Chapter 4
Bruce guided Chloe out the doors by placing his palm on the small of her back. As they made their exit, he turned his head to see if anyone would notice and saw two beat cops standing by the doors that the mayor had left. Their eyes were intently focused and them.
Bruce smiled, looked back at his new reporter friend and said, "I think you'll have a juicy story by the end of the night."
"Even though I told you I wouldn't write about you?" She smiled teasingly as the bouncer held the door open for them.
"Oh, I'm still holding you to that, but I think that another, even more interesting story might drop in your lap." He left her with a cliffhanger.
The two of them stood out on the sidewalk, waiting for the valet to bring his car around in silence.
When the car finally pulled around, the young kid jumped out, left the door open, and ran around to get Chloe's.
"This sure is a nice car Mr. Wayne."
"You should see my other one. Thank you." He shook his hand and gave him a generous tip.
Bruce got into his car, pulled the door shut, and looked at Chloe.
"So what do you think?" He asked.
"It's nice." She looked around the inside and then back at him. "A little boring though."
He laughed a good, hearty laugh. "Well it looks like I'm going to have to fight for your approval."
She smiled back at him. The idea struck her as being odd. A billionaire that cared what she thought of him.
He put the car in first gear and rived the engine up a bit before letting the clutch off. He peeled out with a squeal and then they were off.
"So where exactly are we going?" She asked.
"For now we are just going to be driving around, you asking questions, me answering them." His eyes bounced back and forth from the street to the rear-view mirror.
"Okay, my first question. "Why go to a big banquet like that if you have no interest in being there?"
"That's a good one. I do it to keep face. If I let the whole world know everything about me--" His words trailed off. "It just wouldn't work."
"Why not?"
"It's hard to explain. Probably because I never have before." He stopped and looked over at Chloe. "This doesn't make sense, but I hope you'll understand what I'm trying to say. There are things about me that I've never told anyone, and it drives me crazy."
"Everyone has secrets, Bruce."
"Not like mine. I don't think you'll ever meet anyone with the secrets that I have."
She wanted to laugh and tell her about her friends from Smallville and the secrets that she'd heard from there.
"So why am I really here there?" She asked.
"I think the reason that it bothers me to keep these secrets is because I think there are a few people out there that would actually understand, but I'll never know because I'm to closely guarded."
"Well that makes a lot of sense."
He looked back at her again. "Really?" He looked vulnerable for the first time that night.
"Sure it does. You'd be surprised at how great of a listener I am." She gave one of her "small town girl smiles". He melted.
"Well of course you are. You're a reporter."
She laughed. "The recorder's off tonight. Tonight it's just me and you." Even as she said the words she realized how sexually charged they were, but she was too deep into the sentence to stop. Her cheeks flushed as he looked at her with surprise on his face.
"I have the strangest feeling that I can trust you, and that's hard to find in this city." Looking back at the rear-view, he saw a pair of headlights come over the hill behind him. The car was moving fast and closing the gap between them. "And I just may get to find out if I'm right about you."
"What do you--" She looked at him and then turned back to see the car coming. "Someone you know?"
"Were about to find out." Bruce pushed the gas pedal down and the corvette roared as it took off down the street.
It wasn't long before the car behind them had matched their speed and added some. Once again they were closing the distance.
"Can't you out run them in this thing?"
He looked over at her and smiled. "You ready to get a good story or not?"
She didn't say anything else. Sitting back in her seat, she bit her lip nervously.
Bruce drove his car a little faster as they left the downtown area and got into a less populated part of Gotham. He came up to Third Street and took a hard right turn and made Chloe grip the hand rest on her side. The fear on her face wasn't hidden as she looked over at the driver. Bruce kept his eyes on the road and mirror.
After a few miles on Third Street, he saw the headlights make the same turn and speed up.
"Yeah, I'd say we have company."
"What is this", she asked. "Why are people following you?"
"You wouldn't believe how easy it is to make enemies in this city." He looked over at her for a moment and then back to the road. His eyes were full of concern. Keep your head low and take notes. I think this will make a great paper."
Bruce took another hard right onto Harwood, and then a hard left onto Jenkins, followed by an easy left onto York. He slowed down his car to a stop, pulled it over to side of the road and then behind a gas station on the corner that was long closed for the night. He killed the engine and turned the lights off.
"Now we just need to wait here, they'll find us in a few minutes."
"And then what?" Chloe demanded.
"And then you get your story."
