I felt a set of lips press against my cheek. "Scarlett… It's time to wake up."
I opened my eyes groggily. It felt too early to wake up. A pair of deep blue eyes shocked me into action. I sat up quickly, almost knocking the breakfast tray from his hands. He climbed back into bed and propped a pillow up for me before placing the tray on my lap and taking something from it. I looked at the warm, syrupy waffles and steaming cup of tea and felt utterly grateful to have found someone so sweet.
I finished the breakfast quickly and hungrily after barely eating yesterday. Jon kissed my neck before getting dressed in his suit and putting his glasses on. He tossed an outfit onto the bed that still had the labels on.
"That's for you. I thought you'd want to look smart."
On the bed was a tight-fitting black skirt that ended just above the knee and a white, fitted shirt with a pair of small black heels. I looked amazing after trying it on although there was no doubt in my mind that my mother wouldn't have approved. I tied my long, dark hair back into a bun and applied natural-looking make-up. I looked quite a lot like a sexy secretary. I slipped the engagement ring onto my finger and picked up a large briefcase that I was going to use to hide the drugs in.
Soft hands slid across my waist and pulled me into an excited and also surprisingly nervous hug. "Are you ready?"
"I feel like a spy or something." I laughed. No wonder he loved doing what he did. Living a double life was incredibly exciting.
He placed his fingers under my chin and pulled my lips towards his. "You look gorgeous."
Then he grabbed his briefcase and I followed him into the car. It only took him a few minutes to drive to work and when I asked if he ever walked he muttered something quietly about the Narrows being too dangerous and pushed open a set of doors with several heavy bolts on the other side, for keeping people in. Arkham Asylum.
He led me forward towards the reception desk and the woman behind it glared at me so viciously I was surprised she hadn't inflicted any pain on me.
"Hello, Catherine. This is my fiancé, Ruby. I thought I'd show her around." Jon said, holding my hand. Catherine's eyes immediately darted to the engagement ring on my finger.
"Fiancé. How lovely. I think most of the nurses had the impression you were… lonely." She replied, although far from looking like she thought it was 'lovely', she looked like she wanted to be sick.
"Well, I'm sure they can stop worrying now." He replied, an amused smile on his face as he led me away from her. As we walked down the corridor some of the in-mates stared at me through the small pane of glass in their heavy metal doors. I had no idea what Charlotte saw in them, but I wondered which ones she had dated.
I followed Jon into an elevator with three other people. A doctor looked at me and then winked at Jon, a movement he had clearly meant to be stealthy. The nurse looked miserably at the ring on my left hand as though she were going to cry and the man strapped to a board on wheels and wearing a straightjacket was muttering about "the Scarecrow". I forced myself not to smile evilly.
The elevator stopped at the next floor up and the nurse got out, her shoulders were hunched and she was making sorrowful sniffing noises. I heard Jon laugh softly under his breath. The doctor couldn't seem to help himself as the doors closed again.
"Good night was it then Jon?" He asked, a huge grin on his face. I resisted the urge to punch it off.
"Yes, it was very nice thank you." Jon replied in his polite, formal voice.
The madman stared at me fearfully and shook his head. "The Scarecrow. The Scarecrow. Screaming. Look out. SCARECROW!"
The doctor laughed pityingly. "The Scarecrow at it again, George?"
"SCARECROW!" The man screeched again.
"Poor fool." He told me, as though I must've been frightened. "He's started the others off. They're all ranting about a scarecrow now. It's crazy how they all copy each other. Get it? Crazy!"
Jon tilted his head threateningly, staring at the doctor with loathing but he didn't seem to notice – his eyes were fixed on my hips.
"Good joke, doctor." I replied, my smile mocking him. "Is it your good sense of humour that makes you so popular with the ladies?"
Jon laughed appreciatively but the doctor seemed oblivious to the sarcasm. "Well, I do have a certain charm." He replied, forcing his eyes away from my chest. "You want to watch her Jon; she'll be after me next."
"Well, that would be a waste of a ring." He told him and for the first time his eyes darted to my left hand.
"Oh, well… yes. Uh… This is my floor." He said, hastily exiting the elevator and wheeling the patient out too.
As the door closed and the elevator moved again all you could hear was. "NOT THE MAAAAAAASK!"
Jon laughed, the excited glow back in his eyes as the fingers that were grasping his briefcase stroked the handle.
"Is it in there?" I asked, shocked. I hadn't thought about his mask since seeing his face but the thought of it gave me a devilish excitement that had little to do with the job ahead of me and a lot to do with the events of last night.
He gave a small nod although his mind was probably far away from where my imagination was headed. I could tell he was worried about me doing this job.
"I'm the best the mob has. I'm sure it'll be a piece of cake. Besides, smuggling something out of a building is nothing compared to what I usually do. The Chechen isn't even worried about this job." I whispered. "I've got to kill the district attorney tomorrow night, for Falcone."
His eyes widened at this. "These men have guns. I've heard you don't use them."
"Guns are cowardly."
"That may be so, but you won't stand a chance against them. You should use them."
"I didn't spend so many years of my life training to pick up a gun and shoot people." I said, my voice rising slightly.
"Keep your voice down! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just worried." He muttered.
As we left the elevator, he took me into the staffroom to show me to people so they recognised my face and wouldn't be suspicious if they saw me on my own. It was a boring room. It had a dirty grey carpet and off-white walls with old leather chairs dotted around and some cheap kitchen appliances. A group of doctors were huddled around a table in the middle of the room as a small TV attached to the wall buzzed in the background.
"Heard of the Joker?" The guy asked Jon. He shook his head and led me over to sit at the table. "He's in the paper. Me and Charlie have a bet on. We reckon that he's going to be brought here as soon as he shows his face. Stanley thinks he's not going to show his face and he's been scared off by the police."
"Where have you heard of him?" Jon asked in the educated tone of voice he used at work.
"Well… he's not exactly in the paper, but his card is. He killed a couple of people and left a calling-card, so the guy's obviously got a screw loose. Who would do that? Apparently it was all theatrically done, he painted their faces or something. I don't know but the police have been trying to hush it up and there's been no mention of him since."
"Well, my bet is the police kill him. They're getting too carried away with our patients lately." Jon replied.
"Can I place a bet?" I asked, innocently. The men looked away from the newspaper and to me for the first time, then towards Jon for an explanation.
"Meet my fiancé, Ruby."
"A pleasure to meet you. Go ahead; although I doubt you know anything about crime like this, we get it all the time." The doctor replied patronizingly.
"I'm trained in law actually, but I haven't got a job yet." I replied, and they seemed to take me more seriously.
"Go on then, Ruby. What do you want to bet?"
I decided to go for something extravagant and ridiculous that obviously seemed foolish. They would decide I was stupid and incapable of robbing them blind so it suited me all round. "I bet that this… Joker guy? I bet he is secretly a genius and the police won't be able to catch him and he'll kill go on a mass murder spree Gotham. I bet even the Batman won't be able to catch him."
They shook their heads pityingly but replied. "If that's what you want to bet…"
The day passed rather monotonously. Jon poisoned one of the new patients with his drug but refused to let me watch in case I inhaled some myself. When it was close to the end of the day, Jon led me into a store cupboard that contained shelves and shelves of medicine. He locked the door behind him.
"These boxes haven't been counted in the stock yet because they just arrived this afternoon. If you take half of each box I'll take the rest and put them on the shelves and then put the boxes in the recycling tray.
"I thought this was going to be hard." I complained.
"Well, if you weren't a woman in a relationship with me and pretending to be my fiancé it would have been."
He opened the first box quickly and shook the small cartons of pills inside. "Happy pills." He told me grinning.
The other things he gave me were strong drugs with a side effect to induce enjoyable hallucinations to "calm the patients down" and some painkillers so powerful they virtually made you numb and had traces of opium in. When the briefcase I had could take no more he loosened his tie and untucked his shirt before making me look scruffier. When we left we received another wink from the perverse doctor that was in the elevator with us but luckily no one else saw and he definitely didn't suspect anything other than us enjoying ourselves in there. As soon as we darted back into his office he neatened his clothes again and I straightened mine out too.
"Take those straight to the Chechen. When you're finished we can celebrate tonight." He smiled, placing a sensual kiss on my neck with a hand resting on my waist. I grinned at him knowingly and we left the office together, both of us grinning slyly at the prospect of the night ahead of us.
It was no trouble getting out as no one bothered to search us. A rather dull job, mainly because it had worked out exactly as we had planned.
I got Jon to drop me off at Falcone's bar, albeit reluctantly. I kissed him on the cheek as I left and stepped inside. A scanned the room but the Chechen wasn't there. Thankfully, neither was Gambol. I turned to leave but Falcone called me over first.
"Now, about tomorrow night." He began, and it took me a second to remember that he had a job for me. "I want it all going right. I don't want links back to me. If Batman shows up you've got ten seconds to get back in the car or else I'm leaving. You understand?"
"Yeah. You can leave me and drive off. Don't hang around. It's fun fighting someone with skill every now and again." I replied. He gave me one of his hard stares that told me he didn't like the fact I was more skilled then anyone working directly for him.
"I want you to meet me here at seven o'clock. Alright?"
I nodded and got up to leave. As soon as I was outside I called the Chechen.
"I've got the stuff." I told him.
"How was it?" He asked.
"Incredibly boring. Where do you want to meet?"
"I'm finishing packing. I'll meet you at the back of the abandoned warehouse in an hour."
I hung up, remembering that he was leaving me for a while. I guessed he meant the warehouse at the bottom of the hill from the forest I lived in.
I began to walk back home but, unfortunately, a familiar car parked outside the bar. I tried to walk faster, as though I hadn't seen him but he called me over.
"Hey, Red." Gambol said a few of his favourite thugs stepped out of the car. He looked me up and down. "You look different."
"Oh… Yeah." I replied, realising how against my tastes this looked.
"Did you have fun with Stephanie last night?"
"Yeah, it was great." I replied, wanting to get away as quickly as possible. "I've got to go and get ready because I'm meeting the Chechen in an hour. I'll catch up with you later."
The strange expression on his face was etched into my mind as I turned away and walked home. The fury in his eyes but at the same time a sickening smile. I thought about it until I reached the bottom of the hill to the forest – and then I stopped dead in my tracks.
Stephanie.
He had said Stephanie. I'd told him Charlotte. I stood there in silence for a moment. My heart pumped painfully against my chest.
Why? I wanted to scream out. Why does Jon make me so pathetic?
If I had even thought about what Gambol had said I would have known in an instant. Jon was no good for me. I groaned inwardly and stood there nervously until the sound of the birds and the welcoming forest calmed me down and I stepped into my house, stroking the Alpha wolf on the way.
I got changed from my uniform-style clothing and but on something more casual – a pair of black shorts and a warm fluffy jumper, (the only jumper I had been allowed to get me through winter). I washed away my natural make-up and applied some more. It was pretty similar, except I had darker mascara and more eyeliner as well as some clear lip balm.
As I stepped back into my bedroom, I noticed the door to the garage was ajar. A door that I always kept locked. In my rush to see Jon had I even left that open? I scowled at my stupidity as I turned the garage light on to add to my notes about Gambol and Jon.
Jon was on the back wall – the smallest wall that he occupied himself. The Chechen, Maroni, Falcone and Gambol had a corner of the wall each that was opposite the door.
Batman was on the wall with the door and… I screamed in shock and ran to get a knife. I crept around my house, searching for an intruder although something inside me knew whoever it was wasn't here anymore.
I went back into the garage. There were only two large spaces left on the wall: one next to Batman and one next to Jon. The one next to Batman had been written on by someone else in what looked like red paint.
"MY SPACE HERE!!"
My fingers traced over the words but the paint was dry. I wondered if the person knew I wasn't going to be back until later today. Maybe he or she knew I was on a job. I returned the knife to the kitchen drawer and sat on the old sofa, my mind spinning with thoughts. Who could it be? I couldn't think of anyone. No one other than heads of the mob would dare do that and I knew them all. It obviously wasn't someone with good intentions or they wouldn't have broken into my house to leave an ominous message.
Then it occurred to me that either they knew I had notes in my garage or they came here for a different reason. If they did know then they must have been watching me at some point because I haven't told anyone. I doubted they had come for a different reason because firstly, nothing else had been tampered with and no other messages had been made and secondly the person that wrote the message had brought the paint with them and unlocked my door.
So someone was watching me. I rubbed my neck as I glanced around uneasily. When had I let my guard down so badly that I hadn't noticed myself being watched? I refused to believe I was becoming so bad at something I had once been so good at. No. The person that left the message must be as skilled as me. As skilled as Batman.
It would have required him to know that I was going out and that I had notes in my garage. I didn't even have windows in my garage so I couldn't have been seen writing them. Perhaps it was a person that found me predictable. It was definitely someone I didn't know. If I did know them they would already be on that wall. I thought back to all the people I had encountered and my head reeled. As I searched for an answer my thoughts became more ludicrous.
The taxi driver… Charlotte… The engagement ring woman… The bank manager…
My phone buzzed loudly, making me jump. I answered it quickly.
"Hello?"
"Where are you? I've been waiting." The Chechen's voice responded.
"Oh! Sorry… I'm coming now." I replied, hanging up.
I grabbed some shoes and the briefcase and ran to meet him.
"What's the matter?" He asked. My anxiety must have been obvious on my face. I looked around edgily, searching for someone that was either not there or out of site.
"I'm being followed."
The Chechen looked around angrily and protectively. "Where is he?"
His reaction made me smile, knowing I could always depend on someone to care. "Well, I don't know. Someone broke into my house… but they left a message about something I haven't told anyone and it looks as though they broke in just to leave the message. It was too well done for it to be sloppy work. Someone must know a lot about me."
He surprised me by pulling me into a tight hug and kissing my head. "It's a bad time for me to leave."
I hugged him back as he looked around to see the person that might be watching me. Then he turned to me seriously. "If you need to talk to someone, talk to Maroni. Don't trust the others so much."
"Here." I said, handing him the briefcase. "You can take them in the case. There are happy pills, hallucinogenics and painkillers that make you practically unable to feel anything."
"Well, it's better than the last stuff he gave me." There was a pause. "Will you be okay?"
I laughed. "I think I can handle myself. He can't be worse than Batman, right?"
"I guess not." The Chechen smiled back. "I've got to go. I've got a long drive tomorrow."
I hugged him goodbye and walked back home, the forest suddenly seeming more ominous.
I packed to go to Jon's but not with my usual excitement. Not only had the mysterious messenger dampened my spirits but I hadn't forgotten about something that was preying on my mind: Gambol.
I could still remember his worrying smile and glare. I could tell he was planning something but at the moment I felt too exhausted to care. So exhausted that I felt I'd rather drown my sorrows at the bar than have a romantic evening in.
Still, I packed slowly and monotonously, like clockwork as I pulled the usual things into my bag. When I couldn't delay any longer I stepped outside. As if sensing my mood the wolves were there and the Alpha came towards me and licked my hands. I knelt down and stroked behind his ears.
"Did you see who came into my house?" I asked him.
He looked for me at a moment and then lay down with his head resting on my lap. I laughed softly and let him stay there whilst I thought. My eyes surveyed the forest. I sighed tiredly before moving towards by bike and turning back to the wolf.
"The next time I get a visitor, kill whoever it is." He stared at me for another second before sensing some prey and chasing after it. I swung my leg over my bike, casting one last glance over the forest, and sped away.
When I arrived he came out to greet me again but I couldn't even manage a smile.
"What's the matter?" He asked, worriedly.
"I'll tell you inside." I replied, then realising the person could be anywhere I looked around again. This would drive me crazy. I felt like I was being hunted. If I just knew who it was…
Jon led me inside and made me a milky hot chocolate to calm me down. I sipped it slowly as I told him about the break-in and decided it was safe to tell him about my garage.
"And it said 'my space here'." I finished. He looked thoughtful for a moment and then jumped into his analysis.
"Well, you have made the papers once or twice as Red. Maybe it's a stalker who thinks he's worthy of a place on your wall."
"He?"
"It's a common male thing to boost their ego. If it was a female fan I doubt they would be so demanding because they would see you at least as an equal whereas a male would likely see himself as someone you should be wary of. Also, the way it was written is a more common male style than female style.
"Still, that wouldn't explain how they knew about a room with no windows that you had told no one about. Surely, they would presume it was an ordinary garage. I think it's likely someone who has studied, either professionally or freely, people's behaviour. They must've have found out a lot about you to gage that you are the sort of person that would do that although your reputation as a temptress and deviant could make that conclusion more easy to come to.
"I definitely think the person is someone seeking power like me rather than like the mob. It's interesting he sought the place next to Batman – it suggests he also finds himself an equal with him."
My eyes grew wide as I let out a shaky laugh. "I had no idea you were so… clever."
He laughed in return. "Thanks for the compliment. I wonder… if it could be the Joker."
"Who?"
"The guy that you placed a bet on."
"The one that vanished into oblivion? I doubt it. If he isn't active he wouldn't be sneaking around and leaving a message on my wall he'd be out there causing havoc to grab the public's attention. Maybe it's one of Gambol's men who thinks that he's as good or better than everyone else."
"Well, that is far more likely."
"He knows where I live too… He got one of his thugs to send a bracelet to my door." As though something snapped in my mind, I added, "And he's planning something."
"What do you mean?" Jon asked, more concerned now than before.
"He asked me how my night with Stephanie was and I said it was good and he looked really angry but was smiling in a twisted way." I replied. Jon's expression was blank. "I told him I was with Charlotte but I completely forgot so he knew I was lying."
Jon's face fell as everything clicked into place. "So whoever wrote that message is going to attack you or will be a part of Gambol's plan."
"Who would be stupid enough to attack me? I've seen them all and they've seen me fight and they're hopeless. I mean, I'm a match for Batman so why would they risk it?"
"If it's on Gambol's orders they'd do it anyway."
There was a solemn silence which I broke angrily. "I fucking hate him."
After another short pause Jon said, "Do you have a t-shirt to go with those shorts?"
I nodded curiously.
"Go and get changed and meet me in the car." He told me, placing a swift kiss on my lips as he went upstairs to get changed himself. I finished the last of my hot chocolate and brooded over Gambol and how low he would stoop.
I finally went to put my t-shirt on and got into the car. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere you can relax." He replied and set off. We roamed Gotham further north than I usually travelled and parked at a random car park. He held my hand and led me through the streets. It took me a while to realise we were heading to the source of some loud music.
We entered a large club with a huge dance floor that was heaving with people. He grabbed my hand tight as we squeezed in between them to find a space large enough for us to dance. The music thumped loud and fast through the speakers as he pressed our bodies close together. We danced for what felt like hours, his hands moving over my body pressed against each other so hard it was as though we were glued together. His breathing grew heavier from exhaustion and wanting. When dancing got too hard we raced back home in silence as fast as he dared drive.
We ran to his bedroom, removing each other's clothes on the way and collapsed on the bed as soon as we reached it, our hands exploring each other's body desperately. The rest happened quickly but it was the most pleasure I had ever had in my life and from the look on his face I'd say the experience was the same for him. We lay next to each other, panting hard. When he regained his breath he rolled towards me and kissed me passionately. My worries left as he turned the light off and held me close. I was too weak.
