A Fly on the Wall
"Be careful Bruce," Grace teases as she rubs her red checker piece. "I'll have you beat in five more moves."
Bruce looks down at the board with a smile on his face. Oh Grace you have no idea what you're missing. He thinks as she picks up his black piece and jumps over three of Grace's pieces. He ends up at the other end of the board. "You were saying?" Bruce asks in an innocent voice.
Grace's green eyes furrow and she frowns. Bruce can't help but laugh "You're insufferable, you know that?" Grace groans as she puts one of her already conquered pieces on top.
It's a rainy Tuesday afternoon. They are in the library of Wayne Manor, enjoying a quiet afternoon round of checkers. Lucius is planning on dropping off the transmitter they're going to use to eavesdrop on Strange.
"I can't see what you're be like at chess." Grace says as Bruce moves another piece.
"Do you want to find out?" Bruce asks with a smirk.
"No thank you." She says, rubbing the space between her eyes. "Have to rub it in, don't you?" Grace groans but he knew shew is only teasing him.
"If you think I'm bad, Rachel was a lot worse. She creamed me at checkers more times than I can count." Bruce says. Rachel…today is the first time in a long time he's thought of her…
Grace just looks at him. "Do you want to talk?" She asks.
Bruce is unsure. This is the first time they've spoken about it.
"If you don't want to, then you don't have to." She says.
"No…it's all right." Bruce says. "I want to talk." But for some reason, he can't get the words out. "There's so much I want to say but I don't know how to say it."
"I understand." Grace says. "If it helps, I miss her too."
"Thanks, Grace." Bruce says. "I miss…everything about her. Her laugh. Her smile. Even the times we used to argue about everything. I'd give anything to have that back."
While he's glad he's with Grace and is looking forward to Mercy's birth…he still wonders about the life he and Rachel could've had. The kids they could've had. Traveling the world together. Growing old and watching sunsets while holding hands…
Part of him would always miss her.
"Me too. Me too." Grace says, a sad smile crossing her face. "I never said anything because I thought you didn't want to talk about it."
"You're not the only one." Bruce says. But he isn't sure he wants to keep talking about it. It makes him uncomfortable. Maybe he should change the subject. "But she was a saint compared to Tommy. You don't want to play chess with him unless you want to lose or are really good." Bruce says.
"That good, huh?" Grace asks, rubbing her eyes, not asking anything about him changing the subject. "Good thing I don't know now to play then."
"Isn't your father a well-known chess player?" Bruce asks, remembering seeing a couple of trophies in the villa at Guibileo.
"Long ago." Grace says with a groan as she leans back. "He tried teaching me the basics when I was a kid but I could never get the hang of it." Grace says. "How did Tommy manage to beat you every time?" She asks, rubbing her abdomen.
"That's something I asked him every time and he gave an important piece of advice. Never attack your opponent until you know their every weakness." Bruce says.
"If you know your enemies and yourself you will have a thousand victories as Sun Tzu used to say." Grace muses.
"You know The Art of War?" Bruce asks, remembering having to read that during his days at Princeton.
"Required reading for members of the Montello family along with Machiavelli's The Prince." Grace says.
"We can use that against Strange now." He says.
"What makes you think I haven't been using it against him?" Grace asks.
Bruce looks at her. Her green eyes seem distant. "You're scared about tomorrow, aren't you?" he asks, reaching out and holding her hand.
"I can't afford to be frightened." Grace says, looking out the window and seeing rain tapping against the glass.
"I know." Bruce says, looking down at the large boot on his leg. The doctor said at his last checkup that the bones were healing nicely. Not much longer until he could begin building strength back in that leg.
There was hope.
There was always hope. Bruce thinks, rubbing his leg.
"Fear can a good thing." Bruce says. 'Fear can keep you alive or it can destroy you. It's your choice, Grace." He says. "It's always a choice."
"Some words from your late mentor?" Grace asks.
Bruce sighs, remembering Ducard and the many things he had taught him. Yes, he was a mass murderer hell bent on wiping out an entire city of innocents to punish the few guilty. But he had given him a purpose. The first purpose had since the night his parents died in Crime Alley all those years ago.
Mom and Dad. Bruce's eyes turn to the framed portrait on a nearby coffee table. The edges were burned, it was one of the few things that had survived the fire. But their smiles were as bright as they were when the photo was taken.
How long had it been? Over twenty years? He was eight when they were shot and his thirty-first birthday is this upcoming October. In a lot of ways…time had both flown by and stopped.
"I wonder what my parents would think if they could see us now." Bruce says.
"They'd be proud of you. I know I am." Grace says. "And I don't mean those words lightly." She touches his cheek. "First time I've seen you with a beard since Corte Maltese."
"Oh yeah, I thought it was time for a change." Bruce says, rubbing the thickening stubble. In reality, it was to save time getting ready in the morning. He couldn't stand for too long without his leg hurting nor did he want to trouble Grace and Alfred to help him get ready. "Do you not like it?"
"No. I like it. Reminds me of happier times." Grace says with a large smile on her face. "You'd still be handsome to me with or without it."
"It looks like I'll be keeping it then." Bruce says with a grin, kissing her. She faintly smells of her favorite perfume. There are footsteps outside the door. Alfred and Lucius are standing there. "Good afternoon Lucius." Bruce says, straightening his hack.
"Good afternoon to you too, Bruce. Grace." Lucius says as Grace nods, a smile on her face.
"How can we help you?" Bruce asks.
"It appears our friend's scrambler emits a high pitched the kind on your phone and in tape recorders. This is in reality a radio that'll transmit the signal here. Bruce and I will be waiting here in the manor with a digital filter and we'll record the conversation." Lucius as before he puts his hand into his pocket and takes out a small red box. It looks something that a ring would come in.
He passes the box to Grace. She opens it and inside is a slightly wider replica of her wedding ring. "I thought it would be easier to hide it in plain sight. After all, who looks at someone's wedding ring?"
"I wasn't sure how you'd do it, seeing how observant Strange is. But you've outdone yourself." Grace says.
Lucius smiles, clearly pleased. "You're welcome but don't thank me yet, we need to see it in action tomorrow when you go in for your appointment." Lucius says.
"We have faith in you. Always have, always will." Bruce says, feeling more confident.
"Are you ready?" Tommy whispers to me as we walk to Strange's office.
"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose." I whisper back, looking down at the wedding band.
"I'll be outside, listening in. If you're in trouble...remember the code word, right?" He asks me. I nod. "Good." Tommy says, walking in with me. Like before the waiting room is relatively empty.
"Good morning." I say to the familiar receptionist. "My name is Grace Wayne and I have an appointment with Dr. Strange?" I ask.
The receptionist smiles. I feel bad for her, she seems pretty nice to be working for a creep like Strange. "Have a seat, Mrs. Wayne, I'll let him know you've arrived." She says, walking to the back room.
Tommy and I sit down on the uncomfortable looking chairs. His back is ramrod straight, befitting an agent of Il Tallone. I sit next to him, listening to the clock ticking on the wall. "It's going to be ok, Grace." Tommy says.
"Thanks for the encouragement, Tommy." I say.
"It's the least I can do in this situation." Tommy says with a smile. "You'll be fine, Grace. You're a smart woman and you'll figure it out if you need to escape." Tommy says.
"Things will be fine." I try to reassure myself but I'm still nervous.
What if Strange notices something's off? What if he notices my wedding ring? What if he notices Tommy sitting out there and not Bruce? What if...?
Calm down Grace. I remind myself, slowly taking deep breaths. Everything will be fine.
The door opens and Strange comes out, like before his face has that smile on it. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Wayne." He says. "Step into my office...we have much to discuss."
"Ready to go?" Lucius asks Bruce.
"As ready as I can be." Bruce says. They're sitting inside Bruce's study at Wayne Manor, the recording equipment is ready and waiting. All they need is Tommy texting them the warning word that Grace is now in Strange's office.
Bruce's phone dings. It's from Tommy. We're in.
"Go." Bruce says. Lucius turns on the laptop. There's a few seconds until the sound picks up, reading as squiggly lines on the screen. Lucius turns a dial on the nearby radio. It takes a few minutes to hear Grace and Strange walking to their seats.
"Would you like something to drink, Mrs. Wayne?" He asks.
Please say no, Grace. Bruce thinks, tapping his fingers together nervously.
"No thank you, Strange." Grace says respectfully. Her voice is calm and quiet. Good. Bruce thinks. That means he can't read her. They hear noises as they take their seats. "What do you want, Strange?" Grace asks.
"In time, my dear Mrs. Wayne." Strange states. A shiver runs up Bruce's back. "What did you think of my message?" He asks.
"Bruce and I had a long talk about it afterwards."
"Good." Strange says. "Let's now talk about your first meeting Mr. Wayne."
There's hesitation on her end. She has to come up with something quickly. This wasn't meant to be shared with anyone. "What is there to say?" Grace asks, Bruce imagines her shrugging her shoulders. "We met when I was seventeen at my family's summer villa."
"What was that first meeting like?" Strange asks, a groaning noise confirms he's leaning forward.
"Not much." Grace says. "He was a simple gardener. I never paid much attention to the hired help."
"Ah, but something about this young man drew you to him. I saw your interview with Ms. Vale shortly after your marriage to Bruce Wayne. Very touching if I'm not mistaken."
Bruce feels his muscles tighten in nervousness. How in the world did they forget about that interview?
"What things did you talk about?" Strange says. Grace doesn't say anything. Bruce hears a scraping noise as he opens the desk and takes out something. "Remember I have your husband's life in my hands. Everything you and your family have worked for will be gone and destroyed if you don't tell me exactly what happened." His voice was rising slightly. "I'll ask again, Mrs. Wayne. What was your relationship with Bruce during his days in Corte Maltese like?"
Silence fills the air. Bruce fights the urge to get up. He wishes he was right there defending Grace. He can only imagine how frightened she is. Lucius isn't saying anything. He's just watching the screen.
"Don't tell him any more than necessary." Bruce whispers. "Don't give him any more fuel."
Grace sighs, broken. Although he's not sure if she's acting or genuinely frightened. "Mostly I talked and he listened."
That was true, Bruce remembers. But there was more. Listening to her playing her violin. Swimming with her in the warm Mediterranean Sea. Sharing risotto.
"The few times he did talk, what was it about?" Strange asks.
"Usually to give advice about dealing with my parents. A couple of times, he would ask me about a flower or anything like that."
"Did he ever speak about his parents?" Strange asked.
"Oh yes." Grace says. "He talked about how much he missed them and how he wished that they were there to comfort him and give him advice."
That's a lie. Bruce remembers. He only spoke about his parents a couple of times. But it was too painful and the subject was dropped. Grace didn't even know much about Mom and Dad until after she had married him.
"Was he...angry?" Strange asked.
Oh how he had been angry. Bruce thinks. He remembers feeling enraged, embittered and lost. It's a wonder he never took it out on anyone.
"No, not really. Or rather he did a good job hiding it if he was." Grace says.
"And what did you think upon meeting him, Mrs. Wayne?" Strange asks.
"Again, not much. He was a servant and I was a princess." Grace says. "I was a very different person back then. A brat you could say."
Ah yes, Bruce remembers. Grace was a bit of a spoiled teenager back then. While carefree and cheerful, she did expect people to go her way. She was Victor and Rebecca's only child and they were never able to have more so he wasn't too surprised at how she turned out.
Although…she wasn't as nasty as she was portraying herself to Strange.
"But there must've been something about this young man that drew you to him, wasn't there?" Strange asks, his voice taking on a new voice. "Tell me, was it his wealth?"
"No. As I said earlier, we thought Bruce was a vagrant tramp. He wasn't somebody who acted like he had a ton of money lying around." Grace says.
"Was it his good looks? He would've been about twenty-four when you two met. He was handsome even at that age, wasn't he?" Strange asks.
He's trying to make Grace uncomfortable. Bruce thinks, feeling his anger mount more and more. This wasn't something he wanted anyone to know. What happened between him and Grace all those years ago was just that. Something between the two of them.
"I did think he was." Grace says. "Then again, I didn't pay much attention to him."
"But then something changed didn't it?" Strange asks. "Something about him made you fall head over heels in love with him. Don't lie, I know that you did."
Grace pauses, unsure if she wants to share. "One afternoon, I ran into the garden to get away from my parents." She says.
Bruce remembers that afternoon. He was tending some orange and lemon trees in the family orchard when Grace ran out of the villa.
"Why did you want to get away from them?"
"I was angry that they weren't going to get the car I had always wanted." Grace says. "They promised me a new car for my upcoming eighteenth birthday and I didn't get a nice one."
She was really more upset that her parents weren't going to allow her to study music at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. They claimed she needed to prepare for the day she'd become ruler of Corte Maltese. While she understood that, she was still upset at being told that she couldn't live her own life.
"And did he comfort you?" Strange asks.
"He did, telling me that if he had enough money, he'd buy me a new car a hundred times over." Grace says.
Again, not what happened. Bruce stopped what he was doing and sat with her. He remembers calming her down and talking to her about her music. She was so passionate about what she wanted to do.
That's when she began spending more time with him. Grace told him one time that he was the only person she could talk to and know that he'd listen to her.
He never told her that he liked her for the same reasons.
"Did you become intimate?" Strange asks.
"No." Grace says quickly.
Bruce remembers her fingers interlinking with his. Wanting to brush some hair out of her face after an afternoon swim. Little things.
The closest they ever got was when they kissed behind that tree the night before he left. How tempted he was to stay…but Rachel's words had pressed him forward.
"Why didn't you two stay together happily in Corte Maltese after that brief summer?" Strange asks.
"He said he had something to do." Grace says. Bruce can hear the regret in her voice.
"You wanted him to stay though, didn't you?" Strange asks, his words becoming accusing in nature. Part of Bruce wants Tommy to burst down the door and get his wife out of there. It was what he would've done if he were there.
"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't miss him." Grace says.
"How much did you miss him, Grace?" Strange asks. Bruce is unnerved by his use of Grace's name.
"Enough to keep writing him." Grace says. "If I didn't, would I have done that? I love Bruce and he loves me. That's all anybody needs to know?"
"Is that why you've stayed with him, despite his exploits?" Strange asks.
"We're expecting a baby. If we didn't love each other, would we be staying together and putting the child through an unhealthy relationship?" Grace asks. "And in any case, I still have my home in Guibileo to go to in case something happens to us."
"Don't lie, Mrs. Wayne." Strange says. There's a groaning noise as he stands up. Bruce can just see him close to Grace's face. There's another sound of somebody standing up. Grace. He can also see Grace standing up and staring him down.
"Strange, you aren't keeping this about me. Isn't that the whole reason you brought me down here? So you can satisfy your morbid curiosity?" Grace innocently asks.
"You are a brave and foolish woman, Mrs. Wayne." Strange says. "No wonder he's so fond of you."
There's the sound of them sitting down again.
"May I ask a question? Mind you, this is for my own curiosity and it won't be leaving this room." Grace innocently asks.
"You may, my dear Mrs. Wayne." Strange says. Bruce can just see him bowing his head in permission.
"Why are you so interested in me? Why don't you try asking Bruce yourself about his supposed activities as the Batman?" Grace says.
"Oh God now what?' Bruce whispers, getting worried. He prayed Strange wouldn't have the impression that Grace was being cheeky. He didn't want her to be there anymore than she did.
But Strange merely laughs. He's amused. Bruce thinks. It's a merry laugh, like and a parent listening to a child ask an innocent question. Almost cheerful. "For my own personal curiosity, Mrs. Wayne. I've been fascinated with the Batman since he appeared in Gotham months ago. What kind of man risks his life night after night in a thankless job only to be branded a cop killer? But that's a topic for another day, Mrs. Wayne. Now...let's set an appointment for next month, shall we?" Strange asks.
"If you insist," Grace says.
"August 30th at noon work for you?" Strange asks.
"Yes. It works for me." Grace says. Bruce can hear a scribbling noise and the sound of a note being passed.
It's over. Bruce sighs in relief.
"You're free to leave, Mrs. Wayne." Strange says. Bruce hears Grace walking to the door. "Oh and Mrs. Wayne?" Strange calls out, almost as an afterthought.
Now what? Bruce wonders, feeling his fists tighten.
"I forgot to give my congratulations. You'd make a wonderful mother. And I'm sure, despite his shortcomings, your husband would make a decent father."
A/N: So now we've had the equipment prepared and Lucius is involved…not my strongest chapter but I really wanted to get this thing up and running. My goal is to finish this story by the end of this month.
