Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Dark Knight characters, I can only take credit for my own original characters.
Chapter 2
The employee entrance to "Slappy's Qwick Mart!" was as unappetizing as road kill to Rebecca at the moment, but she had an obligation to show up and explain her tardiness. The manager, Paul, wouldn't be pleased, but being her first offense, she figured he would let it slide.
How very wrong she was. To compensate for the wasted time, she would have to stay late; cleaning bathrooms and restocking the vacant shelves with what little stock had been ordered.
If she hadn't needed the money so badly, she wouldn't have even bothered interviewing for the job. Not that the three second meeting could be considered such, but alas, here she was.
Five minutes before she could legally close the 'Qwick Mart' a man wandered in, looking like trouble. As was protocol, she retreated to the counter where the security camera was. If shoplifting was his game, she was prepared to sound the alarm.
Instead, the young man approached the front counter, inquiring about smokes.
"Hey missy, you carry cigarettes?"
Pasting a bright smile on her otherwise bored features, Rebecca prattled off the city rules about I.D. and driver's licenses. With each word from her mouth, she noticed the man growing restless.
Suddenly, the bell on the front door jingled and three men in clown masks raced towards the counter. Shouts erupted, demanding Rebecca get on the floor and give them the key to the register.
The man who had been talking to her earlier dropped to the floor with fright.
"Which do you want first?" She shakily asked while trying to compose her features. Unbeknownst to them, if they asked her to retrieve the key herself, she planned to pepper spray their asses.
The clown with the dirtiest mask and the biggest gun barked "Get the damn key and then you should forget you ever saw our faces, 'else we'd have to shoot you." As if to emphasize his point, all the goons bounced their guns in her direction.
"I'm going to have to get my keychain, do not shoot me please," she pleaded while reaching for her purse, which rested underneath the counter. The pepper spray only inches from her fingers. She rose slowly, bringing the bag with her.
Rebecca felt the compact weapon in her hand as she pressed the button for the alarm. Suddenly a loud siren echoed throughout the tiny establishment. While the men where momentarily distracted, she pulled the trigger and aimed for their eye holes.
"Goddammmit!" Two of the three howled in pain and pulled off their masks in response to the assault. Vigorous eye rubbing only made it worse. Rebecca's eyes watered as she tried not to breathe it in.
The third clown seemed unsure of what to do, so he reached over the counter and grabbed Rebecca by the collar, hauling her off her feet and somewhat towards him.
"Why the hell'd you do that? You've just signed your death sentence." Before he could pull the trigger on his gun, Rebecca responded at close range with another bout of pepper spray.
The police arrived in twenty minutes, not deeming such a robbery as high on the list. Rebecca was in tears from the spray and from her panicking. By now, she had let the terrified customer flee and had locked the temporarily blinded men in the mart.
"Ma'am, we are responding to an alarm that was set off exactly twenty two minutes ago. Were you the employer who threw the switch, and if so, would you care to explain why?" Rebecca nodded quickly and because she didn't trust herself to talk without stuttering, she led them to the front door.
Within seconds of being in the store, the officers cuffed the clowns and dragged them towards the police car.
Another officer approached her. "May I get your name and information please, for the report." The two conversed for a few minutes, the gravity of the day catching up with the young girl.
"If you officers will excuse me, I would like to go home now. Could I get a ride, the bus doesn't come for another two hours and my legs won't sustain me for long." Within a half hour, she was snug in her bed.
As she dozed, the TV reflected back from her glasses. The show she had watched had long ended and the news was now beginning.
Instead of the usual anchor, another woman was gravely reporting with a more serious approach than the former woman, who had quit after the ordeal of the precious night.
"Good evening ladies ad gentlemen. Tonight we start off with the story of an attempted robbery. We have reason to believe that the men arrested have a connection to the Joker. As of now, not much has been released other than that the three men were also patients of Arkham Asylum.
"The men attempted to rob "Slappy's Qwick Mart" on 5th avenue at about 6:45 today. The hero of this story is a brave young woman by the name of Rebecca Argonne. She single-handedly apprehended the robbers…"
If Rebecca had been awake, she would have realized just how dangerous her situation had become. Not only had she helped the police to arrest some of the Joker's men, but her name had also been announced, on public television.
Hey, it's me again. Thank you for the review Platinim13. It was greatly appreciated! Again, I'm not sure where this is going, so writing should be an adventure. Hopefully the two characters will meet soonish. Thanks guys!
