw before the whole world went black. A lone fist slamming right into his face and knocking his head against the safe itself.