Hey its me again! Back with another chapter for you guys! :) I apologize for the rushed feel of the last one. I didn't realize how many errors it had until I reread it the next day after posting. So hopefully this chapter will make up for my little hiccups last time! Thank you guys for all the kind reviews, favorites, and follows! I really appreciate them! They keep me motivated to continue, so keep 'em coming!
P.S. I used a few police codes in this chapter. 10-4 is pretty universal I think, but just in case it isn't its meant to mean 'message received'. I also used 10-57, which in my area I live in, means 'missing person', but I did a little research and found that it can mean quite a few different things in other areas. So to save you guys some trouble having to look these up to understand, I figured I'd just explain how I meant them ahead of time.
Thanks for reading! Enjoy! :)
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I fought to stay awake as I slipped in and out of consciousness. "Why wont you just kill me?" I croaked weakly. My question was met with silence.
His footsteps echoed as he carried me through the narrow walkway and into a large chamber. The room was poorly lit and what light it did have, flickered randomly. Bane scanned the area, seeming to be looking for something. "There," he motioned to one of his men, whom I didn't even realize was there. The mercenary wasted no time, wheeling past with a makeshift cot and medical supplies. Bane followed the man to the corner where the cot was placed.
"Leave us," Bane ordered, clearing the cot off. The mercenary nodded, tip-toeing around Bane, not making eye contact with him whatsoever. I watched the man scurry away as Bane lifted me off his shoulder and lied me down on the cot. He took great care to not cause me any extra pain or to further injure my knee. Bane studied my injury for a moment, prodding at it with curiosity.
"You are in luck. Your wound will heal on its own, without surgical means."
Before I could respond, Bane clutched the bottom of my pant-leg with both hands and in one quick, fluid motion, tore the seams until it reached the crotch of my pants. "WHOA, buddy! What the hell?!" I yelped in surprise, recoiling my body from him. Bane gave me a wicked look, before grabbing my bad leg and yanking it back down. I hissed, biting back the pain.
"It would be to your benefit not to resist me again," he snarled. "I am not in the mood for games." Bane turned around, rustling through the supplies. "Hold this on your knee until I return," he barked turning around with a few ice packs. I snatched them up quickly. The ice was comforting, yet painful as I pressed it to my knee.
"You two, watch this woman until I return," he commanded to the two men who had just walked in. One of the mercenaries opened his mouth as if to speak, but was elbowed by the other who shook his head furiously. "I will not be gone long." Bane gave me a warning glance before exiting back through the dark corridor.
The two men stood a few feet away from my cot, eyeing me hungrily. I was fairly certain that these men would have killed me without a second thought, if it were not for the fear of their leader. Minutes seemed like hours as I waited eagerly for Bane's return. I stared at the corridor until I finally saw his figure reappear through it. I sighed in relief as he approached and his men backed off.
Bane stopped at my bedside to examine my less-swollen knee, before covering me with a blanket he was carrying. He took care to leave my injury uncovered. I nestled into the blanket, finding comfort in it, despite the musty, sweaty smell wafting from it.
I eyed Bane curiously as he grabbed a brace from the pile of supplies and set it near me. He poked and prodded at my knee cap, ignoring my whimpers. Once satisfied he wrapped the brace around my leg. "You are not to put pressure on this until I tell you to."
"Why are you doing this?" I questioned, looking at him suspiciously.
"I see much use for you yet," he stated casually, handing me a canteen and a few pain pills.
"Listen here pal, I am an officer of Gotham, not some corrupted piece of trash," I retorted, popping the pills into my mouth and taking a gulp of water.
"And yet you accept things from me..." he chuckled.
Touche...
As much as I wanted to, I didn't give his snide remark any attention. "I'd rather die than help the likes of you."
Bane gently placed a hand in the crook of my neck. "I could easily arrange that for you, my dear. But as much as you beg for death," he seized the back of my neck, entangling his fingers into my pale-blonde hair, pulling me mere inches away from his face. "When face to face with it you quiver like a scared dog," He chuckled at the terror expressed in my eyes, before he let go. "You will learn, eventually."
I glared at him, taking care to baby my leg, as I rolled on my side. I cuddled with the blanket, trying to cease my thoughts and give into the demands of my tired eyes. I heard Bane's footsteps trail off, signaling he had finally left the room. Sleep took me as soon as I was sure he was gone.
xXXXXx
Loud static jolted me awake. "Cancel that 10-57! We have the commissioner!" a familiar voice managed to break through.
Blake?
I blinked repeatedly, looking around the room dazed.
Where was I...?
"Go get Bane!" A man yelled from across the room.
...Bane?
I clutched my head as it spun uncontrollably. Then it clicked. I was still trapped in the sewers. This was real, not some silly dream.
One of the mercenaries slipped down the corridor, while the rest closed in on me. I panicked, accidentally flipping off the side of the cot as I scrambled to get away from the men. Luckily for me I happened to land on my good side. I managed to pull myself up to stand, by using the cot as a support.
"Whoa, relax copper," One of the men said, walking slowly with his arms out as if I were some sort of spooked horse. "All we want is that little radio clipped to your shoulder."
"Stay back! I'm warning you!" I eyed the men wildly, like a cornered tigress. They didn't listen to me of course. I pulled myself and the cot back up against the wall, where I was able to grip onto the railing that was built into it.
"Last chance," I threatened. My words didn't even make them hesitate for a second. "Alrighty then," I said, using my free arm to forcefully push the cot at my captors. It hit two of the men sending them reeling backwards, the other two rushed me. I shielded my injured leg from them as they charged. I grabbed my baton out of my utility belt, bashing one of them in the face. The man crumpled to the ground, clutching his nose, blood streamed through his fingers. "You bitch!" He howled in pain.
The other man shoved me against the wall, pinning me to it. The force of the impact made me lose my grip on the baton and it dropped to the floor. "Not such a tough broad now, are ya?" The mercenary yelled psychotically in my face. I clawed, punched, slapped and bit at the man, but he didn't seem to be phased by it. "I don't care if you're Bane's pet or pawn piece, the only good cop is a dead one. By the time he gets here you'll already have drown in a pool of your own blood."
"Is that so?" a robotic-like voice replied. The man's eyes looked as if they were going to pop out, as he was ripped off me. Bane clutched the man's skull firmly as he dangled the mercenary close. "How about you drown in yours?" With that he squeezed the man's head until a sickening cracking sound was heard, and the man's screaming stopped. He released his grip, the body dropped lifelessly to the floor.
Static came through my radio once again, nearly scaring me out of my skin. "10-4, ambulance en route to your location." Bane turned to me, his eyes filled with rage. I looked up at him as he approached. Breathing heavily, I held onto the railing, slightly winded. Bane stopped in front of me, glaring down menacingly. I could feel his hot breath coming through his mask, he was so close.
"Listen, I..." Before I could even finish, Bane ripped my radio from my shoulder. He studied it momentarily before crumpling it to bits with his bare hand.
"Impressive," he remarked, the anger faded from his face, as he scanned what was left of his men. "You handle yourself well, but I cannot have this happen again." He kicked the baton away and tore off my utility belt.
"Hey! That saved my life!" I exclaimed defensively. "By the time you would've gotten here, I would've been dead!"
"Perhaps so, but you will no longer have use for it. I am taking the liberty to watch you personally."
Great...
"I need all the men I can get. Too many little mishaps like these and I will no longer have any followers," he laughed to himself. "Now come with me," he said, extending his arm. I grabbed onto it, pulling myself away from the wall and into him. I looked at him for a moment, half expecting him to carry me again. "You will walk," he stated, seeming to read my thoughts. "Since you have proven to me that you are capable." Scoffing at him I hobbled along after him, making sure I didn't bear weight on my wounded leg.
He was punishing me as if I were a small child who acted out of turn...how degrading.
Bane pretty much dragged me back through the corridor, since I seemed to not hobble fast enough for him. We entered back into another room. I recognized it instantly by the waterfall running through it.
He pulled me towards the mouth of the running water and into a secluded corner. It glowed from all the computer monitors that were set up in it. A cot, much larger than the one I had, was positioned right next to the computers. I assumed that was where Bane slept. There was a large box filled with very tiny canisters near the bedside.
I had seen these before. But where?
I examined Bane's mask, finding the tiny canisters were plugged in at the rear of his mask.
I wonder what purpose those serve?
"You will sleep here," he motioned toward his bed, interrupting my train of thought.
I nodded, my eyes now fixed on the computer monitors. "Hey, what are you planning on doing with Bruce Wayne's fingerprints?" I pointed at the computer monitor closest to us. "And where did you get them? I haven't seen that man come out of his house in ages..."
"The truth will be revealed to you soon. I do not plan to keep you in the dark much longer, but the this is not the time."
He allowed me to study the rest of the screens, to satisfy my curiosity, before shooing me away. I was quite shocked as they were all seemingly very important. Bruce Wayne's fingerprints, the article on a nuclear reactor, and a missing scientist were the ones that stuck out in my head.
I had a feeling that a particularly nasty storm was headed towards Gotham, and I managed to find myself smack dab in the middle of it...
