Victoria had never had anything constant in her life ever since her father's death. She lived every day differently and sometimes she wanted more of a routine. She wanted to wake up in the morning and not worry about what the day had in store for her. She didn't want to worry about having no money to pay the bills. She didn't want to worry about what Falcone wanted from her that day. She wanted peace. She longed for it.
Jonathan Crane was proving to be the only constant in her life now. Every night after work she would find him stood there on the steps, waiting for her. He was also dressed in smart suits, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he gazed at the night sky. He only started walking alongside her when he heard her footsteps move beside him. He would take her for a drink and listen to her when she spoke. More times than not he would tune out. He would think of the toxin and what it needed to be better. The effects were astonishing, but they wore off very quickly and did not cause the patient to be as scared as Crane would have liked. He needed to perfect it.
No one knew of it. Rob was still in Arkham and protesting his innocence, but Crane had told of the night he had found the man when he was brought to the Asylum. He was screaming and sobbing. It was not the normal behaviour for a man to exert. The nurses had agreed with him too. And now he was trapped inside and claiming he had done nothing wrong.
"I see Falcone has sent another man to bother you."
Victoria looked up from the depths of her orange juice, her gaze following Jonathan's gaze to the bar. Groaning, Victoria watched as James McCormick raised the small tumbler he held to his lips, draining the whiskey as Victoria wondered if she should make a move to see him. It would get rid of him quicker that way.
"No," Jonathan said when he noted that she was about to make a move. "Stay here."
Victoria did not particularly enjoy being told what to do, but everything Jonathan said sounded threatening. It was almost as though he knew what was for the best. Remaining seated, Victoria said nothing as she turned her gaze away from James and back to Jonathan. He was watching the man with sandy blond hair with narrowed and intense eyes. Victoria sipped her orange juice again before Jonathan turned back to look at her.
"He is coming this way," Jonathan told her. "Do you wish for me to handle this?"
"No," Victoria said. "I can cope."
Taking a seat on the end of her bench, James looked to Victoria and then back to Jonathan. "I hope that I am not interrupting the date."
"This is no date," Jonathan spoke and Victoria glowered at him, wondering why he had scoffed when he had said it. "Say what you have to say and then leave."
"He's very uptight, Vic," James chuckled and Victoria turned her head to the side, looking to James as he watched her with that smug look on his face. Moving his hand to her cheek, he wiped away a speck of dirt sat there and flicked it back over his shoulder. "Not the kind of guy I would put you with."
Victoria took her turn to scoff now and shot Jonathan a hard stare. "And you would know who I go for?" she demanded from him.
"I can guess," he winked. "Anyway, the boss wants to know if anything has changed? You see, he found something out."
"And what was that?" Victoria wondered back, placing her orange juice back as James allowed his arm to rest on the back of her seat, causing her to shift forwards slightly as she kept her gaze even.
"Rob was poisoned to end up in that Asylum…with the same poison Falcone is trying to make. Odd that, right?"
James gathered Victoria's reaction and he knew that she knew nothing of it. She shook her head back and forth, unable to form words. She knew what this could mean. Falcone would think that she had the toxin formula. He would think that she had been lying to him all these years. James could see the fear rise up inside of her as Jonathan coughed to clear his throat. He should have known that this might happen. He had used the toxin and now Victoria was receiving the blame.
"No," Victoria said, turning her upper body to the side so that she could watch James. "I don't know anything. I promise you. I never knew the toxin…I don't know who hurt Rob."
"You're upsetting her," Jonathan declared and James looked over to him.
Falcone suspected the good doctor was up to something, and James thought that he was maybe right. There was something about Crane that James didn't like. He looked cold and calculating. He was the complete opposite to Victoria. The girl was having a mental breakdown over the thought of being blamed for this. She had been around long enough to know what happened to people who betrayed Falcone. She was no fool.
"So I am," James said and moved a hand to her arm, drawing her gaze to his as his hand moved to her chin, curling softly underneath it to keep her gaze. "I believe you, Vic." His promise rang straight through Jonathan. "I'll tell Falcone that."
"And will he believe you?" Jonathan asked before Victoria had the chance to ask.
"We will have to wait and see," James said. "Falcone isn't a great believer in coincidences."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Jonathan challenged as James moved his hand from Victoria.
"It means that he finds it odd that Rob was found in your Arkham injected with the same toxin he is trying to make."
Jonathan shrugged his shoulders. "Very odd," was all that he said.
"It wasn't Jonathan," Victoria managed to say, knowing that she had to defend him. Jonathan had promised her that he had not been involved and she was eager to believe him. "My father might have told someone else of the toxin."
"And they decided to test it out on someone harassing you?" James asked, completely disbelieving what he was hearing from her. "Seems a bit far-fetched, Vic."
"So does being hunted down by Falcone, but it is happening to me," Victoria declared, managing to gain some of her confidence back again. She looked James dead in the eye and all the man could see was a woman determined to clear her name and gain a life for herself. He saw desperation. "What does he want though? This week's paycheque?"
Victoria was about to go into her small satchel to pull it out, but James moved to stop her. "Don't go shouting things like that, Vic. You don't want anyone to mug you for it."
Confusion took over Victoria's features and Jonathan watched on, knowing exactly what was happening. If he could lean across the table and inject James then he would. He saw the way he was looking at Victoria. Jonathan may not be a social creature, but he knew people. He could watch people and understand the way they behaved. He was no fool.
"What?" Victoria asked.
"Consider this week a vacation," James said. "No payment necessary."
He moved to slide from the booth as Victoria slid to the end of it, wanting answers for what she had just heard from him.
"What do you mean? He always takes it…never goes a week…"
James looked to the ceiling, wondering why she was making this difficult for him. She earned a pittance compared to what Falcone paid him. Jonathan sat back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest, watching the exchange. Of course he knew what was happening now.
"Yeah, well, this week he does," James shrugged over to her. "Take care, Vic."
James didn't bother to acknowledge Crane, knowing full well that he was guilty of something. He left the bar as Victoria continued to stare after him, her brows knitted together as her tresses fell from the loose bun it had been pulled up into. Glancing back to Jonathan, she saw his smug face and she wondered what he was thinking.
"Odd," she whispered.
"He likes you," Jonathan declared. "Either that or he pities you for your predicament…either way…he was looking at you like many men have done in the past, I am sure."
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Victoria kept silent. And that was when Jonathan noticed it. A dumb smile sat on her face. It was hardly a vast beam, but it was there. Her lips quirked upwards. Jonathan didn't know what came over him, but he felt his blood boil. She had known this man less than a day and she was smiling over what he had done for her? How pathetic could she be?
"And of course any man who shows you any sign of kindness has your immediate gratitude," Jonathan said, his snide tone drawing Victoria from her thoughts.
His lip curled as she blinked profusely. "What do you mean?"
"Well, first you accuse me of flirting with you and now you smile like a dumbfounded fool over him. Are you that needy for male attention, Victoria? Will anyone do?"
Victoria confessed herself hurt. She sat back, her eyes widening as her mouth gaped. Jonathan finished his orange juice and slammed the glass down forcefully.
"What?" she demanded from him. "I have done nothing wrong. I smiled because, for once, I have enough to pay for my rent and my bills. Is that so offensive to you?"
Saying nothing, Jonathan looked away and Victoria snorted. Grabbing her satchel, she moved from the booth, looking down to Jonathan as she did so.
"If you honestly think that I spread my legs for any man then clearly I've wasted my time even trying to be friends with you," she hissed.
Jonathan was about to say how it would only be a matter of time before she had been in his bed as a quick retort, but she had stormed off, wiping her eyes as she went. Sighing, Jonathan wondered what he should do. He should probably go after her, but he remained seated. Saying nothing for a moment, he only picked himself up from the seat once he was ready. Moving outside he didn't get far as a hand grabbed his shoulder. Jonathan would have startled but he saw the man's face.
James had been waiting.
"Falcone wants a word," he informed Crane.
Jonathan's lips quirked. "I didn't doubt it."