After collecting the last of her dirty clothes, her cigarettes and lighter, Jenna began for the basement stairs, unable to help but to glance over to her left to peek into Bane's room. While his door was still open and his light still on, she did not see him inside, and while struggling to convince herself she did not care, she faced forward again to finally start up the stairs.
Bane's behavior was extremely peculiar to her. It was so out of the ordinary for him to have done her laundry, let alone do anything nice at all. Given his past, all the terror he brought on Gotham city, the horror he had brought onto Jenna: threatening her, kidnapping her, killing her parents, forcing her to live in this hell, and, of course, breaking her arm and all the torture he had inflicted on her the past month. Along with all of this, he had even found a way to inflict that same horror and torture on her in her dreams. In Bane's mind, she knew, he figured that all he was doing to her could be considered a favor, in someway.
"From what I can make of it, this is not Hell for you. This is... something better... All you've ever wanted was to get away from your life. And now you've done so, even if it was in the worst way possible."
It seemed like Bane had said this to her years ago, when in reality it had only been a few months. At the time, all Jenna had felt was hatred toward him and his words, but now she realized that, in Bane's mind, he had seen his actions of kidnapping her as a favor. Jenna had to admit at the time all she had been desiring was a means of escape from her family and from her life. Granted she could have never anticipated it happening this way, she knew Bane's words did carry some truth, and thinking back to this reinforced her theory.
Forcing her to do all that she had been around the warehouse, breaking her arm, locking her away, and now even doing her laundry; it made sense to her that these were all acts of kindness, in some sort of sick way, in Bane's mind. At the same time, she knew this was only a mere theory, and it made even more sense for Bane to lack a single kind bone in his body, but this still didn't explain the laundry.
The garage was even colder than the warehouse, and as she immediately headed straight from the door to head into the area of the garage she had never been, goosebumps covering her bare legs as she sought out the washer and dryer, she could hear voices near the larger garage doors, and she wondered if Isaac was among them. Desires of asking him, point blank, about Bane's actions sounded good, though at the same time Jenna felt as though she didn't want the answers, granted Isaac would even give them to her anyway. Chances are, he'd be just as confused as she was.
Just as Bane said they were, the machines were located in the far, darkest corner of the garage, and as she approached them, she glanced up to glare at the dim, flickering light just above the machines. Frowning, and growing nervous due to her current, bare-legged state among Bane's thugs, she glanced down just as she approached the machines, and she took in a deep breath as she listened to the dryer next to the washer, tumbling around the first load of her clothes. Glancing down to the right of the washer, she saw all of her dirty clothes in a giant mound on the floor, and her frown deepened as she thought back to how nasty the floor in the garage really was. But Jenna realized quickly that the fact that the warehouse even had a washer and dryer was outstanding; she couldn't expect for Bane to be carrying around many hampers or iron boards.
Lifting the lid of the washer, Jenna began to place her clothes inside of it, figuring it was up to her now to finish her laundry. She was fine with this. Clean clothes were a new found luxury to her, it seemed, and the longer she began to load up the washer, the more, truly thankful she began to feel toward Bane's spontaneous actions.
After she figured out how to start the washer, added the soap that was located on a metal shelf to her left, and closed the lid, she picked up her cigarettes and lighter that she had left on the dryer and began toward the more open part of the garage, where she could now see various henchmen standing around and talking. Her eyes skimmed over them as she approached, searching for Isaac, but unable to find him, and finally noticing his truck was nowhere near the garage, she let out a sigh, remembering he had told her he'd be leaving. A few of the men were staring at her now, and without even so much as a quick glance back, Jenna immediately retreated back into the warehouse to head down into the basement.
Still wondering if she was allowed to smoke in her room or not, Jenna headed inside of it, and once she sat down on the floor in front of the side of her cot to lean her back against the wall, she deemed the issue as unimportant for now as she brought her knees up to her chin, after tucking her legs inside of Bane's shirt. After placing her cigarette in between her lips, she held the lighter up to the end of it, and she couldn't help but to roll her eyes when she noticed she hadn't even closed her door all of the way.
Inhaling slowly and exhaling heavily, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall, and as the cigarette burned from in between her fingers, she had to wonder when life at the warehouse had gotten so complicated. It definitely started when he broke my arm, she thought to herself. Before then, and even during that very day, things had been going so much better, even if it was in the sickest ways possible. Granted she had been getting more and more involved with Bane each and every passing second, life at the warehouse had been so much simpler, it seemed. Bane was starting to accept her and scare her less, and while things may have not been the best between Jenna and Isaac always, it sure as hell wasn't awkward. Thinking back, it had been so easy for Jenna to store all her trust and comfort into Isaac... how had she ever managed to do that with Bane?
It seemed like it was so long ago that Jenna had been so involved with Bane. Granted it wasn't really on any sort of emotional level like it had been with Isaac, she could always feel something there, some kind of force that always pulled her toward him, no matter what she desired or how wrong it was. Now, even after all that Bane had done and threatened, Jenna had almost felt that feeling again just minutes ago, after he had given her his shirt.
Shutting her eyes tighter, Jenna took another drag from her cigarette, wishing she could avoid those feelings all together. It wasn't fair. Even after all that he had done to her, Jenna was starting to get those lustful shocks and chills whenever he was near her, or even speaking to her, and she couldn't understand why. She hated him, didn't she? Well... at least she was supposed to. But even more so, Bane should be the one hating her... Granted those hate feelings would ultimately be Jenna's downfall –if Bane really did hate her it would lead him to finally kill her– but it made sense, didn't it?
Shaking her head, Jenna took another drag, suddenly realizing that dealing with her mother's modeling photo shoot didn't sound too bad right now, in comparison to the situation she had put herself in. Thinking about it further, she began to desire Isaac's company. She wanted to talk to him, and tell him about how odd Bane was acting toward her. Perhaps he'd understand why. But just because they had both come to terms with what they had done and put an end –hopefully– to the awkwardness, did that give Jenna the authority to hang out with him like they had been? Did Isaac want to? Would Bane be accepting of that?
As soon as she had thought this, she heard footsteps approaching her door, and she held her breath when she realized they belonged to Bane's. His heavy footfall was unmistakeable, and his boots collided loudly against the concrete floor with each step he took. As she listened, her heart already starting to pound, Jenna lifted her eyes toward the door to stared at it, waiting to see if Bane would actually approach her room. Sure enough the footsteps stopped just when they had reached a louder level to her ears, and as soon as they had, Bane pushed her door open gently. At first, his eyes had focused on her bed, but when he saw she wasn't there, he glanced down to his right, where he found Jenna curled into a ball, completely inside his shirt, on the floor. His eyebrows met in the middle at this, but he disregarded it for the time being.
Jenna had been staring at him the entire time, and she noticed the way his eyebrows had furrowed and the curious expression that had touched his eyes once he found her sitting on the floor. She realized she was still holding her breath, and although she had tried to avoid it, she released her breath noisily. Thinning her lips, she turned her head away as she absentmindedly took another drag from her cigarette, but when she felt Bane's eyes on her still, and when she turned her head to confirm that he was still staring at her, she began to wonder if this was the reason Bane had even approached her in the first place.
Slowly, she took the cigarette from her mouth, and before speaking she exhaled her smoke equally as slow, all while looking Bane in the eye. "Am I... not allowed to do this in here?"
Bane stared at her for another few seconds before he shrugged, and he crossed his arms as he pushed open the door further with his boot to take a full step inside the room. "It was never a spoken rule," he replied. "But considering your... circumstance, I'll accept it this last time."
Jenna's eyebrows furrowed in confusion due to Bane's words, and again, his current, odd behavior. Why was he being so... nice, and patient toward her suddenly? "Circumstance?"
Without having to say a word, Bane simply dropped his gaze and lowered his head slightly, gesturing to his massive shirt that covered almost all of Jenna's frame. Absentmindedly, Jenna followed his movement and glanced down herself, and once she realized what he was talking about, her eyes widened slightly in understanding as she nodded.
"Oh." Jenna glanced away, and now, since she had Bane's permission, she allowed herself to take another drag from her cigarette before she turned back to him. "Can you smell it?"
Jenna paused the moment the question escaped past her lips, and she stared, motionless, at Bane, unable to recall ever having the desire to know the answer to this question, let alone think of it.
Bane kept his eyes on her all the while, and no expression ever touched his face to show how rather thrown-off he was about her question, as well. "If I'm close enough, yes," he replied.
"Is that why I can't smoke in here?" Jenna asked back.
"No."
"Then why?" She returned quickly, only to back down slightly when Bane's eyes narrowed on her.
"Because this is my warehouse," Bane said. "And what I say goes."
Raising her eyebrows slightly, Jenna glanced away from him, rolling her eyes slightly as she did so, and unbeknownst to her, Bane couldn't help the small grin that appeared from behind his mask upon witnessing some of the old Jenna. Although Bane's goals had been to correct Jenna's childish behavior after all, seeing some of Jenna's old characteristics show through her hardened shell were welcoming. Granted they were the traits he had strived to rid her of, seeing them again reminded him of why he had taken her in the first place and kept her around. But even if any of these traits had ever been annoying at some point, it was rather refreshing to see some kind of personality in her again. He knew Barsad had seen it already, but he hadn't really until now, and this thought made him realize he was more than ready to see Jenna acting more like herself again... Unfortunately...
The room grew silent for a moment or so, and when the weight of the silence grew too heavy for Jenna, she turned toward him again, desiring to break the silence suddenly.
"Do you know when Isaac will be back?"
The question let her mouth before she could hold it back, again, and she immediately closed her mouth and swallowed when she could have sworn she saw Bane tense up. Idiot, she thought. You saw how he acted when he found out what you and Isaac did. I can't believe you just asked that...
It wasn't fair though. Isaac was Jenna's only light at the end of the pitch black tunnel, her only hope, her primary means of surviving in her Hellish life. She understood what she and Isaac had done was wrong, but she began to wonder why Bane couldn't see just how much she needed him. After all had been forgiven and forgotten, Jenna wasn't entirely sure who to put the blame on anymore, if anyone at all, but she began to realize Bane must be feeling somewhat guilty over it all. Why else would he have reacted how he did? Did he blame himself, or were his reactions due to something else?
Regardless, just because he had done her a kindness and was acting rather nicely toward her didn't change the fact that Jenna wanted to spend her time with Isaac. Not how they had been nights prior, but as friends. As the silence went on, Jenna could feel her heart sinking into her stomach as she waited for Bane to, once again, say that she couldn't see him anymore. His nicer attitude would be lost, and would be replaced with a rash tone and harsh words. She could already hear his words in her head, and just when she began to feel as though he had already said it, she raised her hand and shook her head slightly.
"Nevermind," she said. "I'm probably not even allowed to see him anymore anyway..." She turned her head down and away from him as she took another drag from her cigarette, and as she exhaled, she absentmindedly put it out on the floor next to her, even though she still would have been able to get a few more hits off of it.
It was more than tempting to confirm Jenna's words, but Bane forced himself to hold back. What good would it be? He wondered. He recalled how he had felt just minutes ago upon seeing some of the old Jenna return back to her; if he was to keep her from seeing Isaac, again, it would only cause her to revert back to her hardened shell. He wasn't going to force Jenna to stay away from Isaac again. Admitting his true feelings to himself, he realized that would be cruel toward her. He understood Jenna and Isaac's means for a friendship, but he couldn't understand why Jenna had to run to him for every little thing. Are you saying you want her to run to you? You couldn't stand it before...
Blinking, Bane cleared the thought from his head quickly. "What is it about Barsad that always has you running back to him?" Bane asked, truly desiring an answer to this, and when Jenna glanced up at him again, he widened his eyes slightly in curiosity.
Jenna's lips parted, but she struggled with her answer at first, thrown-off completely by his question. She had been expecting him to confirm what she had said, not ask her a question of his own. "He... he helps me," she replied as she glanced down again. "He's the only one that's nice to me."
When Bane chuckled, it caught Jenna by surprise, and she glanced up at him again with furrowed eyebrows just in enough time to watch Bane lean against the same wall she was, his arms still crossed over his muscular chest. Staring up at him from her lowered angle only made him appear twenty times as monstrous, but the laugh that was escaping through his mask helped to keep her anxiety at bay.
"You bother him so much because he is nice to you? If that's a trait that you possess then I'm surprised you don't have more friends-"
"I don't bother him," Jenna interrupted, her expression going flat. "He's the only one that cares to help me. He's been the only one to help since the day I got here. He's... real," she went on as she glanced down again.
"Real?" Bane mused, his tone humorous, but deep down he wanted to keep probing her for these answers that he truly desired. He could see she was getting frustrated as well, and this only made him want to see more of her personality break through. "While the rest of us are just... imaginary?"
Jenna's head shot up for her to look in his direction again, and Bane didn't bother holding back his grin due to her annoyed expression and the way her body tensed. "No," she replied. Are you really this stupid? She thought sourly to herself, although she knew Bane was only kidding around. "There's more to him than just killing people and following your orders. Clearly you must think so too, otherwise he wouldn't hold the rank he does with you"
Bane nodded. "Like what?" he pressed on, knowing very well that he was not only filling Jenna with annoyance, but with confusion and curiosity due to his behavior, as well. It was evident in her facial expression.
"I don't know," Jenna sighed, giving up easily. "Just forget it." She loosened her body before she titled her head back to rest against the wall, suddenly wishing she hadn't put out her cigarette. She considering lighting up a new one, but she only had a few more in her pack, and she still wasn't sure when Isaac would be back. Not only that, but she had a feeling Bane would not allow her to smoke another.
Sighing again, Jenna placed her arms around her knees as she closed her eyes, feeling frustrated, though she wasn't entirely sure why. "Is there a reason you came in here?"
Bane's grin immediately faded as he continued to look at her. He wanted to feel aggravated due to her tone and the question she had asked, but he knew it wouldn't be right, not after all that he had thought and realized. With a sigh of his own, he leaned away from the wall and took a step toward Jenna's cot.
"I'll be honest with you Jenna," he began, his voice a lower pitch now, and when Jenna heard him sit down on her cot, she opened her eyes and tilted her head down to look at him, watching as he leaned forward while placing his arms on his spread legs to lean over them. "It is... refreshing to see you acting so like yourself again, but do not think for a moment you can take any tone you want with me. This may be the room you stay in, but it is still belongs to me. But yes, there is a reason I came to talk to you."
Jenna could feel her head spinning slightly, a feeling she hadn't felt in a while. She was thrown back into the past during a time where Bane remained patient with her, but always set her straight using that firm, low voice of his. But even with this feeling, she was struck with shock due to Bane admitting he was enjoying witnessing her old behavior. The fuck? She thought to herself.
"You remember Karly, don't you?"
Unable to help it, Jenna immediately rolled her eyes upon hearing the name. "How could I forget?" she replied, keeping her eyes focused on the top corner of her cot.
Bane smirked slightly, but as soon as the expression overcame his face, it faded away. "I'm expecting a visit from her today."
Furrowing her eyebrows again, Jenna glanced over to him. "For what?"
"To thank her for her services and send her on her way," Bane replied in a calmer, smoother voice this time.
"But, what about all that she was planning? Remember I-"
"That has not gone unforgotten, Jenna, and she can expect a... confrontation when she gets here."
Jenna couldn't help the frown that stretched down her plump lips, and she shrugged. "So that's it? A slap on the wrist and then you're letting her get away with it?"
"Oh, she won't be getting away with it, Jenna."
"Then what are you going to do?"
Just barely, Jenna could see the very small and very faint wrinkles that appeared at the sides of Bane's darkened eyes, and she felt her heart finally fall completely into her stomach as Bane continued to just look at her before finally answering in the most careless and calm voice through his mask: "kill her."
Thinning her lips, Jenna nodded slightly before leaning back against the wall. Bane was going to kill her? Granted it was definitely something he would do, Jenna wasn't so sure why his words were leaving her feeling so dizzy and even the slightest bit anxious. Since the day Jenna had met her she had wanted Karly dead, deep down. But now that it was actually going to happen?
Lost in her thoughts, she absentmindedly stretched her legs out, exposing her bare skin from under the shirt as she did so. Bane's eyes immediately dropped down to them, and they wandered from her feet up the length of her legs until they reached the bottom of shirt, and once his eyes rested on this area, he quickly reverted them upward to look back at her face.
"She'll be here in an hour," he said, finally standing from the cot. Jenna glanced back up at him, and she watched him slowly stand up before she raised her eyes further to look up into his own. "I figured I'd come and invite you to witness this, given how much you appear to dislike her. The choice is yours," he added before finally turning to head out of her room. As he gently closed the door behind him, he paused, his hand still on the handle. He began to desire turning around and commanding Jenna to come outside and witness, for some reason it was something he wanted her to see, but with just a little further thought, Bane let his hand slide down and away from the door handle, and he began to head back to his room.
–
The next hour passed rather quickly to Jenna. She had been so consumed with her thoughts, she hadn't even realized how much time had passed until she was snapped out of her daze.
After Bane had mentioned he would actually be killing Karly, it took Jenna back to her first night in the warehouse. So clearly, she could remember Bane's heavy hands on her head, his body ready to twist her head and snap her neck all within a matter of seconds. She was taken back to her house, when Bane had killed her parents, and she remembered how ruthless he had been toward them. His conditions for keeping Jenna alive had been to force her into watching her parents die by his hands. Whether she liked her parents or not, regretted her choice or not, watching Bane kill them had been brutal, to say the least, and haunting. She knew that Bane was a killer, but watching him do it was a whole different story.
After reminiscing on her father's fast death, and her mother's pleas for help before her life was abruptly ended, Jenna felt a strong pang break through her heart when she thought back to her nightmare. She had been so certain it was real, that Bane really did kill Rodger, but even with much reassurance that it was nothing more than a mere dream, Jenna could still feel those lasting effects from it as if it had really happened. Bane had been so disgustingly merciless, and uncaring about anything, especially how Jenna felt.
But this is different, she told herself. You don't care about Karly. Who cares what Bane does to her?
This was true, Jenna knew, but still, there was just something she feared about watching him do it. Granted he would be killing someone Jenna couldn't care less about, watching the deed would only remind her of herself, her parents, and Rodger...
Then don't go. You don't have to watch him. Nobody's forcing you.
As soon as Jenna had this thought, she thought her mind had been made up. There was no need to be a witness, and if she could avoiding watching it and being reminded of the tragedies in her life, even if one hadn't even come true, then she would stay away. But by the time the hour was up, and she began to crave another cigarette, Jenna heard Bane's boots colliding with the floor as he started slowly and patiently toward the stairs. Still sitting against the wall, she listened to his footfall fade away before she listened to the garage door right by the stairs open, and as soon as it closed, and some kind of heavy jingling was heard after, she let out a huge sigh. Why was it she could never do what was smart?
Desires of smoking and seeing if Isaac was back were too overwhelming, and if she were being honest with herself, she was a little curious to see how Karly's life would end. Jenna really did dislike her, and after all the trouble Jenna had gone through with finding out about Karly's deceitful ways, informing Bane of them and gaining his trust on the subject, it made sense that she would want to see this sick form of 'justice', right?
Sighing loudly, Jenna finally stood up from the ground, flinching when her hips gave out a quick spurt of pain, but she got over it quickly as she leaned back, stretching out her back after sitting for so long. When she felt the bottom of of Bane's shirt rub against her thighs lightly, she let out a small growl in annoyance as she pulled the shirt down. She wanted to smoke, she wanted to see if Isaac was back, and she was curious about Karly, but was she really about to go stand out there in nothing but this shirt? Was any of it worth it?
When images of her and Isaac smoking together entered her mind, she decided it was. The shirt was long enough to cover her, and besides, she had once worn even shorter outfits in public plenty of times.
After she grabbed her pack of smokes and her lighter from the ground, she opened her door and began toward the stairs, stealing a quick glance at the mayor, who appeared to look awfully anxious. She tried to ignore his expression as he stared up at her, however, as she started up the stairs, and once she reached the garage door, she slowly reached out to place her hand on the handle, but when she went to pull it, the door wouldn't give way. Gritting her teeth, she tried to pull open the door a few more times, but when this failed, she gave up and let her hand fall to her side. With a quiet grumble, she started down the stairs again and marched into her room, where she then proceeded with grabbing her combat boots and sitting on the foot of her cot.
After she had tucked in her laces and slid them on her bare feet, she was able to feel how ridiculous she more than likely looked as she trudged up the stairs, feeling the top of her boots and the bottom of Bane's shirt rubbing against her legs with each step. Just as she was hoping there would not be deep snow drifts on the ground outside, or that there wouldn't be very many people in the garage, as soon as she opened the exit door she was relieved to see there was not much snow on the ground, and that the sun was actually shining up above in the nearly clear sky. However, she could see the garage was was occupied by the same men who had been standing inside of it before, but amongst the people, Jenna's eyes focused on Isaac's truck parked in front of the garage. As relief spread over her, she took a step outside, letting the door close behind her, but as soon as she started toward the garage, the noise from her walking catching the attention of the men inside, she felt herself wanting to recede and hide back in the warehouse. She lifted her eyes for them to wander over the few men who were staring at her. They were large themselves, gruff and mean-looking, but they definitely didn't compare to the beast that was standing directly in the middle of the garage, and in the middle of the thugs.
Bane's arms were crossed over his chest as he stared out and down the road that led away from the warehouse, his massive body completely still as he waited. Jenna's eyes stayed focused on him for another few steps before she finally began looking around the garage, searching for Isaac. Before she found him, she saw that Karly was nowhere in sight, and when she found Isaac standing back in the shadows of the first row of shelving, she figured they were all waiting for her to show up.
Once she made it to the garage and finally took a step in, Isaac raised his head up from focusing on the large gun in his hands, and Jenna noticed the way his eyebrows immediately furrowed when he laid his eyes on her, his blue orbs wandering up and down her body before he finally met her eyes. Bane had finally noticed her walking in as well, and as she passed him, he turned his head and glanced down at her, a miniscule shock stinging the back of his neck upon seeing Jenna in nothing but his shirt and her combat boots. He turned his head further to glance at her from over his shoulder, his eyes moving up and down her body one more time before he noticed Barsad's confused expression as Jenna approached him. Tightening his lips slightly, Bane finally turned around to watch the road again, but suddenly he was unable to get that image of Jenna out of his mind...
"What..." Isaac began once Jenna had reached him, his eyes wandering down to her boots then back up to her face. "What's this?" A sly grin began to stretch his lips, but before it could expand into a full, humorous smile, Jenna interrupted him.
"Don't ask," she groaned as she rolled her eyes, and she turned around to stand next to Isaac and face the same way he was. "Do you want a cigarette?" She asked as she began to pull out her second to last one.
Isaac shook his head. "Can't right now," he replied.
"Why?" Jenna wondered as she she lit up the cigarette before placing the lighter and pack down on the ground next to her, and once she leaned up she glanced up in just enough time to watch Isaac nod toward the outside of the garage.
"Duty calls."
Turning her head, Jenna watched as a yellow taxi cab began toward the warehouse, and she jumped slightly when Isaac lifted his gun up, preparing himself before he started over to Bane. She watched him step away from her before he stopped a foot or two behind Bane, and she furrowed her eyebrows. How did he always know what to do, even without having to be told?
Deeming that thought as unimportant, anxiety began to take her over slowly as the taxi grew closer and closer, and Jenna lifted her hand to her lips to take another slow hit of her cigarette.
"Keep your weapons lowered," Bane commanded in a low voice just as the taxi cab had approached the front of the warehouse. "Do not fire unless I command it."
None of the henchmen moved, for their weapons had already been lowered, but she noticed that Isaac kept his raised, holding it just above his hips, reading to turn it and fire at any second. It appeared as though he and Bane were on better terms, but before Jenna could distract herself with the thought, the taxi cab parked, and Jenna watched the passenger side door open before Karly stepped out, her bright red hair swaying in the slight breeze while her heels clicked against the ground, and already Jenna couldn't help but to feel annoyed at her apparent confidence.
"What's with all the added security?" Karly asked confidently as she strutted into the warehouse, moving bravely past the henchmen that were standing there. Jenna watched her glance down to eye the machinery in the hands of the thugs, but just when a nervous expression touched her eyes, she glanced back up to look into the eyes of Bane. "I'm just here to collect my payment."
Her eyebrows meeting the in the middle, Jenna had to wonder if this was Karly's big plan. Based on what she had learned, it seemed as though Karly had been putting together her own plan for robbing or killing Bane and obtaining the necessary helped she had need. But yet here she was, alone, with nothing but a taxi driver sitting in the cab, appearing bored as he waited. This was confusing, as well. Why didn't the driver look frightened out of his mind? Why wasn't Bane doing anything about the random taxi driver? Unless, he wasn't so random...
Still standing in his same position, Bane nodded slightly before he took a small step toward Karly, his eyes raising to look at the man in the taxi before he lowered them back to Karly, who, he noticed, was still struggling to hold her ground confidently. "There will be no collection of money today, Karly."
Karly frowned as she stared up at him, and Jenna watched her take a small step back from Bane, clearing her throat after. "I thought we had arranged I would be collecting my payment for my services today. It is very unlike you, Bane, to not be... prepared, for such an arrangement." She had trailed off slightly when she glanced around, taking notice of the weapons again, and Jenna had a feeling she was beginning to realize something was not right. About time, idiot, she thought sourly as she took another drag from her cigarette.
"You're right," Bane agreed easily. "However, I am prepared for the new arrangement that is in store for you..."
Her eyebrows meeting in the middle, Karly slowly glanced back up to Bane. "N-new arrangement?"
"Oh, yes," Bane said as he finally uncrossed his arms, and he loosened his body as he took a small step back. "I was told from an old reliable source that an act of deceit was at bay, and a plan was being concocted... by you," Bane added once a false, confused expression began to distort Karly's features. "And upon further inspection, that source had been correct."
"Bane, I don't know-"
Ignoring her, Bane glanced over his shoulder, his eyes instantly finding Jenna in the shadows behind him, and he turned his body slightly to hold out his hand toward her. Jenna felt her entire body go limp at this as the garage began to spin, but she could feel the impatience radiating off of Bane, the waves being directed right to her. Swallowing, she cautiously took a step forward, her eyes falling from Bane and onto Karly, who appeared to be fuming as she glared at Jenna, finally noticing she was in the garage, too. Oddly, even after all this time, Karly's resentment toward her only caused Jenna to feel pleased, and a small smirk tugged at the corners of her lips, but once she was a foot away from Bane, she kept herself from smirking fully as she looked up at him. His hand was still out, and just when she stopped by him, her eyes dropping to his hand, she wondered if she was supposed to place her hand in his, or if it was just his silent way of beckoning her over. Her mind was screaming at her to stay put, reminding her of all that he had done to her, all the pain and torture and confusion, but Bane was still staying like that, even after she had approached him. Disobeying her shouting mind in a nervous instant, she dropped her half finished cigarette to the ground before placing her tiny hand hand in his.
His large fingers instantly closed around hers softly but firmly, causing an amplified shock to sting her entire body, and Jenna gasped lightly when Bane tugged her closer to himself. Once Jenna was standing directly next to him, Bane finally let go of her hand, and a rush of cold overcame the skin there due to his action. His hand had been so warm...
"I'm sure it's safe to assume that you remember Jenna," Bane began as he turned back to Karly. Fortunately, she nor Bane had been looking at Jenna, for when Bane absentmindedly placed his hand on the small of Jenna's back as a means of gesturing to her, Jenna's eyes widened as her lips parted, and she gasped lightly again as she stumbled forward due to the shock. Unable to help it, Jenna nervously turned slightly to glance over to Isaac, desperate suddenly for some sort of reassurance, but Isaac was too focused on the task at hand. His hands were clutching his gun tightly, and his eyes were firmly bouncing back and forth between Karly and the taxi driver, his expression flat and focused. Parting her lips to let out another nervous breath, Jenna faced forward again to look at Karly, Bane's hand feeling as though it weighed a thousand pounds, and as soon as Jenna realized Karly was glaring at her, Jenna quickly corrected her shocked expression.
Karly's eyes went from Jenna's down to her cast, and a smirk played upon her lips as she crossed her own arms, rubbing the mobility of both of her arms in Jenna's face, no doubt "How could I forget?" She replied in an obvious, annoyed tone when she looked back up to Bane with pursed, glossy lips.
A grin formed on Bane's lips and touched his eyes, and he glanced down to look at Jenna. Jenna looked up to him as well, her lips parting again, her eyes slightly widened, and she knew what Bane had been grinning about; that had been Jenna's exact answer when Bane had asked her if she remembered Karly.
"You see," Bane began again as he turned his head toward Karly, "Jenna did not only me, but my entire army a kindness when she informed me of your deceit."
"Deceit?" Karly tried to play it off, again, and Jenna couldn't help the scowl that overcame her face. Regardless of how she had been feeling just minutes prior in her room, suddenly she felt herself getting impatient. C'mon, Bane...
"Do not play dumb with me, Karly, it is too late."
"What could she have told you that is possibly true?" Karly went on, her tone suggesting she was rather offended. Jenna rolled her eyes. "Besides, when I was hired I was not told I would be getting check ups. That was not part of the deal."
"You would be correct" Bane agreed again, and Jenna couldn't help the loud sigh that escaped past her. As soon as the noise was heard, however, she felt Bane clutch at the fabric of her shirt ever so slightly, his fingers brushing against her from over the shirt, urging her to stay quiet, and as her heart fell past her stomach in another fit of shock, anxiety and confused feelings, she immediately closed her mouth. "But I'm sure you understand why I can't just hire anybody to help within my operations without me having to surveillance them. That would prove to be rather... hazardous to my army."
Karly's eyes narrowed, her 'confused' expression hardening her face into a look of anger and slight desperation. She uncrossed her arms and straightened her posture, and was even daring enough to take a small step closer to Bane. Confidence shined in her eyes now, and Jenna's eyes narrowed on Karly when she smirked up at Bane.
"Okay, no more games, Mister Bane. But perhaps you should have surveyed me a littler closer, because any second now you will meet your ultimate downfall. My father was right about you," she added, her smirk turning into a full on grin as she took a step back, and as she did so, Bane dropped his hand from Jenna's back, remaining patient all the while as his fingers slowly trailed across Jenna's back before he held his arm stationary at his side. He lifted his eyes to glance past Karly and onto the road in front of the garage, and he watched two trucks –one belonging to his army and another belonging to Karly– making their way over to the warehouse.
"You're nothing but a self-consumed, over confident and unprepared sorry excuse for a man."
Overcome by her words, Jenna couldn't help the way her eyes widened and her jaw drop as she glanced up to Bane. She had never, ever, heard anybody insult him, even if that insult was as petty as Karly's was. But Bane remained still, his muscular arms laying still at his sides, and he continued to just look at Karly. This confused Jenna, and with a frown she took a minuscule step back. She turned her head to look over at Isaac, and as soon as her eyes found him, she watched him suddenly march forward to start toward the taxi driver while the others began out of the garage as well. Karly had glanced to her left and right to watch the men leave, and just when a worried expression began to overcome her features, Bane spoke up.
"And Jenna was right about you. You are deceitful, unprofessional, and above all, clueless. I'm afraid it is you who will be meeting your ultimate downfall, Miss Treaffluw."
Just when Karly's eyebrows furrowed and the loud sound of two truck engines hit her ears, several things happened simultaneously before Jenna's eyes. Just when Karly began to turn around in confused shock, Bane reached out and immediately took a strong hold of her. Jenna jumped back once his hands made impact with her body, and she watched him grab her wrist before turning her arm backwards and up to hold it behind her back, and Jenna cringed when she heard something snap. Shouting out, Karly struggled to run away from him, but Bane's hold was too strong, and she was forced to stay submissive as she watched Bane's men storm the two trucks were now parked in front of the garage.
Tearing her eyes away from Bane's flexed muscles and the profile of Karly's pained and rightfully frightened face, Jenna's eyes immediately found the chaos that was happening outside. Bane's men were stepping out of the trucks while the others were pulling out what had to be Karly's hired help from them as well, their hands and ankles already bound together. They tossed them from the trucks, one by one, their bodies colliding painfully against the ground, and Jenna couldn't help but to cringe each time she heard the sound as she took another step back.
Suddenly, her eyes found Isaac in the front by the taxi, and she watched him yank open the door before grabbing the driver by the shirt to pull him out of the cab. But before he could be removed completely from the car, he reached out to grab a hand gun from the floor, and Jenna's eyes widened as she took a step forward, her body trembling as her her lips parted, preparing her to yell out to him. But as soon as the driver was pulled from the cab, Isaac spun around and stepped down heavily on his hand just as he had been raising the gun, and he kept his hand pinned down painfully against the ground as he kicked the hand gun away from the driver, the barrel of Isaac's gun pressed against the driver's head the entire time. Slight relief swarmed her body due to this, but Jenna's breath hitched in her throat as she stumbled back.
This was exactly how her Rodger nightmare had been. Isaac was appearing just as he had in her dream, right before Jenna's eyes, and suddenly she found herself having a hard time watching him. His lips were thinned, his nostrils flared angrily as he kept his eyes planted firmly on the driver, and Jenna could tell he was putting all his weight on the foot that was holding the driver's hand against the pavement, the man swearing in pain all the while. Her heart racing, Jenna tried to swallow back the lump that had risen in her throat, but all she could do was wonder how such a sweet, caring and friendly man existed in the brutal personbefore her. The bewilderment was freaking her out just as much as her dream had.
Without missing a beat, Isaac glanced up to Bane, Jenna following his movement, and when she looked at Bane as well she watched him give his second in command a small and simple nod before Isaac glanced down to the driver, and before Jenna could look away Isaac pulled the trigger, the bang from his gun causing Jenna to jump and clench her eyes closed. But even with doing so, Jenna had not missed the wide rang of blood, skull and brain splatter, and Karly's obnoxious scream didn't help either. Suddenly she felt as though she couldn't breathe, and she kept her mouth open as she struggled to take in as much air as she could. Upon opening her eyes, she watched Isaac, his entire front half and face covered in blood, step away from the body before he turned to begin assisting the rest of Bane's men with Karly's hired help. Swallowing again, Jenna turned back to Bane, and she watched Karly struggle against him as he turned his body slightly before he glanced over his shoulder, his eyes catching Jenna's.
"Jenna!" He invited her over in a loud, higher tone of voice, clearly amused. "Come! Don't you want to witness what you've been waiting for?"
Still struggling to breathe, Jenna found her feet moving to carry her body over to Bane to get a better look, even though all she could picture was Isaac's terrifying ways in her mind.
Uncaring at the moment if Jenna was actually watching or not, all Bane wanted to do now was finally rid himself of the squirming, annoying girl in front of him, and finish up with this particular mission. Keeping his hand on her broken wrist, he pushed Karly away from himself before he spun her around, shattering her wrist even more, and Karly cursed and grimaced before Bane reached his foot out to kick the back sides of her legs harshly, forcing Karly onto her knees in front of him. As soon as she fell to them, Bane wrapped his fingers tightly around her neck, Karly's good hand flying to his wrist to dig her nails into, and he shoved Karly backwards onto the floor, her legs stinging due to the painful position. As Bane leaned over her, Jenna couldn't help but to glance away. She had seen Bane in a similar stance one time to many by this point...
"It appears as though you have been defeated, Karly," Bane began, staring into her eyes as he squeezed just a little bit harder, enjoying the pain in them and the reddening of her face much more than he ever thought he would. Admittedly, this felt rather good, especially after dealing with what Jenna and Barsad had done, and struggling to accept his true feelings about her. Feeling such a fragile thing in between his fingers and anticipating the feeling of it breaking in his hands was like a high to him, and he could barely hold himself back any longer. "But you can rest in near peace, knowing your efforts for the team have not gone unappreciated. Mayor Garcia wishes you the best, I'm sure..."
Despite the crippling pain flooding all over her body, her air supply being cut off, the overwhelming feeling of defeat, and the understanding that this was it for her, Karly hatefully glared up into Bane's merciless eyes. "When... my father hears about this..." she choked, Bane allowing her final words to come though, "he will find you... and he'll come after you..." She spat in a hoarse voice, the tone like music to Bane's ears.
"Good!" Bane mused, tightening his grip on her neck. "Then he can thank me in person for ridding the world of you."
Without another word, Bane finally tightened his fingers around her neck as much as he could, and once all the gargles and gasps from Karly faded away, he leaned up and let Karly's lifeless stay on the ground in front of him. Jenna had jumped due to the disgusting noises, her eyes having been closed all the while, but when she realized all the noise had faded away, she opened her eyes in just enough time to watch Bane approaching her. Taking in a deep breath, she backed away, her eyes widening, and Bane's eyebrows furrowed when he noticed the way she was trembling. At that moment there was much he wanted to say to her, but he hadn't seen her look this terrified since the dream she claimed to have had during her solitude. Listening to his men finish with taking control of Karly's hired help, he blinked slowly before he nodded toward the first row of shelving.
"Go inside, Jenna," he said rather lowly and softly. "I wasn't aware this was something you'd be unable to handle."
Jenna felt her face redden, and she was sure Bane had noticed this color change, but she bit her tongue and held back her words as she turned to immediately start over to the door, desiring nothing more at the moment to go inside and clear her mind, anyway.
Once she had gotten inside, however, she felt stupid for even thinking clearing her mind would be an easy thing to do. She had marched directly into her room, and she didn't even take her boots off when she collapsed down onto her cot. The cot rattled and shook due to her collision, but she easily ignored this as she closed her eyes and leaned forward, wishing the images of Isaac, Bane, the blood splatter and the sounds of cracking and breaking limbs would permanently leave her mind. She felt as though she had already witnessed this and dealt with the repercussions before. She didn't want to do it again.
It wasn't that she was sad about Karly, the driver, or anybody else losing their lives, for she couldn't care less. But rather, it was seeing Bane in that same, neck-snapping-stance that she had seen so many times already, and even more so, Isaac. He had been so terrifying, so rapid and quick, and just... so unlike himself. Jenna had only pictured him being that way in her nightmare. She would have never expected his behavior in real life to be so accurate in comparison to her dream.
Her continued trembling wasn't due to Jenna being scared they would come after her or Isaac wouldn't revert back to his old self; she was just unable to fathom the chaos she had just seen, and she had a hard time believing such an evil demon existed in Isaac. He was so calm, so friendly, so caring... but the beast she had just witnessed was quicker than lighting, merciless, and horrifying. Features that were completely opposite from the Isaac she knew.
Letting out a deep breath, Jenna finally leaned up, keeping her eyes closed, and she shook her head, wishing the images and anxious thoughts would leave her. But what else was there to possibly think about that would take her mind off of it? Her broken arm? Bane's behavior toward her... Oh God...
Jenna was instantly reminded of how her hand had felt in his, and how his hand had felt against her lower back. The last time she could remember Bane really touching her had been when he had broken her arm. His grip had been deathly tight, his hand burning hot, and it had filled Jenna with the strongest sense of fear she had ever experienced around him. But in the garage, when she had placed her hand in his, his grasp had been gentle, warm, and dare she say, inviting. Just thinking about it sent strong shocks up and down her spine, and she had to close her eyes again to keep from feeling too dizzy. It was a disgusting thing she feeling, and she knew these were the exact feelings she use to feel so long ago. But to suddenly be feeling them again, and so, so soon after all the horror Bane had put her through, it made no sense to her. It disgusted her. It infuriated her. How could she so easily let herself be feeling this way after everything?
She realized quickly, however, she wasn't allowing herself to feel this way. It was an emotion she could not control, just as it had been before...
She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting on her cot, but all too soon she heard those heavy boots hitting each stair as Bane began to make his way downstairs. Jenna leaned forward again quickly and opened her eyes, listening and hoping that Bane was not coming for her. He had been so sincere when he told her to go inside, but his tone had hardened when he accused her of not being able to handle what she had witnessed. Whatever, Jenna thought easily. He was right...
But sure enough, as her luck would have it, she listened to her door ease open slowly before Bane took a small step inside her room. He opened his mouth to speak, but he paused once he laid eyes on her, slouching down on the side of her cot, her eyes focused on the bottom of the wall in front of her, her arms folding on her lap. He could see her body was still trembling slightly, but he understood why. His and his army's actions had freaked her out. Barsad's actions had probably frightened her the most. Pitiful, Bane thought to himself. Jenna knew what Barsad's job was, or at least, Bane had thought she did. But now, her behavior was causing this assumption to become questionable.
"Are you truly that panicked about what you saw?" Bane asked her as he took another step into her room. "It's nothing you haven't witnessed before," he went on, finding his patience to be at an all time high with her. Something about seeing her like this again was making him want to find out why, and truthfully, her behavior was bothering Bane. This was something that should not be scaring her anymore. "You watched your parent's die, Jenna, and you did not even bother looking back."
Jenna finally glanced over to him, her breath hitching in her throat again upon thinking back to how his hand had felt, but when Isaac flashed in her mind again, she glanced away. "It's not that," she replied. "It was... just..."
"Let me guess," Bane spoke up as he took another step toward her. "Barsad?"
Jenna closed her eyes, positive that she was only making Bane upset and angry again. Her body tensed, her mind so sure that if Bane's body wasn't going to hurt her now, his words would. But he remained silent, waiting for her answer, but when too much time had passed and Jenna still hadn't spoken, he surprised her when he suddenly sat down at the base of the cot. Jenna's eyes snapped open, she could see him in her peripheral vision, but she did not move an inch or turn to look at him.
"You know Jenna, that's who he is. He's a soldier. A killer for the greater good, for a greater cause. A mercenary who works for me. I thought you understood this."
"I do," Jenna replied quickly and quietly. "I just never really saw... him... like that before. In real life." Jenna bowed her head again, feeling embarrassed, nervous, and above all, ashamed. After all that had happened, how was it that both she and Bane were sitting so close together, and talking on calm, gentle terms? Did nothing make sense anymore?
"I always told him his compassionate ways would be his downfall," Bane said as he rested his arms on his knees. "It's bewildering sometimes that he's come as far as he has."
Jenna was frowning. "That's who he is," Jenna argued gently. "He's a nice guy, a helpful guy. Not a... a-"
"No, Jenna," Bane disagreed as he kept his eyes on her. "You think you may know him well, but clearly you don't. This is who he is. This is who he was destined to be. This is his job. The sooner you understand this, the better..." Bane trailed off, a part of him, deep down inside, unhappy with the way he was handling this situation. But he was tired of avoiding Jenna. He was tired of being angry and hurt. He was tired of trying to control Jenna and Barsad's relationship. The exhaustion from all of this was making him give up easily, and accept what was now. Though still, on the surface, he was still slightly tempted to ban Jenna from seeing Barsad...
Jenna shook her head, a part of her realizing Bane was right, though the other half of her didn't want to accept his words. Instead, she decided to focus on how and odd wrong this current moment was, and she took in another deep breath before she slowly turned to glance over at him.
"How did you know what Karly's plans were? That she had somebody following her?"
Bane grinned slightly, realizing Jenna's attempts to change the subject, but he found himself welcoming them, and even wanting to answer her question. "I surveyed her closer after what you told me. I learned of her plans, and what she intended to do the day she was to be paid from me."
"She was never going to get paid, was she?" She asked, watching as those slight wrinkles appeared at the sides of Bane's eyes, the light gray color of them reflecting from the light. It was shocking to Jenna; she hadn't seen the light color of his eyes in a long, long time...
"No," Bane confirmed. "Even before I had been expecting her attempts to bring me down, as pathetic as they were. As you told me, Jenna, she was not very smart."
Terrifyingly enough, a small grin touched Jenna's lips, and she glanced away to look down at the wall again. "Is her father really going to come here now?" She asked, finding herself to be truly curious.
Bane shrugged from next to her before he finally stood from the cot, and Jenna turned her head to glance over at him, not sure at all why she felt her stomach drop slightly when he stood up, preparing to leave...
"He can try," Bane replied. "We'll be ready, as we always are." Jenna watched Bane turn around and start over to her door. Her eyes wandered over his broad back before she forced herself to look away, but just before Bane was about to fully exit, he stopped and glanced over to her.
"Accept the truth about Barsad and the rest of us, Jenna," he said, catching her attention again, and she glanced up to look at him. "The sooner you do, the sooner you'll begin appreciating the gift that is your life."
Jenna watched him finally turn and start toward his room, and his words caused her to sigh as she faced forward again. After Bane breaking her arm and her month of solitude, Jenna had thought she had been more appreciative of her life, even during her mindless state, but she realized that, unfortunately, Bane had a point. After what she had seen today, she learned that everyone, even Isaac, were all merciless and ruthless killers. Suddenly, Jenna realized what a true wonder it was that she was alive, and had managed to stay alive all this time.
–
Jenna remained in her room for another hour, just laying silently in her cot as she stared up at the ceiling, thinking to herself. Considering everything that had happened that day, she almost desired going back to the way things had been, when she had been ignoring and avoiding Bane and tuning Isaac out, not allowing herself to get close to him, or him to her. At least during that time there was nothing to be confused about, nothing to obsess over, and Jenna had numbly avoided any and all feelings. Now, she was left feeling frightened and bewildered due to Isaac, and shocked, confused and curious feelings due to Bane were overwhelming her. Still, after all this time, her heart had not stopped racing since she placed her hand in Bane's, and she could still feel how his powerful fingers had felt against her skin. It was truly amazing to her that after all this time her previous feelings for him had not gone permanently away, but rather had just been at rest, deep down inside of her, waiting to be summoned.
She didn't want these feelings though, but her confused and curious state would not let her forget how it had felt to finally feel some warmth in her heart, and that fluttering sensation in her stomach. It was so foreign to her by this point it had caused her instantly become dizzy, and if Bane hadn't been holding onto her in the garage, even as loosely as he was, Jenna knew she would have fallen over.
She knew there were ways she could have avoided these feelings, but not without a great cost. Had Bane never handled the situation with Jenna and Isaac the way he had, gotten on better terms with Isaac, silently forgiven Jenna and made the effort to be nice to her, things would have been much different. Granted she would not be facing these wrong feelings again, it would not be worth the pain that Isaac would be in. Bane would be even more monstrous, and even though Jenna would be free of these sensations and avoiding Bane, again, she had a feeling she'd be tiptoeing around the warehouse more than usual. She wouldn't have Isaac's friendship, she would have either Isaac nor Bane's protection from the rest of the men around the warehouse, and she'd be more miserable than ever. Oddly enough, she realized, things had actually worked out in everybody's favor, despite these feelings that had come back to her. Fate, she thought to herself.
With a roll of her eyes and a sigh, she sat up in her cot, wondering if she really did believe that or not. She knew Isaac did. Thinking his name again, Jenna wondered if she'd be able to find him outside. Now that a little over an hour had passed, she figured he had showered and changed, and was more than likely outside working on something car related.
She stood from the bed, and having never taken her boots off, she started to her door, feeling sick when she realized half of her was hoping Bane wouldn't be around, while the other half of her was slightly hoping he would be. No, Jenna thought firmly to herself. Fuck him.
Once she reached the top of the stairs she tried opening the door there, but she grumbled to herself when she pulled on the handle and the door would not give. Must only open from the inside, she thought sourly to herself, wondering why the door was even locked in the first place. Sighing, she began to the exit door, and when she opened it she was greeted with a cold gust of wind that ruffled Bane's shirt, and she immediately slammed her hands against the bottom of it to hold it down. The sun was still shining up above, but in the distance Jenna could see gray clouds coming their way, threatening snow, no doubt. Upon glancing down, she saw the garage door was still open, and her heart gave a flutter of excitement when she saw Isaac standing inside the garage, pouring something down on to the concrete. But as she went down the stairs and started over to him, memories of what he had done entered her mind, and by the time she had neared him, she found herself having a hard time speaking.
Dressed now in a pair of dark green cargo pants and a tight, black t-shirt, Isaac kept his eyes focused on the ground in front of him where he was pouring some sort of bubbling chemical over the blood that was stained there. A cigarette dangled loosely in between his lips, and as Jenna approached him she saw that his hair was wet, and looked as though he had lazily run his fingers through it to fluff it up some. Upon glancing down, she noticed most of the floor that covered the inside of the garage was wet with water and the chemical, and she stopped just outside of the garage before stepping in, also wondering where her final cigarette and lighter had gone to.
"Is... is it okay to walk on this?" Jenna asked, pointing down when Isaac glanced up at her. He nodded a short second later, eying her body again, and Jenna proceeded with stepping into the garage.
"You gonna tell me what's up with the outfit now?" Isaac asked as he finished pouring the last bit of chemical down onto the ground, and he placed the container on the floor before he turned to her, taking the cigarette out of his mouth as he did so. "Is that Bane's shirt?" He asked with more curiosity, his eyes widening slightly as he stared at her shirt again.
Jenna was frowning as she stood there, trying to control her shivers as she held down the shirt, hoping that any and all awkward feelings about what they had done would stay at bay, even if she was able to get over the anxiety she felt after seeing Isaac kill that man. "Yes..." she grumbled.
"Why?" Isaac asked slowly, and when Jenna glanced up at him, she couldn't help but to feel as if Isaac knew something that she did not.
"Because Bane did my laundry," she answered, glancing down when she realized how utterly ridiculous that sounded. She expected Isaac to laugh at her and not believe what she had just said, but when he remained quiet, she glanced up to him in just enough time to watch him nod before he took a hit of his cigarette.
"Makes sense," he replied, smoke escaping past his lips as he spoke before he finally blew it all out.
"Does it though?" Jenna asked desperately, taking a step toward him as she finally let go of the shirt. "I mean he did my laundry, Isaac. Bane, doing laundry."
"Yeah, so?" Isaac pressed on, and he grinned down at her when Jenna's jaw dropped slightly. "It's not as crazy as you think it is. Bane can be a nice guy, you know."
Jenna swallowed. Just like how you can be a terrifying killer, Jenna thought as she glanced down, but as soon as she had this thought, she closed her eyes and tried to push it out of her mind. "Not like this though."
"Why? Because it's laundry? Something suited for a woman to do?"
"No," Jenna replied sternly as she glanced back up to him. "Because... it's just weird. He's been being... nice to me, Isaac. And patient, and just..."
Isaac shrugged again, struggling to hold back the truth he wanted to tell Jenna, but he would not betray Bane that way. Bane had partially confessed his feelings about Jenna in confidence to him, even after what Isaac had done with her, and he'd be damned if he would ever tell a soul. It was evident to him now, however, that Bane was trying to get on her good side. He was probably just tired of avoiding her, Isaac thought. "So what's your point?" He asked, taking another drag.
"Well, why?" Jenna asked. "And if you shrug again Isaac, so help me God..."
Isaac let out a breathless laugh, and instead spoke the equivalent of a shrug. "I don't know."
Rolling her eyes, Jenna turned away from him, but when she caught a glimpse of the fading blood on the concrete, she swallowed.
"Does that stuff clean up blood?" She asked.
"Yup," Isaac replied. "Rather quickly, too."
"What about your clothes...?" Jenna wondered, wishing she could just enjoy his company like she use to, especially after all had been forgiven and forgotten, but suddenly all she could picture was Isaac lashing out at her, and hurting her with his bare hands. The thought was overwhelming, and Jenna had to close her eyes and swallow back the painful lump in her throat.
"I've got more inside. What's your problem?" Isaac asked now as he stared at her with furrowed eyebrows.
"Nothing," Jenna replied, finally opening her eyes, and she forced a small smile as she shook her head at him. Isaac didn't buy her lie.
"Okay, Miss 'I'm gonna start telling the truth now', that's bullshit. What's wrong?"
When Jenna glanced back over to him, she could easily make out the curiosity in his tone, the sincerity in his eyes, and she could feel his desire to help radiating off of him. Amazing, she thought. Isaac's current behavior was making it hard to believe what she had previously seen him do. But now, she realized, she had forced herself into telling him what was truly wrong.
"Can I have a cigarette?" Jenna asked quietly, and she stayed silent as Isaac reached into his pocket to pull out his pack. After he plucked out a single cigarette and handed it and his lighter to her, he remained patient as she lit up, waiting to hear what was on her mind.
"Well?" He finally had to ask after Jenna slowly exhaled. "It must be pretty bad if you're avoiding it."
Jenna shrugged. "It's just..." she paused, already feeling her face reddening as embarrassment overtook her. She knew Isaac would find her confession absurd, just like Bane had. "Seeing you... kill that guy... it was just... kinda scary."
Isaac laughed, just as Jenna knew he would, and she couldn't help but to glance up at him with narrowed eyes.
"That's it?" Isaac asked, sounding as though he was in disbelief. "Jenna I thought you understood what my job entailed."
"I do, I do, I guess just seeing it was different. It was just like my dream, Isaac." Jenna shook her head, feeling more pathetic than she had been.
"No, c'mon," Isaac went on now, his humorous tone fading away. "Why does it bother you?"
Jenna couldn't help but to shrug now each time she answered him. "I'm not use to you being that way," she confessed. "You're usually so–"
"Clean and friendly?" Isaac asked with a grin, referring to how Jenna had described him that morning in his room, after her shower. Despite how she was feeling, Jenna couldn't help but to laugh slightly at this.
"Yes," she replied honestly. "That's about exactly right."
"It is right sometimes" Isaac replied. "But to act that way when I'm working would absurd."
"You make it sound like it's a facade," Jenna accused as she finally took a second hit from her cigarette.
Isaac shrugged, neither agreeing or disagreeing with her answer, and Jenna hated that.
"I don't want to believe that," she spoke up suddenly. "That... what you did earlier to that guy and in my dream... that was a facade. This is real, right? Right?" She asked again when he didn't answer right away.
"It may have been years ago, but now-"
"So you're saying you're really like that. Terrifying? Merciless? Uncaring?"
"What does it matter, Jenna?" Isaac finally spoke up, louder this time as he stared directly into her eyes. "I don't understand why this is an issue. You're basically saying that since I don't appear to be the shining vision you have of me in your head, that you can't accept me anymore. I'm nice to you, I'm helpful to you, I'm helpful to the people I like. It's not that far off from how you were."
Jenna's eyebrows furrowed at his words, though at the same time realization of what he was saying to was starting to flood her. He was right, it seemed...
"Childish? A brat?" Isaac went on. "But when you'd talk to me, most of the time those qualities would go away. I knew who you really were and it didn't stop me. And yes, before you say it, you changed, and what you saw is a part of me that will never change. I can't tell you to get over it, that's up to you, but I'm just telling you it doesn't matter. It's nothing to be scared about it."
Jenna frowned as she glanced down, and she stared at her cigarette in between her fingers as she flicked it with her thumb, sending the ashes to fall slowly to the ground. Finally, she nodded. "I know, you're right. It was just... it's whatever. I'm sorry."
When she glanced back up at him, she saw he was grinning. "It's fine," he assured. "But just pick your battles, you know? If you keep moping around about it it'll get Bane's attention. He'll stop being nice to you," he added with a small laugh.
Jenna rolled her eyes at his name. "It already did."
"What happened?"
"We just talked," Jenna replied simply.
"How'd that go?"
"Good," she answered before she could stop herself. No, not good. Weird. Out of the ordinary... Wrong... "Everything else aside," Jenna started now as she shook her head slightly, finally able to put those image of Isaac aside for the moment. "Why is he acting this way, seriously. It's freaking me out."
Isaac grinned. "Maybe he's just over the avoidance and how things have been."
"Isaac, please," Jenna said in a more sincere tone. "The last time he was anything like this was the day he broke my arm, forever ago. I know you know why, and I want you to tell me."
"Jenna it's no different than what you saw me do today. You know Bane as what... a– a terrifying beast who seeks destruction," Isaac began as he lifted his arms up slightly, "but there's another side of him who can be friendly, and helpful. You've seen it before..." he added as he glanced away to take another hit from his cigarette, and as he exhaled he turned back to her. "You know me as a clean and friendly guy, but today you had to see me as gross and scary." Isaac grinned, referring back to Jenna's word choice that morning, and she couldn't help but to roll her eyes as she lifted her foot to gently kick him on the side of the leg.
"I swear to God, Isaac, I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you!"
"There's nothing to talk about," he replied. "It's been a hard day, I'm tired, and I just want to relax. Accept Bane's behavior toward you, otherwise it'll go away. Forever, maybe," he added.
Jenna was staring at him, and when Isaac took a final hit from his cigarette before tossing it out of the garage, she still had the feeling that he was keeping something from her. But perhaps he was right. Granted she hated these feelings that were coming back to her about Bane, if she didn't just accept his ways with her now, they could go away forever, and things could get much, much worse. It was evident that Bane still held some kind of interest in her, regardless of what kind it was, but whether Jenna did or not, accepted to deal with these feelings or not, it didn't mean she had to act out on them...
"Okay, you're right. Thank you," she replied.
"Anytime," Isaac replied as he placed his hands in his pockets. He glanced over at Jenna again, unable to help but look over her shirt again, and he let out another short laugh as he closed his eyes and shook his head.
"What?" Jenna asked as she looked at him.
"I still can't believe you're wearing his shirt."
"Well what else was I supposed to do?" She asked with a frown. "All my clothes were dirty."
"Even your pants? It's winter, for Christ sake."
"Yes, even the pants. Actually..." Jenna paused, and Isaac watched her turn to glance over to the darker area of the garage, where the washer and dryer were. Without a word, she started over toward the area, Isaac following closely behind her, and once she reached the machines, the dryer still running, Jenna furrowed her eyebrows just as Isaac snapped on a brighter light.
"Why is the dryer still running?" Jenna wondered quietly as she took another drag from her cigarette. Isaac stepped past her to lean against a row of shelving, and he glanced down to a laundry basket in front of him, where he found a large pile of cargo pants and shirts sitting on top of a smaller, wet pile that contained smaller, more colorful clothes. Next to it, he saw another pile of those same type of clothes, laying on the dirty floor...
A grin stretched on his lips as he waited for Jenna to notice this as well, and when she finally opened the dryer, and saw that her clothes were not inside of it, and that instead her recently clean clothes had been carelessly placed on the floor, her jaw dropped in pure anger and annoyance.
"Unbelievable!" She spat as she slammed the door to the dryer shut, and finally Isaac let out the laugh he had been suppressing as he watched Jenna step over to her clothes as he tossed her cigarette away from herself. "They just threw them on the ground! Ugh!"
"Just because Bane started your laundry doesn't mean he was going to finish it," Isaac pointed out, and his grin deepened when Jenna glanced in his direction to glare at him.
"This isn't funny," she complained. "These were clean!"
"Oh, they're fine, cry baby," Isaac said as he crossed his arms. "I thought you had improved from this mentality."
Shaking her head, Jenna couldn't help but to feel frustrated, even if the issue was something stupid to be angry over. But she had gone for so long without clean clothes, and she wasn't about to wait any longer for them. She opened the washer door next to her, where she found a load of the other thugs laundry, seeping wet inside, and that frown never leaving her face, she turned back to the dryer, opened it, and began to place the clothes inside on the floor. She paused for a moment, however, suddenly fretting that these were Bane's clothes. She pulled out a pair of pants, leaned up and laid them out on the dryer, trying to access their size, but she was interrupted by Isaac's voice.
"Those aren't Bane's, in case that's what you were wondering. Continue on with your revenge."
Jenna wanted to be annoyed, but when a smile overcame her features and a small laugh escaped past her, she realized she couldn't be mad at Isaac over this. It seemed as though suddenly any horrified thoughts she had been having about him had vanished, and she couldn't remember the last time she had seen Isaac acting so happy and humorous. It's not that he was ever in a bad mood anymore when they conversed, but he was never so legitimately happy and amused.
But Jenna did continue on with her revenge, and once the thugs clothes were piled on the floor, just like hers had been, she began to place their wet clothes in the dryer, and this, of course, was amusing to Isaac.
"So, your act of revenge entails helping them out, still?" He questioned.
"It's whatever," Jenna grumbled. "Choose your battles, remember?"
Isaac nodded with a smile. "Smart girl."
Once the clothes were in the dryer, and after Jenna had put in the wet clothes that had been sitting under the thugs dirty clothes in the basket (which she had thrown on the floor, as well) Jenna started the washer and placed her clean clothes into the basket, happy to see that there actually was one available.
"I'm surprised you even know how to do laundry. Isn't that what your maid had been for?"
"Not always," Jenna replied. "I'm not completely useless, Isaac," she added as she turned to glare at him, holding the basket in between her left arm and hip.
"Well perhaps this is how we can use you to our benefit. You can do our laundry."
Jenna rolled her eyes as she started back toward the main area of the garage, and once she started away, Isaac leaned away from the shelves and followed her. At first, as Jenna headed back outside and toward the exit door, she wondered why Isaac was following her, but once she started up the stairs and stopped at the door, Isaac moved past her to open it for her. Jenna let out a small sigh as she glanced over to him to flash him a genuine smile before she started inside. Now, she felt even more stupid for feeling so fearful and freaked out about him before. She should have known better. Isaac may be a ruthless killer, but he was nice to her, and that should be all that mattered.
Isaac stepped inside after her, and once the door closed behind him, Jenna turned around to face him. "Thank you," she replied. "For everything."
Isaac smiled again as he nodded at her. "Maybe tomorrow we could get breakfast at the diner. You look thin," he commented, and Jenna rolled her eyes with a grin.
"That sounds good," she said, ignoring his comment, though she wasn't entirely sure when the last time she had eaten a descent meal had been. Without another word, Isaac turned around and began down the hall, and Jenna watched him until he disappeared around the corner. She couldn't help but to smile to herself as she turned around, feeling genuinely happy and relieved for a change. Despite her wrong feelings toward Bane, he wasn't terrorizing her anymore, it was finally evident to her that any and all awkward feelings between her and Isaac had completely vanished. She was still smiling as she neared the stairs, and once she started going down them, she couldn't help but to feel so at ease suddenly.
Fate, she thought to herself.
Sorry for the wait, guys! But alas, here is the new chapter. This particular chapter was an absolute blast to write, and if you're feeling all giddy by this point about Jenna and Bane and Jenna's situation now as a whole, PLEASE REVIEW! Even if you're not, PLEASE REVIEW!
ALSO! You guys HAVE to check out this awesome Bane, Barsad, and eventually John Blake / OC fiction my good friend is writing. Her penname is xLevitate, and her story is called Creating Havoc. It's a great, creative story, a great read, and definitely deserves some more attention. Do her a favor and show her some love! :)
AAAAND I've created a Batman forum for all of us awesome fans and fan fiction readers/writers to all converse on. If you're interested, please check it out and register! GothamCityCrazies . forumotion . com (minus the spaces, of course)
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! The next chapter should definitely be out much sooner, as I have already started on it :)