Hey all,sorry it took so long to get this one up. I have a ton of ideas bouncing around in my head, and I am trying to include most of them. I am however going to be really busy in these upcoming weeks, I am heading 2 projects for my son's PTA along with the whole Holidays thing. But I promise it shouldn't be more than 2 weeks until the next one. I have to rewatch the movie a bit to make sure I have everything how I want it. As always, please review. It makes me happy to know people are reading it and how you are liking it so far.
The night was filled with action that Shae slept soundly through. Not waking when a woman's shrill voice, angry yet hushed echoed in or as Bane and Barsad came and went from the room throughout the night.
The noise of activity finally woke her late in the morning, her head lightly spinning from the aftereffects of the sedative.
Yawning, she quickly hopped across the floor to the bathroom. The memories of the previous night came back to her as she washed up under the chilled water of the shower.
'Christ Shae, you acted like an idiot. What the hell is wrong with you? Frickin' masturbating in his bed, you're lucky he didn't come in and kill you.' the voice in her mind shouted. 'Well he didn't,' she thought back in response.
She thought of how much worse it could have ended, but she couldn't argue with the way the events had played out. He was absolutely terrifying, yet he knew exactly how to touch her, bringing her to climax quickly and effectively without feeling she was being rushed to that point. Her face colored as she remember him staring attentively at her cleft while he worked his magic on her.
She quickly dried herself, dressing in a pair of tight skinny jeans and a loose t-shirt from the bag of her personal belongings. She was glad Daphne had grabbed this one, it was one of her favorites. Slightly threadbare, the faded black tee had an orange fork and knife crossed on the front stating 'Mein Teil' along the top of the knife.
She had picked it up at the last concert she went to, it was almost five years old and very well-loved. Getting the tickets to see Rammstein when they played at the Gotham City Stadium had been such an adventure. Shae camped out at the box office with her two best friends over spring break her senior year at high school. Camping out for four nights in the chilled air and on the uncomfortable sidewalk had been well worth it to be able to see the concert from the pit. You could feel the heat from the flames whenever the band members would start-up the pyrotechnics.
It had been a great final hurrah with her friends, both of them moving to out-of-state colleges once they had graduated. Shae was left behind, stuck in a city she never felt she belonged in.
She jumped when the curtain was drawn open suddenly. Barsad's smiling face popped in a second later.
"Ai glad to see you're feeling a bit better lass. I sure hope you don't try angering the boss man again, I wouldn't want to see ya hurt beyond repair" he said as he brought in the tray with her first meal of the day on it.
She looked up at him quizzically after she had taken the tray from him. Today it held a turkey sandwich, an individual applesauce cup and a milk carton. It was an odd breakfast choice in her mind,
"Oi yeah, you slept clear through your morning meal today. It's almost three in the afternoon." he chuckled. "The boss said he was coming up here to move you back last night, guess he never made it. Tonight is gonna be exciting though and he wants you up and ready for when the show starts."
He leaned against the wall while she ate, smiling the whole time, making her wonder what the hell he would be doing with a man like Bane.
Finishing the sandwich she finally asked "Barsad, you are such a sweet guy. What are you doing hanging out with this brute?"
"Aww ye think I'm sweet." He let out in loud laugh. "Well that's just 'cause you haven't seen me fight. You know what they say about us Irish." The grin stretching across his face couldn't have possibly gotten any bigger.
"No, really what gives?" she questioned, the applesauce nearly gone.
"Well ya see, my mum raised me by herself all those years after my da skipped town, ya know the usual. I got in with a rough crowd when I was a wee lad, wasn't more than sixteen when I ended up owing the wrong person money. " The smile slowly drifted from his face as he spoke.
"When I couldn't pay full up, that worthless git had her kidnapped and raped. She was dumped outside the A&E with both of her arms broken. She died from the infection not even a week later. I just couldn't do it, couldn't stay there without her. It was my fault. The things they did to her, all of it was my fault. My mate found out where that feckin' mongrel lived." His brow furrowed, his eyes were searching the distance as she watched him. He leaned against the wall, arms folded crossed his chest. His mouth a grim straight line.
"I went pretty off my nut, and did something real terrible. His ol' lady was home with his two little ones. I waited for him to get home before I killed them." He paused, his face twisted with self-disgust. His eyes hard and distant, as he stared into the wall. "I made him watch. Real diabolical shite. I burnt the house to the ground after. I had no reason to stay and more than likely the cozzers would come after me if I did. I ended up catching a barge over to France. I made my way around, working odds and ends. Finally ended up in Sierra Leone years later, working for a mining corporation."
"Bane showed up with a rival company. He riled the workers and their families up. The entire country fell into discord, and war. It took only about a month before the company I was working for dissolved, giving Daggett Industries exclusive rights to mine in the county."
"Ya see, when he talks, he makes you finally see your purpose. It lights a fire under people, makes them want to stand up for themselves, take what's theirs, to take what they deserve. I had watched him from the edge of the crowds, hearing him speak of freedom and liberation. When I finally met him, he allowed me to join him. It's been over four years now. I would follow him to the depths of Hell and will assist him with whatever cause he chooses to champion."
His eyes had taken on a fevered glaze as he stared across the small room. Shae had been shocked as he stood there and talked about the things he had done. She looked at the man she had come to like, the man with the bright smile and easy laugh, and slowly absorbed the fact he had murdered a man's family, had murdered children. It somehow never occurred to her that this man could be capable of such an atrocity, even if he was working with the masked man. Disquiet crept through her as she sat there, listening to him as he talked.
"So lass, you still think I'm sweet?" he questioned with a smirk, when he noticed the shock clearly written on her face.
She looked up at him, her mouth gaped as she looked him over once more.
"You have never done anything to me to make me think otherwise." Shae responded weakly.
He moved to take the tray, " And I hope to keep it that way. I don't like hurting those who don't deserve it. It makes no sense to punish those who have nothing to do with the original misdeed. I will carry that burden for the rest of my days. I don't want to add any more weight to that load." He said, a sad smile curling the corners of his lips.
As he turned to leave, she added "It's just you just seem so young..." she trailed off as she looked up at his pale blue eyes.
"Young, ha, I am probably older than you. And ya need to remember love, the ability to be cruel has no age limit, even children are capable of it."
Barsad was back sooner than Shae would have expected, gone no longer than three hours. He had a small plastic bag dangling from his hand, the bright ink stating to 'Have a good day!' circling around a smiley face.
"I thought it was about time we change those bandages up. They usually start to smell after a bit. We need to see how your fingers are healing anyway."
Looking down at her hand, she had noticed how dirty the gauze and the tape was getting but hadn't known how to take care of it. Cautiously, she lifted her left hand up and sniffed it.
"Ugh," she gagged, "You weren't kidding." She laughed at her own stupidity for not believing him.
Once she had settled down on the bed, he pulled the computer desk's chair so he could sit in front of her. Dumping the bag next to her, he pulled the items he wanted out and told her to hold them for him.
She arched a brow as she glanced at the other items that had fallen from the bag. A tiny book of crosswords,a box of pencils, a small electronic Sudoku game, and a few candy bars. Off to the side sat a familiar blue box.
"Tampons?" she asked, an eyebrow raised as she attempted to hold back a smile.
"Oh, um yeah. I didn't know if you would need anything like that. So I had a runner grab some stuff for you."
"Thank you. That was very thoughtful, but hopefully I won't need them. I'm not very regular to begin with but since I started the shot, I usually only get one maybe two or three times a year." Her mind finally caught up to her mouth.
"WOW! Oh my god, I can't believe I just blurted all that out. Sorry." she blushed.
"Hey nothing to be embarrassed over love. The natural functions of a woman's body is what has kept our species alive for the past 200,000 years. Now hold still okay. I don't want to accidentally nip you." he said as he pulled her injured hand to rest on his knee.
Holding her hand steady, he lightly snipped the tape away with a pair of round tip scissors. He gently pulled it away, and then snipped the gauze until the wrapping fell away completely. He silently repeated the process on the second set of bound fingers.
"How are they feeling? If they are still painful, we will re-wrap them."
Shae carefully gave them a light wriggle. "They are still a bit sore, but it's nowhere nearly as bad as it was." She smiled as he took her hand back in his, running his fingers down each one, watching for her reaction. When there wasn't any, he looked up and smiled.
"Well good, that means we don't have to. They feel like they are healing good, as long as they don't give you too much trouble you should be able to get by without them taped."
"Good, it will be nice not to have a lobster hand." she blurted, the giggle tumbling from her lips. Her eyes met Barsad's as they laughed to themselves. His eyes were such a delicate shade of blue, the contrast between his eyes and his brown hair startling.
The curtain drew back and a dark man stepped inside. Shae jerked her hand from Barsad's, the flush coloring her cheeks she turned her gaze on to the rug. The man stood there, parade rest, saying nothing, staring straight ahead.
"Yes?" Barsad finally questioned with a sigh. The moment was ruined anyway. What was he doing anyway, Bane had already discussed his plan for her with him, he should know better. It was probably for the best.
"Mister Bane would like to see you top side Sir." He stated, his thick accent sounded almost like a very deep, blunted English one. The way he had learned to speak English clipped the words, making the dialect of his natural Temne shine through. The tall African had been with Bane almost as long as he had. He had joined just as they were leaving the country. Sierra Leone had been all he had even known, but he had adapted well. His aggressiveness and strict obedience had pleased Bane enough that he ran a small crew of men reporting only to Bane and Barsad when needed.
"I should introduce you two, seeing as how you will be seeing each other more often after tonight." Barsad motioned for Shae to stand.
"Shae, this is Javen. If Bane or myself are not around, this is who you should looked for. He will take care of whatever you need."
"It is a pleasure to meet you." His deep voice rumbled as he walked over and held out his hand.
"It's nice to meet you as well Javen."
Shae shook the man's hand, recognizing him from around the atrium. He had at least three inches on Barsad, but was slim with a lean musculature. His face was grim, the sharp angles of his wide cheekbones stood out against his soft rounded jaw line. His dark eyes stared down at her, the look not reflecting the amiability in his voice. The most noticeable thing about this man was his deep mahogany skin tone as it stood out against the white cotton t-shirt he was wearing.
She glanced over to Barsad, "So you don't like hanging out with me any more?" she jokingly questioned. Javan walked to the doorway and held open the curtain, waiting.
"No, it's just going to be getting busy around here soon. I want to make sure you are taken care of if either Bane or myself are not available."
"But why would you be unavailable?"
" You are just full of questions today, aren't ya lass? I have got to be going, it is not smart to keep Mr Bane waiting. It shouldn't be much longer."
With that she was alone, the curtain drifting back into place after the men exited. She huffed as she settled back down, alone once again but at least now she had something to do. She picked up the book of crosswords and flip it open to a random page.
"Let's see, what is an eight letter word for outdoors?" Shae murmured to herself.