Scarlett opened her eyes slowly; she sensed early morning and looked around her at the thick, silence in the air. There was a blanket covering her and a wafer thin mattress beneath her, it was almost light. Gently Scarlett looked at her side. Bane was sat up and turned away from her, all Scarlett could see was his wide back with a glimpse of his mask, he sensed her and peered over his shoulder.
"It's not light yet" Scarlett stated as she moved a little to sit up, her hands pulled the blanket further up her chest to ward off the cool air. Bane's head twitched slightly as he answered,
"Sleep is irrelevant" He answered back without pause. Scarlett looked down and sighed slightly, he was exasperating at times. Ignoring the brush off comment, Scarlett sat up a little straighter,
"Do you have a specific plan for today?" The change of subject made Bane pause, he sat up slowly, pushing his arms off his knees before stretching out his limbs and turning around back to fully face Scarlett. Under her lashes Scarlett looked at him and waited for some form of reply, the way Bane's eyes ignited with light already gave Scarlett her answer.
"We're due in court" He answered back suspiciously; Scarlett raised her eyebrow at the vague answer but remained silent. She checked the security of the blanket around her and stood up in front of Bane, her hand gently rubbed her hair sleepily. Her footsteps were silenced by the soft material of the mattress beneath her as Scarlett carefully made her way closer to Bane.
"We?" She asked curiously, wondering why she was being involved in his plan today, he usually went about any business by himself. Bane inclined towards her face, the mask getting closer to Scarlett's face and making her cast her eyes over the pristine metal surface. "Yes. Why? Something else you were planning on doing?" Said Bane sarcastically with a quirk of his eyebrow, wondering what was pushing Scarlett to ask question. He was always suspicious when she did.
A little smile tugged at Scarlett's lips and her own eyebrow quirked at Bane's hint of temper flaring, such an exasperating man. She shook her head lightly, before Bane moved Scarlett kissed her fingers and pressed them quickly against the mask.
"Good" Bane declared with satisfaction. Scarlett gasped suddenly as the warmth of the blanket was suddenly ripped away from her without warning. Bane smirked behind the mask and cast the thing aside. "Get dressed" He ordered. Before turning away with his hands pocketed, he lent his eyes roam over Scarlett's body with appreciation.
Scarlett's cheeks reddened with embarrassment and she quickly dressed ready for the day, when she was ready she wondered over to the window and looked out at the now red sky.
"Red sky in the morning…Shepherd's warning" She stated out loud to the empty room before adjusting her left boot and walking, arms folded over the wooden floorboards and down the stairs. "Where is he?" She asked Kingsley when she saw the wiry man leaning at the bottom of the stairs using an old cloth the caress the surface of the gun in his palm.
He looked up when Scarlett's voice broke the silence of the room, his gaze didn't last long and with disinterest in her, Kingsley turned back to cleaning the gun. "Go wait by the supplies" He instructed plainly. Scarlett frowned at being brushed off like some old cobweb.
"Pleasure as always" Scarlett commented sarcastically, she pulled her hair up and secured with a bobble as she walked down another flight of stairs onto the bottom floor. Mercenaries were scrambling around a pile of boxes picking them up and carrying them into another room.
"Eh up boys, the first lady's awake" One man called out when he spotted Scarlett watching at the bottom of the steps. Her fingers lightly tapped the wooden stair rail before shooting the hand to her mouth and biting at her nails feverishly.
More of the men lifted their heads to look at her but, given the current situation, the food supplies took priority over a pretty face. Bane walked in then, taking wide strides and fulfilling his unbroken trick of turning a room silent so only his heavy footfalls sounded. He looked over his shoulder at the mercenaries before angling his head back to Scarlett and nudging his head to the door. The men continued their mumbling once more as the pair left the building.
"We're going to walk to Gotham High Court?" Scarlett asked, the old white marble building was right in the centre of Gotham City; it was a fair distance from their more Easterly location. Bane kept looking straight ahead,
"We're going to walk to the Gotham's new court" He stated.
Confused rendered Scarlett silent, she was surprised when he walked them into an abandoned stock exchange though. Her feet hurried up the stairs to keep up with Bane as he took them two at a time. There was a crowd in the main court hall, it was a kangaroo court where the crowd grew impatient and jeered in anticipation for the next victim. Scarlett shadowed Bane as he sloped into the room and stood back from the crowd, enough to see the action without joining the raucous group.
Scarlett was anxious now, and moved closer to Bane so her body was pressed into his side, she reached her hands up and held onto his arm for comfort. Nobody looked their way, Scarlett's eyes darted around the room, "Why are we here?" She whispered. Bane ignored her.
Suddenly the crowd became louder, the next person to be tried was pulled into the room, they protested loudly against the two mercenaries holding him.
"There's been a mistake! Where's Bane?" The man pleaded, his head began to turn quickly as he scanned the room, searching for the masked man. Scarlett instantly recognised him; it was Stryver, as she looked at his panicking frame the only words he spoke to her traced into her mind.
"Bane's whore afraid of bloodshed?"
The voice in her head echoed, she looked up at Bane and feeling her eyes on him he glanced down to meet the stare. The pair remained silent before Bane turned back to watch the action and with a slight pause, Scarlett copied him.
"There's been no mistake, Mr Stryver" A voice from an unseen person sounded, igniting the room with authority and rendering the jeering crowd to mumbles. A man from behind a mass pile of stacked furniture appeared, the judge. Scarlett had seen this man before; he appeared in the paper several times in articles about Arkham Asylum's investigations of inmate abuse. A shiver came over her when she looked over his pale features.
"You are Philip Stryver, executive vice-president of Daggett Industries?" The 'judge' asked Stryker with humour covering his voice, shocked at the man's knowledge of him, Stryver gave a weary nod. "The same Philip Stryver who for years lived like a prince off the blood and sweat of people less powerful?"
Panic came back into Stryver's movements; he looked side to side and demanded, "Call Bane! I'm one of you!" Scarlett's hands loosened on Bane's arm but she remained next to him, glancing up once again to judge Bane's expression. There was none, he face was set in an expressionless look of indifference.
"Bane has no authority here. This is merely a sentencing hearing. The choice is yours, death or exile" Crane folded his lips together with anticipation for the former high profile business man to make up his own mind about how he should be punished. Scarlett opened her mouth a little before sucking in a breath of apprehension.
The crowd knew what they wanted; the walls parroted their chants, "Death!"
Stryker stuttered out his answer when Crane's hand hovered in the air to quieten the people down, "E-exile" He managed to speak loud enough for the mock judge to hear.
Mockingly Crane allowed a Cheshire cat smile to curve over his mouth; he smashed the gavel down as the sentence was past. "Sold...to the man in the cold sweat!" He commentated loudly, getting worked up and leaning further forward as if he could getter better view of the suited man being dragged once more from the room.
"Come on" Bane manoeuvred Scarlett behind the crowd, she looked back at them all, still baying for blood while Crane looked over them like the all-powerful dictator he longed to be. When they were outside Scarlett watched Bane's expression,
"Exile? He's leaving the city?" She asked in confusion, wondering how the supposedly fat cats of Gotham were being allowed the privilege of leaving while everyone else went through this revolution. Bane looked down on her, keeping his pace,
"He has the chance to" He stated, before turning back to look at the building then back at Scarlett's furrowed brow expression. "The sea may pardon him for his crimes against Gotham"
Scarlett sighed, watching the cloud of her breath to disperse from white smoke into nothing she looked back at the building. The sea was frozen by now, it must be, Gotham winter's usually rendered the salt water still…barely.
She looked at the ground in understanding; there was little point in allowing the court's victims the choice of death or exile, both led to the same fate.
