"-" = Talk
/-/ = Thoughts
Hello again, everyone!
Before I start, I want to thank everyone again for reviewing this.
I really like reviews because they encourage me, but also because it really helps when there are problems in one of my fics.
It's been pointed out to me that Bruce is acting Out Of Character (OOC). I want everyone to know that I'm very aware of it, and to reassure everyone that he will be acting like his old self very soon.
Also, I'm very opened to suggestions, so if you guys have ideas on what you'd like to see in this fic, feel free to share them with me.
Sorry about the length. Long text and little action, but it had to be done.
On with the story.
…What Terry DID notice was the goofy-looking girl in a rainbow-colored dress that had bent down to talk to…
"MATT!"
Terry rushed up to his little brother and the unwanted guest.
"Back off, clown!" He barked at the petite Jokerz member.
The teenager couldn't see her face, which was hidden behind a cute happy-clown mask, but her fake, melodramatic, scared whimpering showed she wasn't smart enough to take him seriously.
In a fraction of a second, she went from cowering to happy and picked a giant green candy from her woven basket and offered it to him:
"Lollipop?" She asked in a childish, let's-be-friends tone.
Terry slapped it away from his face and firmly pointed for her to leave.
"Beat it!" He growled.
This was the last warning she would get from him. Girl or not; if she didn't split in the next 5 seconds, she would have to pick her teeth off the sidewalk.
Nonchalantly, the clown-girl shrugged and happily bounced away.
Once he was sure she was really gone, Terry turned to look at his little brother. Matthew McGinnis didn't look his best at the moment. He was really pale and had a lost look on his face. Terry bent down to his level and put his hands on his brother's shoulders:
"Matt? Are you okay? Did that girl hurt you?"
The 9 years-old looked over where the Joker-girl had gone to and shook his head. Relieved, Terry bowed his head and gave a long sigh. He stood up and put a guiding hand on the boy's back.
"Come on, let's go inside."
"Terry?" Asked Matt. "That was a Joker, right?"
"Yeah." Terry said in defeat… The Jokerz were in the neighborhood.
"I don't like them." Said the little boy.
"Me either." Answered the teenager, quietly.
Mary McGinnis came home some time later from her work as a project-assistant at Astro-Technologies, or Astro-Tech, an independent aerospace company. She had applied for a promotion a few months earlier and was selected. The pay was much better and she had been relieved to get the job: with two boys at home and no more child-support, she had needed the money. Unfortunately, the hours were long and her schedule irregular.
Money wasn't everything. The late hours prevented her from being with her sons and she missed those times dearly, especially now that Terry was at home more often.
That's why she felt a bit disappointed when she entered her house to notice that her boys weren't currently at each other's throats. In fact, everything was disturbingly quiet.
"Matt? Terry?"
She dropped her purse on the kitchen table and looked around for a sign of her two children.
"In here, mom." She heard Terry call from the living room.
She walked behind the couch where Terry was sitting and looked around, searching for her other son.
"Where's your brother?" She asked.
"He's asleep." Terry answered.
Mary stopped walking around and, intrigued, turned to face him:
"But it's still early… Did something happen? You two didn't have another fight, did you?"
Terry got up from the couch and walked to her.
"No, mom, we didn't fight. It's just that… We had a bit of a problem outside. Say, did you notice anything strange in the neighborhood lately?"
Mary McGinnis put a hand to her heart.
"Oh, dear. Terry, you're starting to scare me. What happened?"
Terry raised an arm and rubbed the back of his head, looking for the right words.
"Huh… Oh, man… Mom, I think there might be a gang of Jokerz around."
Mary swallowed a small cry and her eyes went wide.
"Oh my God! Matt! Did they?..."
"No, he's okay", said Terry, "I came home from school and I saw this clown-girl trying to talk to Matt… She didn't hurt him or anything, but he got scared. I brought him home… Tried to cheer him up a bit, but he was feeling really down… asked if he could just go to bed and I let him."
Mary sighed in relief, but she was still upset. Jokerz, here? In front of her very door? And talking to her son!... She wasn't upset, she was infuriated. This couldn't be happening!
Terry watched his mother storm out of the living room.
"Don't worry, mom. I'll…"
Terry felt a bit stupid, saying that. What could he do? He sure felt like tracking down each member of that particular gang and "inform" them that their presence was undesired, but he couldn't do that. Not anymore.
What did ordinary people do in these situations? What was the normal reaction?
"I'll… drop by the police station tomorrow and ask if they can do something about this." He said, even if that declaration felt stale to his own ears.
"Yes, you do that."
The dry tone of his mother hit him like a whip… He saw her freeze into place, before walking back to him. She put a gentle hand on his arm:
"I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to snap like that. It's a good idea, go to station, maybe they'll listen… It's just that…"
"It's a big city and the cops are very busy… Yeah, I know." Terry finished for her.
Both bowed their heads. If the Jokerz had decided to scour their street, there was little anyone could do. They would have to find a way, for themselves and for Matt, to live with it.
Far from the small residential area, where the lights of the houses were being shut one by one as the humble workers tried to get their night of sleep, and into the bright world of Gotham's downtown area, a business party was being thrown in one of Wayne-Powers' tallest buildings.
The music was light, soft airs of jazz floating in the air. Tables were garnished with luxurious food and wines on one side of the room, while the other side was left opened for people to dance or gather and talk.
It was the least formal of all formal meetings.
Bruce had slowly drifted from the center of the crowd to a large window bay, where he watched as police cars passed by, their red and blue flashes reflecting on the glass. The middle-aged man ignored the urge to find out what dark deed another night had brought to Gotham.
"Mr. Wayne?" He heard someone call to him.
Bruce turned around to see one of the executives walk to him, accompanied by a dark-skinned woman in a simple, yet beautiful red dress. The woman had short black hair and a sharp smile, she looked somewhere in her mid-thirties.
"Excuse me, Mr. Wayne. We've had an unexpected guest, tonight. I'd like to present you Miss Sarah Donning."
"Please to meet you." Said the woman, giving Bruce a surprisingly firm handshake for such a delicate looking person.
"The pleasure is all mine." Answered Bruce.
"Miss Donning is the Director of Wayne-Powers' Aerospace Division."
With pieces snapping into place in Bruce's mind, he let go of Miss Donning's hand and gave her a small smile.
"I see. Your father was Peter Donning?" He asked.
"That's right!" She answered with obvious pride.
Bruce remembered her father for meeting him at a few occasions. A good man who had been in the company all the way back to the days before the take-over of Wayne Enterprises by Derek Powers. Instead of abandoning the ship like so many others, Donning had stayed and strengthened his position in Wayne-Powers.
The man had died some time ago. Since he had been an important shareholder and that his daughter now occupied a very important position, it could only mean that she had inherited daddy's shares.
"But don't let appearances fool you. I've more than deserved the position I now have." She continued.
"I'm sure." Bruce answered… probably with just a bit too much sarcasm in his tone, because the lady threw him a blazing glare, mixed with another smile.
"Now, now… It's true! Remember Mr. Powers' policies on leaving important shares to heirs. If I hadn't proven myself to be as competent as my father, I never would've managed to gather enough votes to force the Board to keep me."
The woman had a point. Powers had scavenged as many shares as possible to allow him to place his puppets all over the company. He had even re-written the policy on deceased shareholders himself.
The conversation moved quickly from that point on. Ms. Donning seemed very curious about Bruce. He wasn't fooled: it was obvious she was trying to gauge him for the upcoming vote. The entire operations of Wayne-Powers in Gotham had been organized into a single Director's office. Said Director's position would be put up to vote very shortly and Bruce had every intention of grabbing it. It would be a battle between him, a newcomer in the eyes of the shareholders, and a director whose popularity was going down… Speaking of which:
"Sarah! How good to see you here!" Said Arthur Drummond, current Director of the Gotham Area Operations, the seat Bruce had in mind.
Bruce could see the woman's face fall at the call of her name, clearly displeased to hear that particular voice.
"Arthur." She said bluntly, turning around.
"What's wrong, Sarah? Aren't you happy to see me?" The man asked with a grin.
"I'm always happy to see you, Mr. Director." She replied acidly.
The arrogant man then turned to Bruce.
"And you must be Mr. Wayne… Glad to finally meet the competition."
Bruce accepted the extended hand.
"…But, I'm afraid this contest won't be very fair. After all, you've only just arrived and there's only one week left until the vote." The man continued.
Bruce was about to retaliate, but Ms. Donning decided to step in:
"The way the rumors are going, Arthur, there is a chance you may be blackballed* from your seat."
"Now, Sarah, don't pay attention to old ladies telling stories." Said Drummond, almost growling. "I may have lost a few supporters, but your Mr. Wayne here, despite his large minority, is still a minority… No offence Mr. Wayne, but let's be realistic here, your chances of winning that seat are pretty low."
Bruce allowed a smile to grace his lips:
"Well, Mr. Drummond, with all due respect, the reason I haven't backed out of the race yet is that I still feel I have a pretty good chance…"
Bruce felt something latch onto his arm. He looked down to see Sarah grabbing him and pulling him a bit closer.
"He's right, Arthur. One week is plenty of time to make new friends", She said, deviously.
Drummond's eye twitched and he grabbed the glass he was holding so hard that it almost broke.
"Now, Sarah, this is no time to play games… You'd better think twice before turning your back on me. You're walking on the edge too! I'm not the only one who's been making enemies lately." Threatened the man, pointing an accusing finger at her.
The gentleman in Bruce had seen enough.
"I think we're done." He stated.
Then he used the fact that Sarah was still holding on to his arm to rotate them both and walk away.
He led them both to the large balcony.
"Chilly." Said Sarah.
For a second, Bruce thought she was talking about him, given how his thoughts reflected on his face.
"…But not as much as in there." She said, trying to light up the mood.
The mid-aged billionaire turned to face her.
"You two don't like each other."
"We don't even bother to hide it anymore", She explained.
"Personal or..?" Asked Bruce.
"Let's just say we don't agree on what running a business should be like" Sarah said. "Frankly, I'm to the point where I don't care who pulls the strings in the Gotham division, as long as it's not him."
Bruce reflected on this for a moment… It seemed unlikely that someone would randomly cast their vote on somebody they didn't know, just to get back at someone.
"You said something back there… I've heard that Drummond's position was in danger too, but I only have external views of the situation… Is there anything specific you can tell me?"
Sarah looked at him, a bit surprised that he would be so straightforward.
"I'm… not sure I should say this… It's mostly allegations, nothing's been proven… Besides, it's not exactly public information. I don't even know you. How do I know I can trust you?" She asked, definitely hesitant to answer.
"Well, how about trusting in the kindness of strangers?" Bruce asked with a smile.
Sarah's knowing smile told him she understood the reference**.
"Besides, I'm hardly an outsider to this company… Plus, a week from now, I could be your boss." Bruce finished.
Sarah let out a short laugh:
"You sure know how to make a point, Mr. Wayne. I see you have experience in corporate politics."
/You have no idea/ thought Bruce.
"I guess there's no real harm in telling you. Besides, a little office gossip would've told you everything you need to know… It all pretty much started with Mr. Powers, Derek Powers', actions and that his condition as that *Blight* creature was made public… At that point, many of Mr. Powers' allies began to abandon ship… Then there was that sordid transfer to Paxton Powers, which ended up in disaster. Everything started falling apart from that point. Like I said, the allies of the Powers had begun to leave, but Arthur clung to his position. Since then, as the people around him started to be replaced, "irregularities" began to appear. I don't know exactly what it is, but it probably isn't very clean. Being the head of the Aerospace Division, I've seen things I didn't like too. Now, there are rumors that Arthur's planning his exit: there were hurried sales, transfers, questionable arrangements… He should've done like the rest and run while he could. But Arthur Drummond is a greedy man. I think he's grabbing whatever he can now, before he's evicted."
Sarah ran her fingers through her hair, lost in thought. Bruce thought there was more than that behind their mutual animosity, but he didn't press the issue.
"Do you think there will be charges against him?" He asked.
"Depends how smart he is and how well he can hide his tracks…" She replied.
"So, that's why everyone's so nervous about him staying in place." Bruce concluded.
"Yes… I'm not certain how many more scandals Wayne-Powers can take before having to put the key under the door." Sarah agreed.
Bruce took a moment, wondering how much more information he could get out of her. He decided to risk it.
"… Drummond also said something about you… Something about being on the edge yourself?"
Sarah looked at him, a bit disappointed. She suddenly looked very tired.
"My situation's a bit… different. But, if you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it… Mind going back inside? It's getting kinda cold."
Bruce followed her and made a personal note to learn more about Sarah Donning.
TBC
*Blackballed: to be voted out of… Learned a new word today! ^_^
** Quoting "A Streetcar Named Desire": Blanche DuBois, the main character, says at the end that she always depended on the kindness of strangers (to be saved from misery).