BADLANDS
CHAPTER TWO
THE ARCHETYPES
"The whole world can become the enemy when you lose what you love."
― Kristina McMorris, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
Half an hour later, Jim Gordon steps into a quiet diner, one that Harvey had said to meet him at when he was finished with the Wayne's. It's almost empty apart from a few filled tables and his partner sitting at the counter, clutching a cup of coffee and looking more worn-down now that the night had went on. Said partner turns around at the sound of the door opening.
"There he is!" he exclaims.
"Hey," Jim replies, sliding into the stool beside him.
"Finished with her royal highness then?" Harvey asks, holding out his cup for the waitress to refill.
Jim's eyebrows come together as he looks at his partner. "What's your issue with her, anyway?" he asks. He'd been wondering about it since he saw them earlier, Harvey and Anastasia looking down their noses at each other in her apartment.
Harvey shrugs. "Nothing, I just think she's some bored little rich girl with too much money to spend," he says. "Tired of seeing her face in the papers for getting drunk off her ass."
"I take it she's in the papers a lot, then?"
"Oh yeah," Harvey replies, "they love her. They started with her when she was in this car wreck years ago where another kid died, and then she started to be in it like every week for whatever shit she got into. Don't know how her parents put up with that, if my kid was plastered like that, they'd be shipped off somewhere to military school, get their ass in line." He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out his hip flask, pouring its contents into his mug.
Jim raises a brow, clearly unimpressed, glancing pointedly from Harvey's face to the flash in his hand. "Yeah, yeah," Harvey says, shoving his flask back into his jacket, "I know what it looks like, but I have my reasons for what I do. I highly doubt her majesty does, girl's living the life of Riley for Christ's sake."
"Think that's a little much for someone you don't know."
"What, you like her now because she made googly eyes at you?" Harvey quips, raising his eyebrows as he glances up at his partner over his coffee cup.
Jim frowns at him. Truth be told, he wasn't sure what he thought about Gotham's so-called 'princess'. At first, she had seemed exactly how Harvey had described her, drunk and irresponsible. However, that sudden change in her attitude, that desperation to make sure her brother was alright almost made him waver in his opinion.
"No, I'm just trying to be little sympathetic considering her parents were just murdered," he deadpans.
Harvey rolls his eyes. "Whatever you want to call it, buddy," he replies, "Just don't let your fiancée let you hear that."
The sun shining in from a crack in the curtains rouses Ana from her sleep. She sits up and groans, rubbing her neck as a sharp pain shoots up it. Her decision to sleep on the couch in her father's office is not, apparently, one her body is thanking her for.
She shifts slightly, trying to get slightly comfortable without waking Bruce. It had taken Ana and Alfred's combined efforts to calm him down before he finally feel asleep, exhausted, in the early hours of the morning. She couldn't wake him up, not yet.
He's curled up beside her, his head resting on her knee, still in the same clothes from the night before, just as she is. Bruce had bolted to the office the moment the detective had left, and neither Ana nor Alfred had had the heart to even try to coax him into sleeping in his bedroom.
It's not a surprise that Bruce would choose the room their father spent the most time in; Ana probably would've chosen it too. It lets them both feel close to him.
She can remember nights where she had sat at the coffee table doing her homework while her father did his own work at desk – she had wanted to be a grown-up and do her work in the office like daddy. She can still picture him at that desk, reading glasses perched at the end of his nose as he squinted at a document and tutting occasionally at "silly people doing silly things." That's how he explained it to her when she asked about it, anyway.
Staring at the desk and seeing the work left there by her father causes a lump in her throat. He thought he was coming back. They both did and now they weren't –
The door opens suddenly and Ana wipes away the stray tears quickly, pushing back the urge to curl up in a ball and not get up again. Alfred barrels through the door, sets something down on the table and throws open the curtains. Ana hisses at the light, covering her eyes.
"Right you two, up and at 'em. Time for breakfast," Alfred says, coming to stand in front of them. Bruce stirs but doesn't wake up. He picks the items he had set down up from the table and hands them to her, Ana then realising that it was two painkillers and a glass of water. "Thought you might be needing these."
Ana thanks him and downs the pills, before frowning up at him. "Shouldn't you be letting him sleep a little longer?" she whispers, trying not to wake Bruce up.
"It's nearly noon, Miss, I think I've let him sleep long enough," Alfred replies. "Besides, I think it would be best for both of you to keep in your regular routine."
Ana frowns at him. Maybe she's just sleep-deprived, but her brain can't seem to process what he's saying. "Regular routine? Alfred, he's exhausted, maybe we just need to let him sleep."
"I think your parents would have wanted you both to try," Alfred says.
"How would you know?!" Ana snaps, "They're not here to tell you, are they?"
They lock eyes, with Ana glaring up at him. In the back of her mind, the reasonable part of her thinks that he mentioned them to try to encourage her. The rest of her wants to scream at him for using them to bargain with her so casually.
Her gaze snaps away when Bruce stirs; when he ultimately stays asleep, she slumps back onto the chair, rubbing at her eyes. She just wants to hide, is that too much to ask?
Alfred continues on, sounding a little softer. "If not today, then it should be soon, Miss. Your relatives will be arriving soon for the funeral."
She glances up at him, feeling her anger recede slightly. "You called them?"
He nods. "I know the funeral will be need to be soon. The earlier we got in contact, the better."
"Thank you," Ana says softly. That had been the one task she had been dreading the most. She's not sure, but thinks she might have mentioned that in passing the night before to him. She had been so focused on Bruce but she must have mentioned it. The fact that he done it for her makes her anger soften.
That was Alfred all-over. He had never been the type of man to shower people with hugs and sympathetic words in bad times, but he did what he could to help. She couldn't be more grateful for that, especially now. If she had the energy for it, she might have apologised, but right now she settles for a quiet thank you.
"The funeral's all been arranged," Alfred continues. "We'll be able to set a date once the…bodies are released."
Ana presses her hands to her eyes, wishing she could hide in her bed for the next few days. She had been talking to her mother yesterday and now they're talking about burying her parents. God, she needs them so badly now.
"You have the will reading tomorrow as well," Alfred says.
Ana pulls her hands away from her face. "You're kidding me," she says. "Can it not wait?"
"I would have thought so, Miss," Alfred replies, his tone clearly unimpressed, "but the board is insisting that it's tomorrow to make preparations for whoever will take over the CEO position. I told them that it would be best to wait but unfortunately-" Alfred sets his teeth and sighs- "they were very… insistent."
"Great," Ana sighs, rubbing at her eyes again. She feels even more exhausted at the idea of dealing with the board. Why does she have to appear anyway? She'd rather just send Priscilla, the family lawyer, and be done with it. After her behaviour over the last few years, it's unlikely that the CEO position will be left to her.
But no. She knows she has to go, because her father would have wanted family there and she doesn't want to disappoint him.
"And I would take off the makeup if I were you; you're very reminiscent of a racoon right now."
"Thanks, Alfred," she snaps, narrowing her eyes at him. At that, she feels Bruce beginning to stir again. This attention snaps to the boy, watching him sit up and rub at his eyes.
"Hey," she says softly, her own worries pushed aside to focus on her little brother. "You feeling up for some food?"
"I can make you some scrambled eggs, Master Bruce, just the way you like them," Alfred adds.
"No thank you," Bruce says, his voice clipped and emotionless.
Ana frowns. "It's about noon, Bruce, I'm sure you must be a little hungry."
"I don't need anything!" Bruce snaps, getting up from the couch and going towards their father's desk. Ana swings her legs off the chair and stands up, going towards him. "I-I'd like to be alone right now actually."
Ana and Alfred exchange a worried glance. "Maybe that's not the best idea," she suggests softly. "How about we…watch a movie or something or-"
"I want to be alone!" Bruce snaps, making Ana wince, already sensitive to noise. "Please…" Bruce trails off, pushing past the pair of them, "I just want a little time." She can't hear his voice by the time he's out the door.
Ana stands there for a moment, staring after her brother. That exhaustion threatens to swallow her again, but she pushes it back to follow after him.
The time for the will reading comes way too quickly. Already, she finds herself being driven to Wayne Enterprises, rubbing her temples at the thought of dealing with the board at that moment. They'll be all smiles and charm to her, but she knows what they really think of her, the way they will look down their nose at her when they thinks she's not looking. She's in no mood for that today. She just wants to stay with Bruce, but she couldn't disappoint her father. Not now. She had done that enough when he was alive.
Ana pulls the hip flask out of her purse and downs a gulp, before catching her driver, Henry's, eye. "Don't judge," she says. "I need it for today."
He chuckles. "Mm, I don't blame you for that."
The car pulls up to the front entrance of the building and Ana takes a deep breath. "Call when you need me, Miss," Henry says. "I hope it goes well today."
She snorts, putting on her sunglasses, "So do I, Henry."
With that, she steps out of the car and makes her way to the side entrance of Wayne Enterprises. She pulls her coat around her tighter, the air still brisk. She had arrived early in the hopes of avoiding the paparazzi that seemed to linger around every corner, since her parents died. There are a few photographers, but they don't come near her, held back by the security guards.
Ana keeps her head high and shows no signs of the exhaustion she feels. She'll not give them anything to use against her, she's dealt with them long enough to how to.
The masses in the foyer seem to part on her arrival. Some stare at her like other strangers have been doing since the news of her parents deaths broke out. It makes a small part of her want to shrink, but she holds her head high and moves her sunglasses to perch on top of her curls.
A blonde woman at the desk glances up at her and does a double-take before she jumps up from the desk. "Miss Wayne! If you'd like to come with me, I'll show you up to the meeting. It's in the main conference room."
That makes her scowl a little. She knows the place like the back of her hand, having run about the place growing up. Maybe she's taking it a little too personally, but she doesn't enjoy being treated like a guest, and every little thing seems to be pissing her off. "The one on 20th, next to my father's office?"
The woman seems to shrink a little under her gaze. "Uh…yes?"
"I know how to get to my father's office," Ana says, stepping past her, "Thank you."
"But…but I'm supposed to take you up!" she calls, chasing after her as Ana steps into the elevator.
"And now you don't have to." The doors close, cutting off all contact. She's allowed a moment to breathe, before she squares her shoulders and puts on a blank mask. No sign of the fact that she wanted to go home and ignore the world. She wouldn't give them any hint of emotion, anything they could take and twist to mock her with.
She enters the boardroom and the room falls silent, nothing but the glances of the board members until Beatrice Andrews, one of the members, stands up. "Ana, sweetheart, we weren't expecting you so early!" She steps forward to pull Ana into an awkward hug. "We were so sorry to hear about your parents, it's so tragic and poor Bruce as well, how is he?"
"As you would expect, he's still in shock, I think." She tries to remain as civil towards Andrews as she can while the woman is putting on the concerned mother figure act. Ana still remembers her father's angry reaction when Beatrice had made a comment about Ana's behaviour that had ended up in the papers. She didn't know what was said, but it was enough for her father to rant to her mother about that woman – "How dare she speak about Ana that way? Who the hell does she think she is?"
Her sweetness is a mask, but maybe Ana shouldn't judge her wearing one. She can put one on just as well.
"The poor boy, it breaks my heart." Beatrice says.
Before Ana can respond, she hears the sound of her name and turns to see Kennedy's father, Victor, come towards her and pull her into a hug. She relaxes slightly at the sight of him. Maybe it's just the association to Kennedy; it makes him more familiar than the others. "How are you? Kennedy and I would like to come and visit the family, but we didn't want to intrude. I know how it felt when my Mari died; you never had a moment to yourself."
Kennedy's mother, Mari, had passed away when they were twelve from an inoperable brain tumour. That's why Kennedy knew to give Ana and her brother the space they need, while assuring her she was there if needed. She knows loss.
She's the only one of Ana's friends who reached out to her after her parents died.
"You can come whenever, the house will be full soon anyway," She replies. "The guests will all be arriving soon for the funeral."
"Of course, of course," he says, just as the will reader tells them to take a seat so they can get started. Victor assures her they will speak soon, before Ana goes to sit at the table.
The will lists off the things she expected; the money will be split up among her and Bruce, the manor is still in the family name, the list goes on and on. She doesn't make a sound until something unexpected comes up.
"And to my daughter, Anastasia Wayne," the will reader says. "On her twenty-fifth birthday, in the event of the demise of both myself and my wife, she will gain full control of our shares and inherit the CEO position."
A hush comes across the room. Ana's head snaps up to face the will reader. "Excuse me?" Bunderslaw is nearly out of his chair, he's leaning forward so far.
The reader nods in confirmation. "The position will go to Anastasia."
Ana sits there, face slack with shock. She never expected this. Her father had talked about it when she was younger, but she thought because of her behaviour, he would have left it to the board or Bruce, but not her.
Evidently, the board didn't think so either. The members whisper to each other, glancing from each other to Ana, who still can't believe it. It's hers. The company is hers on her twenty-fifth birthday, only a few months away.
She glances up again at the chattering board members and Beatrice Andrews, who isn't looking so sweet to her now.
She has a feeling this isn't going to go down well.
Ana steps into the study and closes the door behind her, pressing her back against it and letting out a sigh. Bruce glances up at her from his place at their father's desk, the place where he has been hiding from the guests all afternoon. They had arrived the day after the will reading, and Ana had to push the events of the meeting to the back of her mind so she could play hostess ever since.
"God, Aunt Kathy knows how to talk," she says, pouring herself some bourbon from the cabinet and downing it.
Bruce snorts, closing the notebook where he had been sketching in. He sets down the pen and glances up at her guiltily. "I-I'm sorry I'm not helping," he says softly.
The guilty look makes Ana's heart squeeze. "Hey, you don't have to worry about any of that, you don't have to do anything, Bruce." Frankly, she's surprised that Bruce has left his room. He's been hiding there or in the study for the past two days.
He fidgets with the pen. "I feel like it's rude to leave everything to you, though."
She shrugs, throwing herself down on the couch and patting the empty cushion beside her. He gets up and sits beside her.
"It doesn't bother me," She says, nudging Bruce, "Alfred's been taking care of nearly everything, though. He's good at playing hostess." That gets a smile out of him, making Ana feel happier for the first time in days. She hasn't seen that since their parents died.
Until Alfred bursts into the room.
The two stare at him for a moment in confusion. He stares back, wearing a look of pure shock.
"They've got him," Alfred says.
The words make Ana freeze. She can't be sure, but she has a feeling that she knows what this is about. "What?"
"The man who killed your parents," Alfred says, "They've got him. He's dead."
There's a moment of silence as the pair stare back at Alfred. The words repeat in her head. He's dead.
He's dead.
Without a word, Ana gets up from the couch and bolts out of the room. She darts into the bathroom and shuts the door behind her, locking it quickly before she slides down the door, landing in a heap.
For a moment, she's silent as the words sink in, before something in her snaps, maybe out of shock or pure relief that maybe her parents might get justice. A loud sob erupts from her mouth, and another and another until it feels like she won't be able to stop.
Massive thank you to jabberwocking for betaing this chapter and putting up with my shitty grammar lmao.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for the long wait, I was dealing with IRL shit, but I hope to have the next chapter up soon. Thank you to those who reviewed and favourited/followed!
