Disclaimer: I don't own Batman.
Chapter 3
Sinnerman
"Y'know, you're kinda indifferent about this whole thing," Jason said, pondering on whether he should wear a tux or a regular suit to Perdition's grand opening. Knowing that it's an upscale club, tuxedo would be the appropriate choice.
"What thing?" Vincent asked, leaning against the railing of the fire escape. Jason pitied the man, truly, it must be hard to be a ghost, unable to smoke or even drink for decades.
"Don't you want to move on?" Jason asked, deciding to go with something less formal. A black dress shirt and a black suit ought to be enough. Without the tie, of course. He's not a big fan of ties, not with the image of him being strangled to death was burned into his memory. Jason shoved Dantalion's card into his inner pocket, disgusted. He'd need the invitation to get into her club.
"Sick of my presence already?"
"That's not what I meant and you know it," Jason said, lighting a cigarette and leaning against the window frame. "It's just… your daughter is alive, you know. Don't you want to meet her? She even has kids already. You're a grandpa, old man."
Vincent grimaced. "I… need more time."
"Okay, sure," Jason said. "I don't mean to pressure you or anything."
"Ah, it's okay." Vincent rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Do you believe in God, son?"
Jason looked at him, puzzled. "Why would you ask me that?"
"Humor me."
Jason brought the cigarette to his lips and inhaled deeply. Did he believe in God? "I, ah, I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I used to," Jason said, eyes far away. "Now I'm not sure anymore."
"You want to elaborate?"
"I wanted to believe in God," There's the pain on the back of his neck again. It seemed to burn every time he said that particular word. "It's just… the things I've seen and the things I've done… Can a murderer even still believe in God?" Jason choked on the word God. "Obviously He exists. I mean if there are Demons and there's Death, it only makes sense that He exists too, right? But then, why? Why is there so many evil in this world? Why isn't He doing anything to stop it? Why?" Jason raked his fingers through his hair, frustrated. "I…I don't think I do. Not anymore."
"I understand."
"What about you? Do you believe in G–Him?" Jason asked, suddenly curiosity got the best of him.
"My relationship with God is very complicated." Vincent suddenly looked upset. "Let's just say, I understand better than anyone"—he paused— "well, maybe not anyone. But the point is, I do understand how you feel about everything."
Jason furrowed his brow, "everything meaning?"
"Let's just leave it at that, shall we?" Vincent said ominously. Jason suddenly had a feeling that Vincent didn't mean it figuratively when he said his relationship with God was complicated. "Anyway, don't you have a party to attend? You don't want to be late, trust me."
"You're probably right," Jason said, tossing the cigarette out the window. "Sure you don't want to come with?"
Vincent shook his head. "I'd rather not be near Demons."
"Alright then. I'll see you later."
"You might want to bring Dantalion's knife," Vincent yelled from the fire escape just before Jason left the safe house. "You never know what might happen with Demons."
Must be one hell of a party these Demons were throwing, judging by the number of people lining up at the entrance. Lucky for Jason though, the moment he stepped out of his car, the valet seemed to recognize his face and ushered him to the VIP entrance.
And he was immediately greeted by the sight of Dantalion—or Lorelei Diavolo as she's been masquerading as—flirting with none other than Bruce Wayne, himself.
"Jason, darling, there you are," she said turning to face him as if she had eyes on the back of her head. She probably had, Jason shuddered inwardly. He directed his attention at Bruce instead, who simply stared at him, impassive as always. "And you look dashing."
"Sorry, I'm a bit late," Jason directed a fake smile at her, grimacing inwardly when she planted a kiss on his cheek. He turned to face Bruce and offered his hand for a polite shake. "Mr. Wayne, it's an honor."
Bruce was quick to assume his socialite persona, "I could say the same, Mr…"
"Peterson. It's Jason Peterson." Jason said, grabbing a glass of champagne from one of the waiters. He couldn't be sober if he's going to be in the presence of Demons.
"And you two are…" Bruce gestured to Lorelei's hand on Jason's arm.
"We're dating," Lorelei supplied before Jason could say anything. If it's true that she could sense what he's feeling, then Jason must be careful with his emotion. Even if he's beyond disgusted and angry.
"Yeah, what she said." He replied, wrapping an arm around her waist instead. Then he glanced around, observing his surroundings and had to stop himself from whistling appreciatively. She did know how to throw a party. Perdition had a sophisticated darkness to it, with an awful lot of selective lighting that allows for mood changes. There was a piano, surrounded by plush seating and a grand ice luge near the bar. "Nice party, babe. I'm impressed." Andhe truly was impressed, almost managing not to wince inwardly at the term of endearment.
"So how did you two meet?" Bruce finally asked.
"Oh, I was her knight in shining armor." Jason slightly smirked. "Wasn't I?"
"Yes," Lorelei said. "Who knows what those awful thugs would do to me. Now, who said chivalry is dead, huh?" Lorelei suddenly turned to Jason and grabbed the empty champagne flute from Jason's hand. "Why don't you entertain Mr. Wayne for a bit, hmm? I'll go get us more drinks."
She left before he could object. Dammit.
"You've never mentioned you have a girlfriend," Bruce said after a few moment of silence. "She's very beautiful."
"Thanks," Jason finally decided to say, swallowing the urge to tell Bruce that he should stay the hell away from her. "Where's Dick and Tim? They mentioned they might come."
"Tim's underage, Jay," Bruce said, grabbing two glasses of champagne from the waiter that walked by and offering one to Jason. He accepted it gracefully and took a sip. "Dick is… somewhere around."
That worried Jason a bit. Most of these people could be Demons after all. One of them might get an idea and decided to con Dick into a deal. Besides, Jason couldn't be near Bruce without recalling that he had suspected Jason of murdering the Joker. Not that Jason would admit this out loud but it stung to be seen as a savage. "I should probably go look for him. It's, uh, nice seeing you, Bruce."
"Wait," Bruce interjected before Jason could make an escape. "Jason, wait."
"I really should—"
"Are you doing okay?"
Ah, there's the fake concern. "Why are you asking me that?"
"Dick mention—"
"I was drunk and wasn't myself last night." Jason interrupted forcefully. "I'm fine, Bruce. I always am."
"Are you? Really?"
Jason couldn't be having this conversation right now. What he needed was alcohol. A lot of alcohol. "I'll talk to you later. Try to enjoy the party, Bruce. Just not too much."
So, like the coward he was, Jason ran away before Bruce could stop him. And like an alcoholic that he also was, he went to the direction of the bar.
Which was where Dick found him not long after, sipping his second glass of Bourbon. Bruce must have sent him here. "I don't think you should be drinking, Jay."
"It's a party, Grayson. What's a party without drinks?" And just to spite Dick even more, Jason took another sip.
Dick sighed. "Just promise you won't drink too much."
Jason rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever."
"So, this is quite the party, huh?"
An obvious attempt to change the subject but Jason appreciated that. "I'm actually surprised myself."
"So when are you gonna introduce her to me, huh?" Dick grinned before his expression turned serious. "It's just… Jay, you sure you know her well?"
No, not at all. "Well enough," he said instead, worried for a moment that Dick had managed to find out the truth. "Why? What's the matter?"
"I think she might be involved with organized crime."
Jason frowned. "Why'd you say that?"
Dick looked nervous when Jason stared at him expectantly. "Did you know the previous owner of this establishment committed suicide?"
That didn't surprise him one bit. But Dick looked even guiltier when Jason let out a bitter chuckle. "You implying my girlfriend is a criminal, Dick?" Although, she probably did kill him though.
"Of course not," Dick replied hastily. "I just want you to be careful. That's why we're here. As in Bruce and I, we wanna make sure she's not involved, okay?"
Jason wanted to bang his head in frustration. They're playing with fire was what they're doing. Dantalion could hurt them both. He must have look agitated that Dick was immediately apologizing. "You leave her alone, you hear me? Dick, you better—"
Oh, sinnerman, where you gonna run to?
Sinnerman where you gonna run to?
Where you gonna run to?
All on that day
Jason stopped midway through his angry tirade. He couldn't help but feel that it was directed at him. He clutched the tumbler tight in his hand, before pushing past Dick to look at whoever's singing the song. Predictably, it was Lorelei, smirking at him as soon as she sensed his approach.
We got to run to the rock
Please hide me, I run to the rock
Please hide me, run to the rock
Please hide here
All on that day
But the rock cried out
I can't hide you, the rock cried out
I can't hide you, the rock cried out
I ain't gonna hide you there
All on that day
What's the matter with you rock?
Don't you see I need you, rock?
Good Lord, Lord
All on that day
Dick appeared next to Jason, most likely to make sure that he hadn't left because Dick had hurt his feelings. And Jason couldn't hear what Dick's saying because he didn't expect Lorelei to outright mock him like this.
So I run to the Lord
Please hide me, Lord
Don't you see me prayin'?
Don't you see me down here prayin'?
But the Lord said
Go to the Devil, the Lord said
Go to the Devil
He said go to the Devil
All on that day
So I ran to the Devil
He was waitin', I ran to the Devil
He was waitin', I ran to the Devil
He was waitin', all on that day
He didn't even hear the song ended, too angry at being ridiculed.
"I didn't know she can sing, Jay," Dick whispered, impressed, despite his earlier suspicions. Then he added quickly when he noticed Lorelei was making her way in their direction. "Just… remember what I said."
"I see you're making friends just fine," She said all charms. "Care to introduce us, darling?"
"We just met," Dick said. "But he didn't mention anything about dating the most beautiful woman in Gotham."
She smiled and it made something churned in the pit of Jason's stomach. "I wish I'd met you sooner." At that, Jason glared at her and cleared his throat.
"You know what, Dick," Jason said. "Why don't you give us a moment to talk?"
"Looks like I made him jealous," Dick said playfully, although he did look worried. Huh, Dick must have mistakenly assumed his annoyance as jealousy. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Was that song directed at me?" Jason asked when he was sure Dick was far enough from hearing range.
"Wouldn't you say it describes you perfectly?" She said in that posh British accent of hers.
"Me? Sinnerman?" He rolled her eyes but acquiesced when she gestured for him to follow.
"Yes," she said walking toward the VIP area. She waved her hand toward where Bruce was conversing with one of his acquaintances. "The rock. Your father figure. Sadly, he didn't care about you. He chose to save your murderer." Ouch. "And haven't you lost your faith as well? That's why you're in this mess in the first place."
"I'm in this mess because you tricked me," Jason spat angrily.
"Wrong," she said, stopping so suddenly that he almost bumped into her. "You wanted my help. Deep down inside, you are desperate for it."
"I never wanted your help. You manipulated me!"
"Don't be so rude, boy." A deep voice with the same posh accent. A tall, dark-haired man was leaning against the wall. Possibly the most good-looking man he had ever seen too. He had the same violet eyes as Lorelei. Another Demon.
"Who are you?"
"This—" Lorelei said, putting a hand on the man's arm. "—is my brother. One of the Princes of Hell, Asmodeus."
"Yes, although I prefer to go by Seth these days." Seth's eyes turned to black for a second.
"I really should have expected this," Jason rubbed his temple in frustration. "Just how many of you people are here?"
"More than you can imagine," Lorelei said. Then she nodded upwards to the second floor, "And they're all very excited to meet you."
"So?" Bruce asked as soon he spotted Dick.
"I don't think Jay's happy I flirted with her," Dick said sheepishly, glancing to where Jason was standing with his girlfriend. He did not look happy, brimming with anger but still trying to appear calm. "I think they're fighting now. Uh oh." She gestured for him to follow her. "You don't think he confronted her about it, do you?"
"Dick," Bruce chastised as if speaking to a kid. "Jason's not stupid."
"I'm not saying he is, Bruce," Dick said, still watching Jason from the corner of his eyes. Now he's talking to someone else, a very important man, it seemed. "I'm just worried he might be…emotionally compromised. And you didn't see him yesterday. He was… well, as Tim not so subtly said, he was unhinged."
"Unhinged, how?"
Dick immediately backtracked. "Not murderous, if that's what you're worried about. He's not exactly coping very well. I'm sure you've noticed he's been drinking a lot. Oh, you didn't know." Bruce's mouth thinned into a tight line. "It's… ah—"
"It's almost April 27," Bruce said. "I know."
"Just… don't be too hard on him."
"They went upstairs," Bruce said suddenly.
"That's the VIP area," Dick said, as he watched Jason, his girlfriend and the man disappeared behind the stairs. "I tried my luck earlier there earlier. They said family members only. That's not good, is it?"
Then he could see Jason again, shaking his hand with several other people. He took another glass of whatever's offered and what looked like to be a cigar. Someone was lighting it up for him.
Dick sighed. Way not to make you or your girlfriend look suspicious, Little Wing.
"You know," Jason started, crossing his legs and exhaling a cloud of smoke. He's more of a cigarette kind of guy and didn't know how to appreciate cigars. All he knew was that this cigar had a woody scent. Like fresh cut wood. Next to him, Lorelei was smoking a cigarette. "You need to be more careful. Some people think you might be involved with organized crime."
"You mean Bruce Wayne thinks we're criminals," she said, playing with a lock of her hair. Hell, Jason cursed inwardly, noticing how beautiful she was. She looked exquisite, in a black dress that complimented her pale skin. Her lips were painted dark red, it reminded him of blood.
Seth rolled his eyes. "Is this about Frank?"
"Who's Frank?"
"The former owner of this establishment," Lorelei explained. "We didn't do anything wrong. He's drowning in debt, you see. He had no choice but to sell this place."
"Did you kill him?"
"Of course not," Seth said affronted. "Apparently, he was reluctant to part with this place so he committed suicide and… also, the reason why we need your help."
"Don't tell me you want me to dispose of the body," Jason said. "No, not happening."
Lorelei laughed. "No, darling, nothing like that. You see, this is where your ability will come in handy."
"You mean seeing dead people?"
Seth visibly brightened. "Yes, precisely. You see, his spirit has turned malevolent. It haunts this place. So, we need you to get rid of it."
Jason shook his head. "Nope, still not happening."
"You're assuming you have a choice in this matter." Seth flashed his teeth and two sets of fangs appeared threateningly. "You might want to remember there are humans downstairs. And oh, what about Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson? Humans are fragile things, you see. You don't want to know what would happen, say, if one of my associates lose control, do you?"
"Your services won't be without payment, of course." Added Lorelei, dangling two set of keys. "How would you like a new penthouse or a new car? Or both?"
"I don't need anything from you." Especially not after what happened yesterday.
"Trust me," she said, tilting Jason's chin so that he's staring into her pitch-black eyes. "All I need in exchange for these are your services. Besides, your soul is already mine." As if that's the cue, her mark on the back of his neck burned painfully. "How would you like a new life as Jason Peterson?"
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because we also want a fresh start," Lorelei said. "This is no different than what you've been doing all these years. You kill monsters, do you not? Murderers, rapists, drug dealers."
"Yes, and they're humans."
"Oh, fine. We'll help you in any way we can," Seth added. "Really, Jason, we only need you to get rid of the ones that are drawing attention to themselves. Let the others blend in with the rest of the humans. We all deserve a second chance, don't you agree?"
A fresh start for all of us, Jason thought. He'd be doing good things, protecting lives as always. Lorelei's right. She's always right.
"I knew you're a reasonable man," Seth said, and then he turned to Lorelei. "Do you think I can share him, sister?"
Lorelei looked amused but didn't say anything to object. And Jason knew then, that in their eyes, he's nothing but a property. Something to be owned and shared by these people.
Perdition, Jason thought numbly. How fitting considering that he's truly in Hell.
