Wake Up and Live
by batmanbane
"I was born when she kissed me.
I died when she left me.
I lived a few weeks while she loved me."
- Dixon Steele, In a Lonely Place
Chapter 10
Bane stood at the bar in Juliet's downstairs apartment, stuffing the books he had brought with him to Gotham into a duffle bag.
Meanwhile, Barsad worked behind the bar, scrubbing the tiny kitchen. He wanted it to be thoroughly cleaned for Juliet, as if he and Bane had never been there.
Across the room, Juliet's grey tabby cat yawned and stretched, rising from his bed and trotting eagerly toward Bane. The feline sensed change was afoot, and he leaped onto the countertop, purring as he pushed his warm nose firmly against Bane's open hand.
Strangely touched by Stripe's show of affection, Bane stroked the soft fur between his ears.
"I shall miss you too, little one." He rumbled.
Once night had descended, the mercenaries packed their bags into the trunk of Juliet's car while she stood watching from the darkness of her kitchen. She had purposely left the kitchen and driveway lights switched off, not wanting her neighbours to notice any unusual activity.
She'd spent the entire day thinking about the night before. Bane had revealed his face to her, albeit briefly. She would never, ever forget that face, because she'd always imagined him as having a shrewd, calculating expression, and a cruel mouth.
She couldn't have been more wrong. With a face such as his - so sweet and innocent despite the scars - how could he not have a good heart? Surely she could turn that heart away from the League of Shadows?
The prospect grew more and more appealing as the day progressed, until it occurred to her that maybe she had it all wrong.
Maybe it was she who should acclimate to his world, accepting him as a terrorist and a murderer if she wanted to be with him. Could she do that?
She also had to consider the notion that the League of Shadows offered Bane everything he wanted out of life, and that he simply might not want, or need her in his world. His determination to return to the League, and hesitance to talk about it was evidence enough.
After the mercenaries had finished packing the car, both men descended to the basement for a final check to ensure that they hadn't left anything behind. When they returned, Bane's fingers gestured to Juliet.
"Come!" He ordered.
Numbly, she pulled on a jacket, locked the kitchen door, and climbed into the driver's seat of her car.
"Shove over and strap yourself in, Duchess!" Barsad said. "I'll drive."
Relieved, she moved into the passenger seat and clasped her seatbelt together with trembling hands. Bane sat in the back, directly behind her. She spotted him in the rear view mirror, and noted that he wore an oversized coat with a large hood that concealed his head and mask.
The ride from her Corktown home through downtown Gotham was fraught with an audible silence. It made Bane feel very uncomfortable, and he was grateful when they entered the South Street Tunnel, where noise and artificial light scrambled his thoughts and emotions.
As Juliet stared at the traffic ahead, she wondered if anyone else on the road was in crisis, as she was. She hadn't asked for an impossible love affair but she'd had one just same, and now it was time to let go.
Eventually they left the tunnel and headed for the Narrows, where the mercenaries expected to board a ship.
Desperately wanting to break the silence with casual conversation, Barsad pointed at a large, crumbling structure that look haunted.
"That's Arkham Asylum. While we were running Gotham, we discovered that they allow patients out for the day. They roam the waterfront, begging, harassing and picking pockets, so they were our kind of people. We just let them run rampant."
Barsad's words were met with more silence, so he tried another tactic.
"Yeah, those Arkham people are bad apples. They might try to roll your car, so you get out of here as fast as you can, Duchess. It'll be dawn soon, and they'll be on the move.
"Okay." Juliet answered softly, still staring ahead.
Barsad approached Pier 19 and switched off the ignition well before the gate.
"No lights." He cautioned. They exited the car and removed their bags from the trunk. Both men carried guns in their free hands.
Up ahead, a figure appeared from behind the gate. He was carrying a flashlight, and was wearing a red wool toque and blue overalls.
"That's him. Our man Vito Biamonte. Nico told me he'd be dressed like that." Barsad observed.
Juliet set her gaze above and beyond the man, distracted by the shadow of a large freighter in port. Her heart sank at the sight of it.
"Why couldn't you have taken a plane or a car out of Gotham?"
"The authorities would expect that from us, Juliet." Bane replied, speaking to her for the first time since they left the house. "Travel by air and car are certainly the more predictable methods of escape. That is why the authorities still monitor the city's exits and airports. The docklands aren't as well policed, because they wouldn't expect us to take a long sea journey."
Juliet nodded bleakly.
"Duchess, I'm gonna say goodbye now." Barsad said reluctantly. "I don't want to drag this out but damn, I'm gonna miss you. You're a great sport and a good cook, sweet thing. Not as good as me, of course, but you'll do!"
"I'll miss you too, and your recipes, even though you put a gun to my head." She forced a smile and hugged him warmly.
"Thanks for all you did for us, doll. I won't forget it." Barsad pulled away from her self-consciously and turned, gathering all the bags save for the one on Bane's shoulder as he headed in Vito's direction.
"Goodbye!" She called to him. "Safe travels!"
Barsad didn't look back. She was alone now, facing Bane in the darkness. He had removed the hood so that he could see her more clearly.
"I never gave you false hope..." His words trailed off as regret shone in his eyes, and he cursed himself for being a novice on the subject of the male-female relationship. Bruce would know how to say goodbye...
"You didn't." She agreed. "We both know that I can't go with you. After all, what do we really know about one another? We came together in very unnatural circumstances. Your world is so different than mine, and I can't change who I am any more than you can change who you are. There would be no guarantees for us going forward, would there?"
A muffled sigh of relief sounded from inside the mask.
"You're returning to a way of life that I can't condone." She continued. "I don't know where you're headed, but if I were to go with you we'd probably spend a lot of time apart. Where would I wait for you, and what would I do all that time? Eventually we'd grow to hate one another, isolated by distance and circumstance."
Bane nodded reluctantly. "You would be in danger if my enemies found out about you. They would want to kill you in order to break me. There are other obstacles as well. Gotham is your life, Juliet. You have a chance to begin again, rebuild your business, keep your house. You have spoken of this desire incessantly, so I cannot take that from you. And lastly, you deserve a whole man - not one dependent on a mask and analgesics."
Twenty-four hours ago they'd engaged in all-night, farewell sex. As much as she wanted to, she didn't dare throw her arms around him now, fearful that she would lose control and become a sobbing mess, begging him not to go. She knew he wouldn't want that.
Instead she took his warm, rough hand in hers.
"When I first saw you at City Hall, I fantasized that I could reform you. I know now that it's impossible. Even if I could, you can't stay here with me. We'd be in hiding for the rest of our lives, and that's no way to live. I also believe Talia still looms large in your life, and I understand. Bane, it really is best for both of us that we part."
Bane's mask wheezed unsteadily, and he nodded reluctantly.
"Then it is settled." He said after a pause.
She tried to swallow the lump in her throat but it would not go down.
"I just wish we could stay in contact." She said as she blinked back tears.
"We have been over this, my dear. The authorities will eventually learn that I am not dead, and they will want to know where I was hiding in Gotham and how I escaped. I do not want them tracing me to you. You could go to prison."
"Can't we at least communicate by snail mail?"
"Juliet...no. It is too risky."
"But, I'll never know for sure whether you're dead or alive!"
"It is best that you not know. You must always think of me as still living, and I will think the same of you."
Juliet glanced downward, shuffling her feet. "Okay." She replied awkwardly, her lower lip trembling.
"Go now!" Bane ordered gruffly as he waved his forefinger in the direction of her car. He couldn't bear the sight of her eyes brimming with tears, and fought to suppress his own emotions. "Lock yourself in your vehicle and leave. The sun will rise soon, and the Arkham inmates will come. I do not want you to be assaulted."
For one last time they stared into one another's eyes, their chests heaving with emotion. A single tear spilled down her cheek and she let go of his hand, abruptly turning on her heel to make her way back to the car.
Later, she wouldn't remember the walk to the car - only that by the time she locked herself inside he had turned his back on her, his lumbering gait taking him further and further away.
"Everything okay?" Barsad asked concernedly as the mercenary approached him.
Bane grunted miserably, filled with self-loathing. His own second-in-command had made the effort to hug Juliet, but he couldn't bring himself to do the same because he was uncertain of the outcome. He might have behaved irrationally, throwing her over his shoulder and taking her with him.
"Good morning, Gents." Vito greeted them. "About time you two got here. I hate to break up this touching scene, but we have to get aboard that ship. Before we do, Mr. Bertolini asked me to give you this parting gift, with his compliments." The man produced a small box.
Barsad immediately pulled his gun on Vito, sensing danger. "Hey, what the hell are you up to?" He threatened angrily.
Undeterred by Barsad's weapon, Vito calmly opened the box and produced a small urn.
"Mr. Bertolini has friends at the morgue. He thought you might want the ashes of Talia al Ghul."
Barsad thrust his pistol into the man's face. "How do we know that's her?" He demanded roughly.
"Calm yourself, brother." Bane growled. He took the urn from Vito, and clasped it tightly in both hands. Images of Talia flashed through his mind. Hadn't he endured enough regret for the night?
"You will thank your master for me." He ordered coldly.
Vito nodded, unconcerned by the menacing mask partially hidden by Bane's hood. "This way, paisans, and I'll get you on board."
From inside her car, Juliet squinted, watching the gate close, the light fade, and all three figures disappear from sight.
Physically spent from holding back her emotions, she laid her head on the steering wheel and began to cry. She thought of how she'd first encountered Bane at City Hall, and how she had fantasized that only she could reform him. It had all been a foolish dream. Reality had reared its ugly head. The logistics were all wrong, and there was no future for the two of them.
She sobbed so hard that she hiccoughed for breath. She didn't know how long she'd been crying, but when she heard firm tapping on the car window, her heart soared.
It was Bane! He'd come back for her, and somehow they'd find a way to make it work...
The sun was rising as a joyful Juliet rolled down the window, but reality wasn't done with her yet.
Instead of Bane, she was confronted by the stern visage of a Gotham City police officer, who stared with concern at her red eyes and tear-stained face.
"Are you alright, ma'am?"
"Um... I just lost someone..." She said hastily as she wiped her face with her sleeve.
"I'm sorry to hear that." the sympathetic officer said. "But you shouldn't park here. This is a dangerous neighbourhood."
"I know." Juliet replied. "Arkham patients." She peered through the windshield and saw that the ship was now well out into the bay. Bane was truly gone from her life.
"Are you alright to drive?" The officer inquired.
"Yes. I'm fine."
"Okay then, off you go! I'll follow you."
Juliet started the car and pulled out of Pier 19, followed closely by the police officer. He stayed with her through the South Street Tunnel, and when it seemed he trusted her to get home safely on her own, he pulled up next to her and waved as he drove off. It never occurred to her until later that the officer may have been on to her, and was going to arrest her for harbouring fugitives. She had been too caught up in her loss.
Arriving home, she climbed the stairs to her room and collapsed on the bed, where Bane's scent still lingered.
After a uneventful two-week journey that found them making a brief stop in Amsterdam, Bane and Barsad took refuge at the League safe house in Dakar, where Bane immediately assumed leadership. They were greeted with a heroes' welcome by the staff, who had long hoped that they were alive. They had failed in Gotham, but the fact that they had returned alive was a triumph in itself.
While on board the ship, the mercenaries had learned from Vito that Fredo Bertolini now controlled the remains of Daggett Industries in West Africa, having sent a team of lawyers and enforcers to take control of its mining operations. It was what Bane had promised him in return for sanctuary in the man's home while he and Barsad recovered from injury.
But Bertolini also wanted a piece of West Africa's thriving casino business, and hoped for Bane's help, which the mercenary was adamantly against. His League of Shadows would not be in the casino business, nor would it be involved in the casino sidelines of drugs and prostitution.
Thus, the plan of action at the safe house was to recruit and train an army, with the aim of ousting Bertolini. There would be no casino, and the mining operations would fall into Bane's hands. The monastery would have to wait until their mission in Dakar was complete.
One night after a hearty dinner, Bane and Barsad sat in the cozy sitting room before a roaring fire. The ashes of Talia al Ghul rested on the mantlepiece - a place of honour on which the caretakers of the safe house had insisted.
Barsad sighed contentedly. "I think we've assembled a pretty good crew so far. It feels great to be on the job again, brother, after months of confinement."
Bane looked up from his copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray. "Indeed it does. I feared we might have grown rusty, but all is as it was once was. I feel strong and ready."
"I understand why you're against the casino, Bane, but honestly, I might have enjoyed it. Where else can you find so many beautiful women?"
"There are plenty of other casinos in Dakar for you to indulge your shameless activities." Bane scowled. "Please do not relate any stories of your conquests to me!"
"Okay then." Barsad said "Let's talk about Juliet. What do you think she's doing right about now?"
This time Bane didn't look up from his book.
"I would imagine she is asleep, given that the current time in Gotham is 1:30 a.m." The mercenary blinked, and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket.
"Which reminds me, brother. As per our many conversations, we have unfinished business in Gotham." Bane tossed the phone to Barsad.
Barsad frowned, scratching his beard and shaking his head sadly. "You're killing me, brother."
"We do what is necessary!" Bane reminded him sternly. "Make the call."
Author's Note: A little shorter than usual, but I felt this was a good time to end this chapter. Stay with me for the Epilogue. Thanks to all my followers. Reviews are welcome... :D