He had come to Gotham University one day to charm the computer science lecturer. A tall handsome, well spoken young man that had no problem retrieving the details of the lecturers most prized student, "She picked up coding faster than anyone I've ever known-"
Eleanor Tyrell, a bright, sharp young woman with a mind for computers and nothing else. That is, of course, until Alberto Falcone approached her after class on a Wednesday afternoon.
"Just some computer coding, nothing too extreme..." A lie, but at the time Eleanor payed little attention to this minor detail to focus on the more important part of the agreement, "...substantial payment of course..." And then brushed off the nagging end of the deal, "...it would be in your best interest to keep this arrangement to yourself..."
She would rewrite bank statements, records and any data he needed altered. It was difficult, time consuming work, not to mention extremely illegal. Sometimes she would hit a wall, a technical hitch in the system even she couldn't breach. Sometimes these set backs would push Falcone's deadline back months and she would work hours on end to crack the code.
But her first paycheck was for seven thousand US dollars. And they only got bigger.
Was it worth it?
Of course it was worth it. In the short term anyway, her college tuition worries were a thing of the past at this point. Unfortunately her conscience was not. What she was doing was very, very illegal. She knew and understood that, she wasn't trying to cast a blind eye over the fact that she was a criminal. But she was a smart one, who worked for a smart guy who belonged to a smart family. Eleanor wasn't going to be caught any time soon.
Not by the police.
But it wasn't the police she had to be worried about.
Carmine Falcone's fall was the most threatening period of her criminal career, there were times where she would stay awake at night waiting for the Batman to storm through the door and tie her to a post for a squad car to collect. But he never did, apparently he had more important things to worry about than a college student hacking computers for Carmine Falcone's son.
And so did the police.
The Crane incident brought the heat off the Falcone family and without his father there to conduct his orchestra of mafia minions, Alberto stepped in. He had a more grounded and delicate approach to his work and by laying low he kept them out of the spotlight and under the radar.
So time went on and Alberto and Eleanor grew closer. He would bring her coffee as she worked and they would talk and smile and exchange stolen glances, because when you stick a pretty girl and a pretty boy together for a long period of time, there is only one way for things to go.
One thing led to another and before they knew it they were pulling off each other clothes, kicking over coffee cups in a flurry of emotions.
Eleanor Tyrell was sitting pretty on a small fortune, engaging in a relationship with a handsome mob boss and doing it all with very little risk. Things had never been better.
But Gotham City is unpredictable, notorious, dangerous. A scrambled web of prostitution, drugs, organised crime and corruption with little mercy and no forgiveness. Eleanor Tyrell had embedded herself in the system, a decision likened to that of selling her soul to the devil as she gave in to the irresistible temptation of money.
Her judgement was blurred by the illusion of security that money and a powerful man at her arm could bring. But each code she rewrote, or each bank record she altered, was a step deeper into the darker side of Gotham that she could never escape. Each paycheck a reminder that there was no going back.
Notes:
1. I obviously do not own anything to do with the DC Comics universe.
2. I have no knowledge of anything to do with hacking or coding so please excuse any inaccurate terminology that I may throw about like a complete noob.
3. In this version of the story, Falcone's mob has not been overtaken by Maroni. They are separate.
Enjoy!