CHAPTER XII
Once they arrived in the apartment building, Deathstroke and Two-Face got out of the car. Harvey Dent was in control of himself at this time, and so he opened up the back, gently picking up Barbara and carrying her on his back. He could feel her soft breathing on his neck, the left side of her head, wet with blood, and her soft red hair up against the side of his face. He choked up a little bit, and White Knight took over, walking faster. He walked up to the entrance, where Deathstroke had already opened the door. He walked through to the apartment he'd set up in, unceremoniously dropping Barbara into a chair. She woke up with White Knight's face six inches from her's. He smiled creepily. She tried to back up to no avail, instead only pressing herself up against the back of the chair. "What's the problem?" asked White Knight. With the duct tape over Barbara's mouth, she couldn't do anything but emit a muffled scream. White Knight got a few inches closer, until his mangled nose was almost touching Barbara's nose. His hands were resting on the arms of the chair. Barbara groaned nervously. White Knight slowly but surely moved his left hand, resting it on Barbara's right thigh, an inch from her crotch. Barbara shook her head, beginning to cry. White Knight moved his hand over her leg. Suddenly, his right eye widened, and Harvey Dent drew back. He jumped backwards, landing on his back and screaming, "STOP IT! STOP IT, YOU &$%#ING SICKO! You &$%#ing sicko..." He broke down into tears, getting onto his forearms and knees and putting his forehead onto the floor.
White Knight growled, "I wasn't going to do it, you idiot! I just wanted to scare her!" "That's not the point," said Harvey Dent, still sobbing, "I told her no one would hurt her. That's exactly what you're doing!" White Knight got up, saying, "Well, I didn't agree to your little 'no hurting' pact! So I can do this!" He walked straight up to Barbara and yanked on her hair. She screamed in pain, the duct tape muffling her. Harvey Dent suddenly took over, yelling, "NO!", and grabbing his own neck tightly. He used his other hand to tear off the duct tape over Barbara's mouth. His voice was strained, but he managed to say, "When I fall unconscious, yell for Deathstroke, and tell him to handcuff me in another room, all right?" Barbara said weakly, "O-okay." Soon, Harvey Dent's eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell over. Barbara gulped, yelling, "D-Deathstroke?" Slade had taken off his uniform. He stormed in, beginning, "All right, how'd you get the duct tape...?" He looked down at Two-Face. He pointed to him, saying, "What's all this?" Barbara said, "I think...White Knight was going to...he was trying to scare me, and..." She gulped again, continuing, "Harvey...choked himself out. He wants you to handcuff him in another room." Slade stared at Barbara, eventually saying, "It's not like you're going anywhere. Fine." He dragged Two-Face by his arms, out of the room. After they were gone, Barbara began crying hysterically. Her only comfort was thinking about me, her father, and especially Dick. "They'll come for me," she said to herself, "They'll come for me." The crying exhausted her, and once again, she fell asleep.
She woke up a few hours later to the sound of fingers snapping and a voice saying, "Wake up." She slowly opened her eyes, dreading what might happen. She saw Slade, crouching in front of her, with a blank expression on his face. He was holding a water bottle. "Drink," he said simply. He held the bottle up to her lips, slowly tipping it forward. After a few seconds, he drew back, asking, "You want more?" Barbara nodded. Slade complied, and a after a few more sips, Barbara drew back, saying, "I'm okay for now." "All right," said Slade, sealing the bottle. He went behind her, cutting the ropes binding her wrists. Barbara was surprised, looking at Slade. He held up his handgun, turning off the safety. "Don't get too excited," he said, "Try anything, and..." Barbara interrupted, "You'll kill me?" "No," said Slade, "I might wing you, or shoot out your kneecaps. Besides, you can't even run. Your feet are still bound." Slade handed Barbara a shrink-wrapped sandwich. "It's not much, but it'll suffice, I suppose," he said. She took it, unwrapping it and taking a bite. She swallowed, saying, "Why are you doing this?" "We'll need to be in contact with your father eventually," said Slade, "And he'll want proof that you're safe. That would be hard if you starve to death." Slade sat next to Barbara, his gun at the ready. He watched her carefully as she ate.
When she finished, she asked, "What's going to happen to...Harvey?" "Depends on how long it takes for White Knight to cool off," said Slade, "If Harvey can relax and get himself under control, I'll let him free. If not, he stays there for however long it takes." He took out a pair of handcuffs, putting them around Barbara's wrists. He turned on his gun's safety, saying, "I'm not going to duct tape you again. If White Knight tries anything again, just scream. I promised I wouldn't let you get hurt. I intend to uphold that promise." "I thought you were a mercenary," said Barbara. "We can have some measure of integrity," said Slade, walking out. Barbara rested her head on the back of the chair she was in. As Slade walked out, his phone rang. He looked at the contact name, answering, "Miss? I thought you only wanted contact when I got my target." "Well, that would be the case if I didn't figure out you were lying," said Ms. Waller angrily. "What, you have people watching me now?" said Slade, annoyed. "Yes, and you've only been in your lair at night," said Ms. Waller, "What aren't you telling me?" "I'm not even close to finding the guy," said Slade, sighing, "I know an apology would be wasted, so I'll just cut to the chase: I found someone else. He's set me up with a sweet deal that would serve both of us. If his deal goes through, my target will come to me, and I'll get even more rewards, and you can have a few more guys to arrest." Ms. Waller said, "I don't trust you. But from the surveillance I've been able to gather, you're telling the truth." She hung up without another word. Slade pocketed his phone, feeling suspicious. His employer had let him off the hook fairly easily. She didn't seem like someone who'd do that. He decided to be on higher alert from then on.
Meanwhile, Barbara was attempting to go to sleep. But every time she closed her eyes, she could only see Two-Face, and the sensation of his scarred hand on her thigh came back to her. In that moment, she was fully convinced that White Knight was going to rape her. The thoughts flooded back, and she began to cry softly. Her shoulders shook, and her cheeks stung. She sobbed, saying, "Where are you, Dick?" She thought of the boy she barely knew. She'd said that his muscular build wasn't much to speak of, but in reality, she admired it, and she was a little nervous around him. She loved his blue eyes, his long black hair, and his wonderful, gentle voice. Most of all, she loved how he acted around her. She joked about it, but she could tell that he was already devoted to her. She could tell he tried not to trip over himself when she was around, though he often failed. She remembered when they got food just the night before. He had said they were friends, but she could tell he wanted more than that. When both of them reached for ketchup at the same time, their hands touched, and Dick froze. Barbara was able to laugh a little about it, even under the circumstances. Maybe she could go on a date with him sometime. All the same, all she wanted then was to see him again. She wanted to hear his voice comforting her, to feel him holding her close. She wanted a friend, at the very least. "He'll come," she said quietly, calming down. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she dropped off to a dreamless, peaceful sleep. She was even smiling, thinking about her friends.
In another room, Two-Face woke up to find himself handcuffed to a radiator. Thankfully, this particular apartment wasn't up and running, meaning the radiator was cool. Harvey Dent immediately burst into tears. "I hate you, White Knight," he said. "She's fine," said White Knight disdainfully, "I didn't rape her." "You made her think you would," said Harvey Dent, still crying, "That's enough. She is NOT fine. What you did...even I couldn't do that." "Says the guy that ran guns and shot men to death," said White Knight, "It's not like sexual assault is worse than murder." "Maybe not," said Harvey, "But I said she wouldn't get hurt. You violated that." "I didn't agree to it," said White Knight angrily, "And you're not going to get me to. Look, I still respect you enough not to get a scratch on her, if you insist, but if I get the chance, I'll scar her as much as possible. It'll teach her not to try and escape." Harvey Dent began to cry harder, realizing the depravity that lived inside him. It had been festering for years, and now White Knight was its personification. He worried about Barbara, knowing that it was no easy task to wrest control of himself from White Knight. Slade heard him, walking into the room. "You want to stay here longer?" he asked. White Knight growled, "What do you think, dunce?" Harvey Dent said, "Yes. Keep me here as long as possible. Make sure I'm nowhere near Barbara, okay? I don't want her to be hurt." "All right, fine," said Slade, "In that case, I'll block the door and make first contact. Have a good time in solitary." "It's never solitary with me, aussie-boy," said White Knight. Slade walked out, closing the door and jamming a chair underneath the handle.
Outside the hotel where we were staying, I was sitting next to Dick in the alley behind the building. He had been crying. I said to him, "We'll get her back. I promise." Dick didn't meet my eyes, asking, "Are you going to be up to it?" "I have to be," I answered. "Bruce, she might not want to be my girlfriend, but I'm going to love her anyway," said Dick, "That's how badly I want her back. Even if it never gets any further than friends, I'm going to take care of her. We have to get her back." Suddenly, I heard Jim shouting, "Batman! Where are you?" I ruffled Dick's hair, standing up and saying, "I'll have to talk to you later." "Bye," said Dick sadly. I walked off, finding Jim and saying, "What is it?" Jim said, "Harvey's partner in crime is trying to give demands. We have him on speaker in one of the vans." He gestured for me to follow him, walking towards a van. I hopped in after him, and Jim said, "Slade, Batman is here. Now I'm ready for your demands." "You're going to do it that way, huh?" said Slade, "All right. How's your day been, Batman?" "Not good," I said. Slade said, "Wonderful. That'll help. Okay, Jim, listen up." Jim waited. Slade began, "I only have one demand, really: I want you to remove yourself from the underground, along with all your security personnel." Jim clenched his fists. He looked towards me, asking, "Or what?" Slade didn't respond for a few seconds.
Eventually, Slade said, "This lovely lady won't see the light of day." Barbara frantically said, "Dad? Dad, he has a gun!" Slade said, "You have six hours to comply, and if I send my men to your location, and you're still there..." We heard a click as Slade finished, "I'll pull the trigger and mail you what's left of Barbara's head." "What about Batman?" asked Jim. "Actually, I want to meet him again," said Slade, "I want to take him down in person, and if he leaves, that's not going to work out so well." Slade hung up. Jim asked one of the tech guys, "Did you manage to trace the call?" "No," said the tech guy. Jim sighed, turning to me and saying, "It's up to you." He walked past me, out of the van. I stared after him, committed to saving Barbara, for Jim and for Dick.
