Chapter 38: Doing Laps
I watch as Bruce slowly paces back and forth along the dark alley. This is the horrible place where I first saw Bruce Wayne, and where his parents were murdered. My eyes follow a silent Bruce as he paces back and forth tracing and retracing his movements from that night. I glance up at the perch on the fire escape where I was hiding when Malone came up and killed Thomas and Martha Wayne. My chest tightens as I remember the pained sorrow on a younger Bruce's face. I feel a bitter self recrimination voice itself in the back of my mind. Why didn't I just climb down and hold the man who I would later come to love? Instead I chose to shrug it off and climb away silently into the night.
Bruce never asked me why I just climbed away that night, and even myself I don't really know. I guess I just got so used to only looking out for myself that the idea of comforting a broken billionaire seemed pointless. I almost wish I could go back to that night and do it differently. Instead of climbing upwards and into the night, I would slowly lower myself to the ground and walk over to the crying boy. I'd hold him and tell him one day he will be stronger and it won't seem so bad. Bruce halts his pacing at the exact spot where his father once laid dead on the ground. Bruce is so much taller and leaner than he was back then. I see a hard expression form on his face and I resist the impulse to hop off the dumpster I'm sitting on and pull my boyfriend into a tight hug. Bruce glances at me and I see the darkness in his eyes slowly recede as his expression turns kind and warm. I smile back half-heartedly as he slowly walks over to me and leans against the dumpster between my knees.
"I don't like this place" I say quietly.
"It's just a dark alleyway" says Bruce looking up at me kindly. "Just a place".
"Yeah, but... it's the place where your parents were..." I say trailing off unable to say the words.
"No. My parents were murdered where Hugo Strange contracted Matches Malone to kill them" he says calmly. "This is just where it took place".
"Bruce. I... I was up there" I say nodding up at the rusty fire escape hanging in the darkness above the alleyway. "I wish... I... I wish I didn't run away after".
"Don't go trying to rewrite what happened. You had no reason to get involved" he says with a comforting smile. "Nothing anyone could have done would have saved them".
"No... but I could have been there. So you weren't alone... with them" I say looking at my boyfriend sadly.
"There are lots of things I wish I could do differently... especially with you" says Bruce looking up at me. "But we can't. This is what we have... and if the outcome means I get to be with you then... being alone in this alley isn't such a high price".
"I... uh..." I say opening and closing my mouth trying to think of something to say. I take a breath and let the melancholy of the alleyway wear off. "You know... you can be really romantic sometime. In a kind of dark way". Bruce and I each let out a matching chuckle.
"I mean it" he says sincerely. "I love you... and wouldn't want that to change for anything".
"Me either" I say with a slow smile. I turn suddenly as a bright light fills the alleyway and the sound of a soft engine humming echoes off the brick walls.
"That will be Alfred" says Bruce. The car comes to a half halfway down the alley and the blinding lights go dead. I hear the engine switch off as I drop gracefully off the dumpster and walk up the alley beside Bruce.
"Alright one of you's better tell me what the bloody hell is going on!" growls Alfred as he steps out of a featureless sedan.
"Let's get out of here first" says Bruce placating his irate butler as he steps up to the car and opens the backdoor for me. I step into the back of the car and make myself comfortable as Bruce steps in behind me and slams the door shut. Alfred irritably drags himself into the driver seat and starts the engine without a word. Alfred glares at the pair of us in the rear-view mirror as he drives the car down the alleyway and out into the Gotham streets. I stare out the window as Alfred steers the car around the corner onto a busy main road. "Alright... no more stalling. Spill it!" Bruce's hand slowly works its way across the gap between us to take a hold of mine. I smile warmly at Bruce at he takes in a deep breath.
"The meeting was a setup" says Bruce calmly.
"Oh bloody terrific" growls Alfred irritably as he changes lanes. "And what's with all this cloak and dagger nonsense?"
"I believe it is more than likely that Wayne Manor is being bugged" explains Bruce glancing at me.
"Bugged? Since when?" asks Alfred glancing at us in the rear-view mirror once more.
"I don't know Alfred" replies Bruce exasperatedly. "But the meeting was a setup, they knew we were there and they sent someone to attack us".
"You were attacked?!" says Alfred loudly as he jerks the steering wheel. "And you didn't mention that first?"
"Calm down Alfred. Yes we were attacked, and Jim Gordon has arrested her" says Bruce trying to calm down an increasingly angry Alfred.
"Her?" asks Alfred confused.
"Um... Bridgit... she was a friend of mine. But... Strange had her at Arkham" I say uncomfortably as I turn to look out the window. Alfred begins to say something before Bruce starts explaining from the beginning our afternoon. From Hallsworth toasting us with his cup of coffee, to Bridgit busting in the door and chasing us over the rooftop; Bruce tells him everything that happened without missing a detail.
"A god? You told 'er you were a god?" says Alfred in disbelief. "What on earth made you say something like that then?"
"Well... it worked. And I was just trying to buy time" says Bruce meekly as I tear my gaze from the passing Gotham streets as we drive in circles around Downtown Gotham.
"It was a pretty good bluff actually" I say with a grin.
"Alright, alright" says Alfred with a barely concealed smirk of his own. "So what now then?"
"I think Selina and I will have to leave Wayne Manor for a short time" says Bruce as I look at him in surprise.
"We will?" I ask in confusion.
"I think the best course of action at the moment if for Alfred to return to Wayne Manor and pretend very loudly that he could not find us... and for us to continue our investigation unobserved elsewhere" he explains to both me and Alfred.
"OK" I say in acceptance as I give his hand a squeeze. "I've got an idea of a place we can stay" I tell him as I think of a small hidden basement under a seedy motel in the Narrows.
"Wait... don't I get a say in this?" asks Alfred in weary exasperation.
"Alfred, this isn't a matter of choice. It's a necessity. And I have something I will need you to do in the meantime while Selina and I are away" says Bruce evenly.
"Oh right, and what is that then?" asks Alfred sarcastically.
"I'll need you to call Detective Gordon and pretend we have gone missing. Tell him I called and arranged a strange meeting but I never showed up" says Bruce frowning in thought. "But I also want you to speak to Gordon somewhere outside the Manor... and tell him everything we know about the secret council".
"Wait what?" I say loudly. "I thought we weren't telling the cops about this?"
"The parameters have changed" says Bruce looking at me with a thoughtful expression. "We may need Gordon's help at some point, and he has shown he is willing to go to extreme lengths to deliver justice".
"I'll say" mutters Alfred rolling his eyes as he turns down another busy street.
"And Alfred... I will also need you to speak to Lucius Fox" says Bruce as the crease between his brow returns.
"But we both thought it wasn't Lucius?" I say uncertainly.
"What's this about Lucius?" asks Alfred.
"I considered Fox as a potential but unlikely candidate to have given away our investigation into the secret council" explains Bruce. "But given the events at Arkham, I believe if it was Lucius... then it was unintentional".
"Master Bruce... I consider myself a fair judge of a man... and Lucius Fox does not strike me as a careless sort" says Alfred seriously making eye contact with Bruce in the rear-view mirror.
"Regardless, he will need to be warned of what has happened" says Bruce. "Because it is likely that the secret council are certain of his affiliation with us".
"Right-o. Talk to Jim Gordon and Lucius Fox... any other errands I can run for you Master Wayne?" asks Alfred sardonically.
"No. But I would appreciate it if you could drop us in Uptown somewhere" says Bruce with a kind smile. I watch as Alfred gives a reluctant nod in agreement as he takes the next turn and makes his way across Gotham to Uptown. The car ride passes in mute silence as Bruce and I sit in the backseat with our hands clasped together.
After a long awkward drive Alfred pulls the car to a stop along a side street in Uptown Gotham and the three of us get out the car. Bruce and I stand side by side as Alfred steps away from the car and walks up to Bruce. I slowly slide my hand free of my boyfriends and awkwardly step to the side as Alfred stands in front of Bruce.
"You take care Master Bruce" says Alfred with a stiff expression barely masking concern.
"I will Alfred" says Bruce.
"And... try to let me know your all right" adds Alfred gruffly before offering a hand to Bruce to shake.
"I'll try Alfred" says Bruce taking his hand in his own. "This won't be like last time... but we need them to think they've..."
"Killed you" finishes Alfred releasing his hand and returning to his usual stance with his hands behind his back.
"Yes" agrees Bruce's quietly.
"Very well then Master B" says Alfred formally as he turns to walk to the car but stops short next to me. "Look after each other" he says quietly to me.
"We always do" I say with a smirk at Bruce. Alfred gives me a nod before getting into the car and driving off without a word. Bruce and I watch as the car turn around the corner before I step up to my boyfriend and retake his hand in my own. "So... what's the plan?" I ask.
"Find somewhere to stay for the night... and tomorrow we deal with Hallsworth your way" says Bruce as we begin walking slowly up the street towards the Narrows.
"OK... I know a place that's safe where we can stay for a day or two without attracting attention" I explain eagerly.
"Back to the Narrow's for us then" he says with a wry grin.
"I am going to miss regular showers" I say with a cheeky smile. Bruce lets out a chuckle as we walk slowly. It will probably take us a couple of hours to walk to the Narrows, but for some reason all this mess that's happened today isn't bothering me. It's just a problem we'll solve and overcome. I pull Bruce close and lean against his warmth as we make our way through the quiet suburbs in silence. A smile washes across my face as I think of how powerless the secret council really are. They sent people to kill us and yet they still can't even take away our happiness. For all their power and influence, Bruce and I are still as strong and determined as we were when we started this adventure. If ever I needed proof that I'm stronger with Bruce Wayne beside me, this is it. My armored knight to watch my back.
AN: Another setup chapter. I could probably have done this in an intro paragraph, but there was few bits of dialog I wanted to write in this one. So here we are.