Bruce groaned as he sat in the Lamborghini. 'She's home again, no chance of Ryan leaving now.'
'Well done, sir,' said Alfred, amused.
'I'm beginning to see why she finds him a handful.'
Alfred's amusement grew. 'I trust Dr Pendragon is completely unharmed?'
'Completely,' Bruce confirmed.
A beat passed as they chuckled to themselves.
'At least…,' said Bruce, mirth fading, 'no more than she was before.'
'What makes you say that?'
'Nothing really. I, uh, Ryan told me earlier that she had seen Jordan's body the day she was thrown out of the window.'
Alfred let out a damaged sigh. 'She found her on the ground?'
'Yeah.'
They sat in silence until Bruce rubbed a hand over his face and began the drive home.
I had a peaceful few hours, which ended around noon. By which time Ryan had made enough noise in my kitchen trying to cook lunch to waken the dead, my phone had gone off twice and the doorbell rang to complete the rousing chaos.
I groaned and prioritised.
Phone. 12:04 PM. Nothing important.
Clothes. Done.
Doorbell. I went downstairs to find Alfred diligently cleaning up the kitchen, with Ryan looking guilty nearby as Alfred saved a toasted sandwich from being burnt and cut up the fruit into stylish diamond pieces.
'Good day, madam.'
I blinked, sleepily. 'Alfred?'
'I thought I'd come and see how you were.'
Alfred was no slouch. Alfred didn't miss a thing. I smiled. 'I'm fine. I can only apologise for Ryan disturbing your night.'
Ryan shrunk further away and left entirely once I had food in front of me.
'Why did you go out yesterday, Doctor?' Alfred asked calmly in the space that followed Ryan's absence, cleaning a pan in the sink. 'I'm guessing it wasn't from the pressures of Thunder.'
I sighed. Alfred didn't miss a thing. 'No. I got very angry at Rachel. And possibly ruined Bruce's love life. Miserable love life, granted, but nonetheless.'
'Angry on behalf of Master Wayne?'
'Oh, and on behalf of Dent. It was just sickening, Alfred, watching Harvey Dent love her so much while she..' I stopped before it got to me again. 'I can't imagine wanting to be with someone who'd do that.'
Alfred nodded his promise to keep it secret and fixed me a cup of tea. The cup made a "tink!" on the bench as he placed it in front of me. 'Master Wayne will be along in time for the results of the police raid on the banks to be announced. We thought we didn't need to have you go all the way to the bunker for this.' Alfred didn't miss a thing. 'What else is troubling you?'
I covered my eyes with my hands with an uncomfortable moan. 'Don't hold your breath, Alfred.'
'Doctor?'
I parted my hands to stare at my tea. 'I'm not expecting a happy phone call from Gordon.'
Alfred sat with me, or rather hovered nearby cleaning and cooking, for another half hour, during which Ryan tentatively reappeared.
'Is dad still asleep?!' I asked incredulously.
'He watched Gladiator about five times last night. Seems our entire family decided to have a late one.'
I sighed.
Ryan began to raid the fridge.
'Have you had enough sleep, Alfred?' I asked, concerned.
'Yes, madam. It was rather a late morning.'
I nodded. 'As long as you take care of yourself.'
He paused for a fraction of a second, disapproval and reprimand hovering around him. He decided against saying anything and merely thanked me, though I still noticed. And for once, I noticed that I'd noticed.
Then we heard the lift doors open and the click of expensive shoes over the floor.
'We're in the kitchen, sir!' called Alfred.
'We?' asked Bruce as he rounded into view. Then he stopped, looking at me, surprised.
I blinked, angry. 'Ryan woke me up.'
'Ah,' Bruce said. 'I see.'
Ryan cleared his throat. 'Ahem. Thank you again for your help.'
Bruce nodded.
I yawned wide and stretched as Alfred placed another cup of tea in front of me. I stood up as I stretched my hands high and picked up the tea, massaging my head with my other thumb as I made my way upstairs to the loungeroom.
I put the tea down and fell onto the couch, looking at the garden and the room on the other side, pulling my phone from my pocket and tossing it beside the tea.
Bruce appeared a minute or so later. 'How's the head?'
'Fine, little tired, but…'
'Well that's good, at least. Ryan asked me to try and get him off the hook.'
'Unlikely to happen,' I grumbled, as Bruce rounded the couch.
'It's probably a good thing he doesn't know that you don't work late. If he reacts like that when you go out on the town, then…' Bruce, amused, shook his head.
Once again remembering the whole reason I went out, I winced and put my head in my hands with a groan.
Bruce stopped and sighed gently. 'Evelyn.' He sat down opposite me. 'I know that whatever you did, you did to protect me.'
I looked up, expression explanatorily doubtful.
'Even if it's something I can't thank you for, I will still know.'
I drew in a deep breath and then nodded, letting it go. There was nothing I could do about it, anyway. I took a gulp of tea and set my mind elsewhere. 'Okay. We'll hear from Gordon soon.'
'You don't look hopeful.'
'I don't trust this to go to plan,' I said blankly.
Bruce sighed and stacked one outstretched foot over the other as he leant back into the chair. 'I'd say "neither do I," but Alfred wants at least one of us to be looking on the upside.'
'Oh the upside,' I sighed, and closed my eyes.
The peaceful silence was broken eventually by my phone ringing.
Tension replaced peace and suddenly we were both sitting up.
I answered the phone. 'Gordon.'
'The money's gone. Moved. The marked bills were left behind.'
Bruce could tell easily by my expression.
I sighed, sounding like I was sitting at work. 'Dammit. I'm sorry, Gordon.'
'We'll get them somehow,' Gordon said, in an attempt to reassure me but also managing to give himself a little strength.
I took it, too. 'We will. I'm sorry, all the same.'
'Can you come in today? We're up to our necks in mess right now, but I've got an idea. Will you be able to come after four?'
'Shouldn't be a problem. I'll see you then.'
Gordon hung up.
I let my arm fall, loosely holding onto my phone as it hung over the side of the couch.
Bruce moved first. 'We should see Fox. Lau will be out of the country by now.'
'Lucius is completely booked until tomorrow. Who the hell leaked the operation?' I rubbed my hand over my face. 'Dammit!'
Bruce blinked to clear a little shock. 'Evelyn.'
I lifted my hand away to look at him.
'We'll get Lau,' he said deliberately, nodding, 'it will be fine.'
'… … … … … yeah.' I stood up, took my mug as I walked past it and left. 'So long as we know Harvey Dent won't fuck it up after we drag him screaming back across the planet.'
Bruce followed me with his eyes, also void of much emotion.
Ryan and Alfred were still in the kitchen, by that point Alfred had snapped and begun to impart cooking wisdom left and right as they moved around.
A corner of my lips turned up, not that I noticed.
Alfred saw me, and knew by my… everything, that it hadn't gone well.
Then my phone went off again. I looked down. Rachel Dawes.
Strangely feeling no sense of illness or dread, due to the last five minutes, I answered the phone. 'Hello?'
'I need your help.'
Not how I expected the call would start.
'Arkham lost a criminal this morning.'
I gritted my teeth in despair. Why… after everything I'd said… was she still ringing me over and not Bruce? But really, there was no time for that now. 'Who was it?'
'Frank Cart.'
I knew that name. 'What?! How on Earth-?!'
'He was being transferred for trial. Someone broke him out. I know, I, I know how busy you are, I'm sorry, but we can't afford this man on the streets. Can you… no, do you have time to help find him?'
'Well… there's two of us. I'm sure we can find time somewhere.' With Ryan nearby I couldn't say anything about Lau. Working at Wayne Enterprises discourse, then. 'Come to mine today, I'll try and be here when you arrive, but with the MCU now on the hunt for the-,'
'I understand. Thank you,' she added deliberately.
Frank Cart was a serial killer, one of the first arrests made by the police early last year, a few months before Bruce returned. I didn't care to remember the details.
'Another thing to take care of,' I smiled to Alfred cynically.
'I'm sure with enough lunch, you can rise to the challenge, madam,' he replied, putting another plate of food on the edge of the bench.
At this point, though we didn't think about it often, Alfred was our only other source of strength besides the infinite but as equally tortured wells of our own.
'What's wrong?' asked Ryan.
Just looking at him reminded me of the other situation I had to deal with. 'A serial killer escaped Arkham. MCU and GCPD want Wayne Enterprises technology on their side. Rachel Dawes will be coming here today, try and stealth out of her sight.'
'She was one of the people you said we would be safe talking to. You don't trust the assistant DA?' Ryan blinked.
'I do,' I said bluntly, heavily, 'but there are people I trust more.'
Ryan dropped my, rather horrible, gaze after a moment and I glanced at Alfred and then put my head down to eat.
The faint sound of conversation drifted to us. Ryan frowned in confusion, Alfred simply reached over to another bench to flick the kettle on again and I didn't move an inch.
'—the music, is just fantastic!'
'I never saw it.'
'You never saw it?! Well, I suppose you were away when it was in cinemas.'
Ryan caught on at this point and snickered. Dad was telling Bruce about Gladiator.
'Good afternoon, sir,' Alfred said, 'would you like a coffee?'
Dad's nose wrinkled subconsciously as he studied Alfred.
'Tea, then,' Alfred determined.
'Sorry,' said Ryan, indicating his now half empty coffee, 'I'm the black sheep.'
'This is Alfred Pennyworth, my butler,' Bruce said.
'Oh!' Dad blinked. 'Yes, of course! Nice to meet you, Mr Pennyworth.'
'Likewise, sir,' said Alfred, reaching for a mug.
'We need to go see Gordon,' Bruce said to Alfred as Dad sat down at the end of the bench, greeting Ryan.
'Shouldn't be too long,' I said to Alfred, 'but I don't know when Rachel will come.'
'I'll let her in,' Alfred nodded.
I shovelled the last of the food into my mouth. 'Thank you,' I said with a little difficulty, and set about reorganising my coat as I stood up, following Bruce to the lift.
Bruce drove the Aston, we needed the tinted windows, while I worked along the way.
We drove over the threshold of the shipping container and I shifted my laptop off my knees.
'If we're going to get Lau, it's probably easier for you to go to Hong Kong,' said Bruce, sensing the movement.
"Oh, thanks," I would have said cheerily a few months ago. 'Mm,' I instead agreed, and got out of the car.
The gentle clunk of the doors sounded louder in the vast bunker.
'I presume you're thinking what I'm thinking,' I said as Bruce threw my keys to me.
'Almost certainly,' he replied as I locked the car with a wave.
I lifted the screen of my laptop again. 'Help me find Cart.'
'Cart?' Bruce stopped and turned to look at me as I walked blindly toward the computers. 'You mean Frank Cart?' he asked after a moment of thought.
'Someone broke him out on his way to trial. Rachel rang me just before we left; the police need help finding him. And not the kind that comes from Wayne Enterprises.'
'Rachel?' Bruce asked, surprised.
I paused in my typing and looked at him, clearly missing whatever he was thinking. 'Mm.'
Bruce waved away my attention with a "it's nothing" motion and went for the records.
Over the sounds of mechanisms, I worked backwards from the time of Cart's escape, tracing him through CCTV. Then he vanished.
No wonder the GCPD were struggling to find him. I growled like a hunter losing its prey and tried another tactic. Then another, slipping further and further into focus and thought.
'It's been half an hour,' said Bruce's voice from a few feet away. 'Any progress?'
'Let's hope so,' I replied absently, eyes dancing across three screens at once.
'Where are you looking?'
'He was driven north of Arkham.'
'Not the normal route,' said Bruce, immediately on the same page.
'Exactly. The driver is a bit of a dead end, as is the guard and the lawyer. The coordinator, however, not so much.' I nodded quickly at another screen, showing the ID of an Arkham vehicle coordinator.
'I'll keep looking.'
I swapped places with Bruce and began to sift through police reports.
'It's him!' Bruce yelled a minute or so later. 'Previous connection to Frank Cart, both students at Hastings College, same year, same degree. He's also just taken a sick-day as of half past nine this morning. Suspicious connections to the mob… he must have picked the day for transfer as the same day as the raids.'
'Enough time and chaos to get Cart free. Send the data to Alfred, he'll have to meet Rachel.'
I drove us to the MCU and called Bruce's phone once I'd parked in the lot. I then dropped my phone into my pocket, hearing the faint rustling from the car's speakers as Bruce connected his phone.
I flicked my collar straighter and walked in, heading past the desk to the lift, entering Gordon's floor and trundled upward.
The floor was a mess when the doors opened. Officers were hurrying in every direction, yells of orders and ringing phones bouncing around the room.
'Doctor!'
If it wasn't for Gordon's shout, it would have taken me a lot longer to spot him. He hurried over through the chaos.
'Dent's office and all of county just learned the raid failed, it's all in chaos.'
'Dent was involved?' I asked.
In the car, Bruce frowned as he stared out the window.
'He asked me, how exactly do I refuse the DA?'
'You're telling me there's someone in Dent's office?' I asked, skirting around a desk.
'Well I wouldn't put it past the mob,' Gordon said, hurrying through to his office.
We stepped inside and the door shut out the commotion.
'What do you need?' I asked, adding a weary tone for good measure.
'What I need is investigations into everyone that had knowledge of the raid,' Gordon sighed. 'But that's not a job I can ask of you.'
I wrote the job down mentally, anyway.
'No, no, what we need is another way of damaging the mob.'
'You think Wayne Enterprises' forensics has the answer?' I asked, raising an amused eyebrow.
Gordon smiled. 'No, I think you do.'
Bruce and I both frowned at that.
'Or your brother I should say. Ryan, was it?'
'You think there's a way?' I asked, genuinely impressed.
'There may be. GCPD picked up another three drug dealers over the last two nights, all with connections to the Chechen. Two of which were found selling prescription medications.'
'It could be the same people that approached Ryan's company,' I agreed, nodding my head slowly. 'I think it's certainly worth looking into.'
Gordon nodded, glad I agreed. 'We can interview him anytime.'
'Whenever is best for the MCU.'
'Thank you. Oh, and while you're here, I've got some new cases for consideration.' He got out of his chair to pull a small stack of folders from a pile on a table near the window.
'You wouldn't happen to know what Dent thinks of the MCU, would you?' I asked, keeping my tone as light as the setting would allow.
'Ha…,' said Gordon lowly, turning to give me a look before sitting down. 'I know he doesn't trust us, but he's polite enough to me. Or… at least he was.' Gordon nodded to the door to indicate the mess his team was in. 'I wouldn't be so sure now.'
I lowered my head. 'Dent's new to the job,' I commented lightly, standing up. 'He'll learn what he's dealing with sooner or later.'
'It's the "or later" part that worries me,' said Gordon, rising with me, 'later might end up costing us time we don't have.'
'You don't seem as shaken as you could be,' I said in a complimentary tone.
'Well,' Gordon shrugged, 'there's still one hope.'
'Lau,' I said.
Gordon drew in a long breath and nodded. 'If Lau somehow… decided to return to Gotham, then we'd have an opportunity for arrest.'
'If,' I agreed, smiling knowingly. 'Best of luck, officer.'
'Thank you. I'll see you out.'
Gordon walked me back through the bustling office to the lift. 'You may find an urgent case landing at your feet within a day or so.'
'What happened?'
'Frank Cart, the serial killer escaped. Once police forensics are done, we'll no doubt be asking for your help. We can't afford a man like that on the streets.'
The lift went opened.
I acted mortified. 'Oh god. Of course, we'll do what we can.'
'Thank you,' said Gordon as the lift began to go down. 'After all the effort we went to get him… because of the raids today we're stretched thin as it is. Now we've got Cart running around the town.'
We slowed and the doors opened. Gordon, fighting to raise his mood, walked with me. 'If you'd prefer, we can come interview your brother where he's being kept safe this evening.'
I checked the time. Nearly four. We'd have to eat now before we got stuck with too much food in our stomachs at nightfall. 'That might be for the best,' I said instead of "who's we?"
There was, however, a risk of someone finding out where he was. In Ryan's case, one risky outing was better than a potential permanent loss of security. I stopped before the doors. 'Actually, you might get more out of him here, where he can look at the databanks if needed. I'll send him when I can today.'
'We'll see him then,' said Gordon and gave me a farewell nod.
I walked back to the Aston and got in as Bruce hung up. 'If we weren't stretched in three different directions before, we certainly are now. Cart, Lau, Ryan… you can handle Cart while I go to Hong Kong, at least.' I passed Bruce the files Gordon had given me.
He began sorting them as I turned the engine on. 'What's the odds Dent's now going to turn to us?'
'I'd bet my Mercedes on it,' I replied, looking in the mirror as the car reversed out of the bay.
'Not the Aston?'
'Dent strikes me as the type to do unexpected things.'
'Unexpected being tactful for…?'
'Uncalculated risks. Hot-headed jumps.'
Bruce's brow creased. He looked away from the files to the windscreen in thought. 'You think so?'
I held my tongue for a moment. "If Rachel so much as got a splinter he'd burn the world down, but aside from that," 'once his goal is in sight, he goes for it. It's all he can see.'
Bruce nodded as I turned the wheels around and drove out of the MCU.
'I need to ring Ryan,' I said as we pulled up at the first set of lights, pulling my phone out of my pocket and speed dialling.
'Hello? Ow,' came his voice through the Aston.
'Jim Gordon wants to interview you about the drug ring,' I said, turning left, 'I said you'd go today.'
'Today? Oh, uh, right. What do I… do I take one of your cars?'
'As long as you don't utterly ruin it. The Mercedes is in the garage.'
'Okay. Do I just go to the desk? Who do I ask for?'
Smart brother. 'Don't give your name. Say you've got an appointment with Jim Gordon. He'll know what you mean. If they demand more information then say you're from Wayne Enterprises. He'll know who it is.'
'Okay. Alfred said Rachel is nearly here, should I go now? You didn't want me to run into her.'
Bruce looked up from the files again, surprised, and looked at me.
Whoops. 'Yes. Make sure Alfred knows we're you're going; if you're there too late and you don't feel safe he'll be your way home.'
'You're working late?'
'MCU is in a crisis, it's gonna be a long night in the forensics lab.'
The sound of Ryan wincing through his teeth. 'Ouch.'
'Yeah. I'm sure Gordon will keep you comfortable but eat something before you go.'
'All right. I'll see you later.'
'See you.'
Bruce's head was back in the files, flipping papers around. He'd either put it down to me taking absolutely no chances or to my efforts of trying to keep Ryan away from plaguing information.
He'd be wrong, but I didn't bother clarifying. I pulled up outside an expensive looking French restaurant and we got out to have a very early dinner.
Ryan opened the fridge and pulled out one of the boxes of pasta Bruce had bought the day before. 'Alfred! Evelyn just called me, Jim Gordon wants to follow up on the dealers that approached my company. I'm heading out to the MCU in a little while.'
The butler appeared from nowhere. 'Very well, sir. With any luck, you'll be out of here soon.'
Ryan laughed as he put the pasta in the microwave. 'I like it here.'
'Why's that, sir?' Alfred asked conversationally, moving a chair an inch to the right.
'I…,' Ryan laughed, 'I, uh… I like being near Evelyn.'
Alfred understood. Alfred understood it personally. 'I know what you mean, sir. I'll fetch the Mercedes keys for you.'
Ryan didn't bother to ask how Alfred knew he'd be taking my Mercedes. Instead he ate quickly, fetched a coat, said goodbye to Dad and parcelled himself into the lift, leaving Alfred to wait for Rachel.
Alfred didn't have to wait long. He was pressing the button to let the lift open to the lobby soon after.
Rachel looked around as she entered, welcoming the faint whiffs of food that Ryan had left in his wake. 'Alfred!'
'Miss Dawes,' Alfred smiled, and ushered her to the comfiest chair nearby. 'Dr Pendragon left this with me for you.' He procured a thumb drive from his coat and passed it to her before marching to the kitchen to make Rachel a coffee. 'They found a lead the MCU or GCPD should be able to follow to find Cart.'
Rachel nodded, turning the drive over in her fingers. 'Thank you, Alfred.'
'She also left her apologies,' Alfred called over the sound of spoons and jars, 'but she had little time to spare today.'
'That's alright,' Rachel smiled.
Alfred brought the coffee over on a tray. 'I was told you had a light night,' he smiled.
'Only dinner.' Rachel gratefully took the mug. 'Thanks.' She held it in her hands and Alfred didn't miss the change in her expression as Rachel thought about the night before. 'Alfred…,' she stopped when she looked up and smiled at seeing Alfred already looking prepared to answer questions. 'Haha…'
Rachel took a sip of coffee to postpone the question. She was rarely nervous but asking questions about someone who was a terrifying vigilante, in their house without them there was a little daunting.
Alfred waited patiently, tray tucked under his arms.
'Why is Evelyn doing this?'
Alfred barely moved, speaking in his usual conversational way. 'Evelyn found the body of her would-be sister-in-law,' he said. 'She stood a better chance than most at being able to protect someone… and yet still couldn't. She does what she does, for the same reasons as Master Wayne.'
Rachel nodded thoughtfully. 'I'm not your favourite anymore, am I?' she asked knowingly.
Alfred's expression didn't change. 'I have never seen anyone understand him better.'
Ryan was sitting in an interview room with a uniformed officer, Jim Gordon and another detective. So far, Gordon had not once asked for or mentioned his name. Ryan was grateful and put far more at ease by Gordon the more he was in the presence of the man, able to see why I liked him. He checked his watch. 9:14.
True to character, Gordon had indeed secured Ryan pizza around dinnertime and frequent drinks as they worked to get as much information as they could.
They'd taken a statement and were waiting on the computers to narrow down the databanks for him to see which faces he recognised when a detective hurried into the room. 'Sir!'
'What is it?' asked Gordon.
'The light, sir. Someone turned it on.'
Gordon blinked in horror and managed to control his legs for long enough to politely excuse himself for a minute before bolting out of the room.
Batman and I were staring down at the MCU roof, spying Harvey Dent circling around and around the bright beam, looking high and low.
We waited just long enough to let him know that simply because he demanded we came, we wouldn't. He was yet to earn our trust.
Finally, as Dent settled down and glanced around into the sky we went down, standing behind us.
He did a double take as his eyes registered the silhouettes against the shadows and then rounded toward us.
'You're hard people to reach.'
We stayed stony and silent.
Gordon burst through the door before Dent could get another word in. Dent turned and addressed him as soon as he saw who it was. We studied him closely.
'Lau's halfway to Hong Kong.'
Which meant he left today.
Gordon stared at him for a moment as he angrily walked to the light and turned it off. He clearly didn't like Dent inviting himself up here.
'If you'd have asked, I could have taken his passport,' Dent growled at Gordon, 'I told you to keep me in the loop!'
'All that was left in the vaults were marked bills!' Gordon raised back. 'They knew we were coming! As soon as your office got involved, the-!,'
'My office?!' Dent yelled. He pointed to the building under our feet. 'You're sitting down there with scum like Wuertz and Ramirez and you're talking… oh yeah, Gordon, I almost had your rookie called on a racketeering beat!'
This was not the time. This was never the time. I stood patiently, waiting for Dent to calm, as did Batman.
'Don't try and cloud the fact that clearly Maroni's got people in your office, Dent!' Gordon finished angrily.
Gordon was the first to look at us, and Dent calmed himself down.
'What if Mr Harvey Dent is the caped crusader?'
Not with that hot-headedness he's not.
'We need Lau back,' Dent said.
Really. Dent underestimated just how much we knew, and how much we'd actually done.
'But the Chinese won't extradite a national under any circumstances.'
'If we get him to you,' said Batman, 'can you get him to talk?'
'I'll get him to sing,' Dent replied spitefully.
'We're going after the mob's life savings,' said Gordon, panting, clearly he'd run from wherever he was, but otherwise very calm. 'Things will get ugly.'
'I knew the risk when I took this job, Lieutenant,' Dent replied.
I didn't like his tone. Harvey was reminding me more and more of gas compressed in a tube, if the gas was anger.
'He's been doing it longer,' I said to Dent, and before either could turn around we'd vanished.
Dent blinked, from both the remark and the disappearance.
'They do that,' Gordon replied, and promptly returned inside without another word or look to continue Ryan's interview.
He returned as they were finishing the last few photos.
'No, and no,' Ryan said, peering at the suspects.
'Anything?' Gordon asked as he entered the room. 'Sorry,' he panted, 'unexpected visit.'
'There's a match, sir,' said the officer, 'the dealer arrested at 1AM yesterday morning was just identified.'
'Good,' Gordon breathed. 'Good, that's very good. Interrogate him until we get something useful. It's late. Will you be alright returning home?' he asked Ryan.
'I should be, yes, thank you,' Ryan smiled.
It was half past two in the morning when I got home.
Ryan's head appeared groggily out of his bedroom door as I went past. 'Did you get anything?'
I thought of the gang of thieves armed to the teeth I'd dealt with in the narrows, the gunfire hailing through the air. 'Yeah. Gordon will be happy. What about you, how did it go?'
'We got someone!' Ryan grinned. 'The police will begin investigations right away.'
'Well done,' I smiled at him proudly. 'Night.'
'Goodnight!' he called.
I trudged on to my room and brushed my teeth and changed. A lot had been stirring in my mind since I woke up, and I knew what I was most likely in for overnight. Still, better an exhausted and tried brain creating dreams than no sleep, so I climbed under the blanket and closed my eyes.
I was right.
Dad hummed to himself as he meticulously spread jam over toast. It was another nice late morning, about ten. The lift was making noises. Cautiously, knowing of only two people who could use the lift without the bell, he took a bite of toast and ventured pas the red chairs and the stairs to the lift. Out stepped Bruce Wayne.
'Sorry,' Bruce said, 'Evelyn and I have a meeting with Lucius Fox, but it's so early she isn't with her phone yet. Oh, we've still got time,' he said quickly as Dad made to go up the stairs, 'there's no rush.'
Dad nodded and swallowed his mouthful. 'I've just made toast, if you're interested.'
Bruce smiled and nodded, following him back to the toaster, soon to discover that Dad had mastered the art, scienced the art, of making toast.
Ryan, on his way downstairs, heard a faint noise from my room. It didn't sound good.
He knocked gently on the door in concern. 'Evelyn?'
No response.
He shrugged and continued on his way.
Two minutes later he was on his way back to his room after forgetting something. He heard a similar noise and knocked on the door harder. 'Evelyn?'
Dad passed Bruce a piece of toast proudly. Bruce, amused, took a bite and his eyes widened before he could decide how he should react to a seemingly valuable piece of toast.
He grinned and took another bite.
Ryan's noise had begun to wake me up. He tentatively opened the door and tried to speak to me.
I rolled over.
Ryan moved into the room and cautiously took me by the arm, jostling it slightly.
I opened my eyes and frowned at him, nearly completely asleep.
'This is why you shouldn't sleep at strange hours,' Ryan was muttering at me, trying, and failing to pull me up. 'Where on earth do you think you are, anyway?!'
'House,' I replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
'Well at least you're right about tha- which house?' he stopped pulling on my arm to ask suspiciously.
'My house,' I growled at him groggily, trying to shake the weird weight compressing my thoughts.
'Which house?' Ryan hissed in chagrin, giving up on getting me to stand. Instead he crouched down opposite me. 'I… hang on.' He peered at my eyes, studying them closely. 'You're still asleep! At least you're talking. Hurry and wake up, would you? You're looking at a wall,' Ryan added, beginning to giggle.
I swore profusely and rubbed my forehead.
What was so different about the two worlds? Jordan was dead, I was tired, Ryan was an adult trapped in a kid trapped in an adult, I could smell the faint whiff of toast… I saw no real difference.
No ceiling, no walls. Just benches and benches of projects, things to work on, a life that stretched for miles. I had trapped myself in that basement, working forever and ever, never looking upward in case someone should fall. I'd be there soon enough, working with Lucius, tinkering away.
I also couldn't believe my dream had made me watch her die, falling with her. Quite the twisted subconscious.
Still, I knew it would happen when I went to bed.
'You alright?' Ryan blinked, still giggling.
'Huh?' I blinked back at him.
'Okay, well… do you know what day it is?'
'When do I ever?'
'Do you know where you are?' Ryan giggled.
I frowned. 'Where's…' I began to ask, looking up. I trailed off when I looked at Ryan. There it was. My life trickled back as my brain got the gears right.
She wasn't here.
Suddenly I was properly aware of my body, the bed, the air, I was awake.
The fog cleared and the horrors my subconscious had concocted hit me like nothing else. I groaned and put my head in my hands, feeling the pressure behind my eyes build as reality sunk in.
'Haaaa…' I sighed, running my fingers through my hair and looking at Ryan. 'One hell of a dream.'
'I guessed that much,' Ryan replied, still amused at his usually sharp-as-a-whip sister having been completely out of it moments earlier.
'I'm awake now, go on,' I said, waving my hand at him.
Ryan stood up. 'Okay. I'll go make breakfast,' he said his way out.
'Please don't,' I replied glumly at his back.
I sat staring unhappily out of the window for a minute or so before sighing and getting up, rolling my shoulders, plagued with the mood my dream had given me. Sooner or later the day would get moving and I'd forget all about it, but I was stuck with it for the time being.
Ryan clacked down the stairs and stopped, smile fading. 'Oh, hi, Mr Wayne! I went to the MCU last night and- … Dad. You're making toast.'
'Yep.' Dad took a definitive chomp of a fresh piece.
Knowing he wasn't allowed in the kitchen if Dad was making toast, Ryan sighed and sat down on a stool.
'Here.' Dad passed him the slice he'd taken a bite of and turned back to the toaster.
'You were saying about the MCU?' Bruce said after swallowing.
'Hm? Oh! Yeah. I went for an interview last night, managed to give the police some information about the people that approached me.'
'That's good.'
The light of Gotham stared back at me through the window as I stopped on my way out of my room.
Why hadn't we left?
Look at us. Ryan had gone from a bright future to resemble Peter Pan half the time.
I would have been stuck whittling my life away in that basement. Now I was stuck getting far too close to Gotham's criminal class, living more but at a ridiculous price.
I glared at Gotham a moment longer and left the room.
Bruce by that point was such a standard part of my life that his presence rarely altered my mood, less than Batman's did if at all. But that morning, when the kitchen bench came into sight, relief ran through me.
I had Bruce.
That was why I wasn't still whittling in that basement.
I stood where I was, smiling at him from afar.
No matter where he was, who he was with, how far away his life would take him, how tired, powerless or beaten he was, I had Bruce.
It was a fact I rarely thought about or felt, but I did then.
It was true no matter how far apart we were, metaphorically or literally, I had Bruce, but it was still nice to see him in the kitchen, seemingly discovering the science of toast.
He went to look out of the window and spotted me standing there. The first thing he did was relax a little, clearly glad for the presence of someone he was completely comfortable with (there was a total of three in the world, and a change from Alfred was always welcome.)
Then it occurred to him to question why I was standing there and the tiny smile on his face faded into a concerned frown.
My smile grew warmer.
'I think Evelyn didn't sleep well,' Ryan was saying behind him. 'she looked awful.'
Bruce studied me. I looked fine.
I noticed the changes in his face and let the day start, walking toward the noise and chaos my kitchen was being subjected to.
'Morning,' I said, rounding the bench to open the fridge.
Ryan's brow creased a little in confusion.
'Morning!' Dad chorused, spinning on the spot to present me with a piece of toast.
I took it without the ceremony Dad was employing and stuck it between my teeth while I looked for the milk.
'Ryan was saying you didn't sleep well.' He was already working on the next slice.
'O ay oo o i eye il?' I grunted back. Annoyed, I took the toast out of my mouth, still fishing around in my own fridge. 'What have you done with my milk? And I slept fine. I didn't dream fine.'
Dad nodded and came to help me look for the milk, groaning when he couldn't and sparing a glare at Ryan.
I finally found it at the back of the bottom shelf, threw something over my shoulder at him, and made a cup of tea, beginning to think about Hong Kong.
'I've got a business trip coming up soon,' I said, pouring the hot water into the mug. 'I shouldn't be gone long, ask Bruce if you need anything.'
'You're leaving?' Ryan asked, surprised.
'Mm.' It wasn't a big deal for me, but Ryan seemed quite upset.
'You'll be fine, just stay here.' I left him to it with a half-sympathetic expression and took another piece of toast from Dad.
'Where are you going?' Dad asked, prior to stuffing a piece of crust into his mouth.
Bruce glanced at me, though no one noticed.
'Hong Kong,' I sighed, 'Lucius has to go meet with a man that made a deal with Wayne Enterprises and then suddenly went back to Gotham.'
'Why do you have to go?'
'Because I'm the favourite from the board,' I said with ironic scathing.
'You won't be gone long, right?'
I stopped what I was doing to sigh at Ryan. A strange tension filled the air as Dad exuded minor disappointment, both of us out of worry.
'Hopefully,' I promised dryly.
Lucius blinked at us from behind his desk. 'Nice to see you, Evelyn, Mr Wayne. I'm guessing this isn't an invitation for an early lunch?'
'No such luck,' Bruce grinned.
Lucius' eyes twinkled for a moment before he stood up. 'Well then. Our Chinese friend left town before I could tell him the deal is off.'
'I'm sure you've always wanted to go to Hong Kong,' Bruce said as we followed Lucius to his bookshelf.
Lucius spared us a glance as he unlocked the secret elevator. 'What's wrong with a phone call?'
I pressed the button with a folded knuckle.
'We think Mr Lau deserves a more… personal touch,' Bruce explained as the lift began to move.
'I trust I'm to bring you with me,' Lucius said, looking at me knowingly.
'Perhaps,' I said, indicating that we were still unsure. 'If it's possible to leave no trace of me ever going to Hong Kong, we'd prefer it, but unlike Bruce no one's going to make a fuss if I'm spotted there.'
'I'll see what I can do,' Lucius promised.
'Thank you.'
The doors opened and the inviting, familiar but now much sparser basement of Applied Sciences greeted us.
Lucius stepped out first. 'What's your plan for getting Lau?'
'Break through the window,' I replied.
'The skyscraper window?' Lucius echoed, dipping his head to make sure he, or we, showed no signs of insanity.
'The skyscraper window,' Bruce confirmed, a little amused.
'Well then. I assume you have a plan for getting there?'
'It can't be too hard to break into a nearby skyscraper,' I said nonchalantly.
Lucius chuckled.
'We need a plan for getting on the plane out of Hong Kong,' Bruce.
'I can recommend a good travel agent,' said Lucius wryly.
'Without it landing,' said Bruce with a small smile as an amused breath left me.
'That's more like it,' Lucius grinned. He paused thoughtfully. 'I don't think I have anything here. The CIA had a program in the 60s for getting their people out of hot spots called Sky Hook.'
I frowned. It sounded vaguely familiar.
'We could look into that?'
'Yeah,' Bruce nodded.
Lucius steered us to a chest of drawers. 'Now about the tumbler brakes. We've built them, and they're ready to be brought to the bunker. You can take them with you; they're by the lift. I've also…' he leant down and grasped the handle, 'got you a little present.'
'Oh, you shouldn't have,' Bruce grinned.
The drawer slid out and armour plates for out suits blinked up at us.
'I looked at Evelyn's current designs. Thought you could do with a few more tricks.
'Like what?' I asked, matching Lucius' sly air.
'I've used your Kevlar tri-weave design,' he said, pointing at a bench behind us.
I went over to examine the pieces that had been layered together in the armor.
Bruce meanwhile picked up one of the plates.
'With firing blades, as you can see.'
The next thing Bruce flinched before Lucius could say "Mr Wayne, be careful with that," and the blades went spinning through the air from the bracer as I turned around to see what they were looking at and blinked, throwing myself back as they zoomed close to me, wedging in the wall.
I turned my head back to stare at Bruce, blinking at him to communicate I'd like to know what the hell he was doing.
Lucius sighed in relief and regarded Bruce vaguely warningly. 'Perhaps you should read the instructions, first.'
Scolded, Bruce put the plate back in the drawer. 'Yeah.'
I was still frozen, brain catching up.
'Well, that's about it for now. I'll look into Sky Hook, and you two can read the instructions. I imagine you want me to take you with me to Hong Kong?'
'Then on the jet home I'll go back,' I confirmed.
'Very well. I'll arrange the meeting. Does next week suit?'
'Tomorrow,' I said, surprising them both.
Then Bruce understood.
The couch underneath me was as comfy as ever. The rustling of large paper sheets was less relaxing as Alfred dealt with finding a plane to get out Hong Kong.
I'd taken the couch, getting the last bit of rest I could.
'We've found one,' Alfred called as I got myself up to start packing the suit. 'Miraculously.'
'There's a group of South Korean smugglers that run flights into Pyongyang,' Bruce added, 'below radar the whole way.'
I raised my eyebrows, impressed.
'They've agreed to use one of their own planes.'
I nodded. 'Alfred, where did you put the switch cowls?'
'Next to the spare boots,' Alfred said. 'I'll fetch yours.'
I slotted my suit into its case and waited on Alfred to return with the Batman cowl that was fitted to my head.
It was a stroke of genius on our behalf, if I did say so myself. From a distance, the only difference between the suits was the shape of the capes; mine wrapped further over my shoulders because my suit was more fitted to my body for the best manoeuvrability in a fight, and no one would notice the shape of the capes against the pitch black night. So for my brief no more than three minutes in sight in suit in Hong Kong, all we had to do was swap the cowls.
If I burst through a window and kidnapped their boss in the middle of the night, no one would have the time to notice the difference. Even more secure alibi.
'Bye, Dad!'
'See you soon, have fun!'
I hauled my black bag after me and clacked down the stairs, dressed tactfully in sporty black pants and a dark green shirt. Ryan was waiting for me in the chairs by the large fire, looking quite uneasy.
It took me a second. 'I won't be gone long, and you'll be fine in here. The sooner I go, the sooner I'll be back.'
'I know,' he sighed, faintly resembling an unhappy child.
He stood up and walked over, hugging me tightly.
Truthfully, I didn't want to leave him alone either, but if he was ever going to get out of my house, I had to go to Hong Kong.
'I did it for Ryan.'
'Don't we all?'
Thanks to Ryan's worrying, I was now worried, and hugged him tightly.
I simply had to have blind faith that nothing would happen to him when I wasn't there.
I looked up at movement in the corner of my eye.
Bruce, having arrived to drive me to the jet, was giving me a reassuring expression.
I had Bruce.
'All right, all right,' I said, able to return from worry, 'let go or I'll be late. Don't cause trouble, don't eat all my food, and don't make a mess.'
Ryan stepped back, a little disoriented from the change but glad nonetheless. 'No promises.'
'Humph.' I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and went to the lift.
Ryan waved until the doors closed.
I put my sunglasses on.
'I'll keep tracking the drug rings while you're gone,' Bruce said, listening to the lift whirr.
I nodded. There wasn't much to say. It just felt like another job that had to be done.
I slept on the journey to the airport and with a two-fingered salute to Bruce as he stood beside his Lamborghini, followed Lucius onto the private jet headed for Hong Kong.
Lucius had taken my idea for jumping out of the plane on the flight back and improved it with a well-chosen jet. There we no flight attendants on the jet, and the pilots had their own quarters at the front of the plane for long flights, such as the one to Hong Kong. No one knew I was there.
I spent the flight talking with Lucius, reading and sleeping. Eventually, just over 16 hours later, we landed and Lucius stepped onto the awaiting helicopter going to the International Finance Centre. The jet was taxied into the shed and I slipped out with my kit and looked at the skyline.
I got into a taxi and looked out of the window. It certainly made a change from Gotham's views. Heading into the main city over the bridge I got a view of Hong Kong Island and saw the buildings I was after.
Lau's office was in the smaller of the two buildings. I eyed the giant skyscraper that was the second tower. Perfect, just as I'd thought. Looked very, very high. Hopefully Alfred didn't know where I'd be.
I helped myself to a very large lunch nearby and was joined by Lucius after a while. He passed me a phone.
'The blackout device is in place. And this is what I was telling you about.'
I put my chopsticks down and swallowed, reaching to take it from him. 'The sonar?'
'That's the one. Lau wasn't very happy about the deal.'
'He shouldn't have been criminal then,' I replied, focused on the phone.
'You should get some sight-seeing done while you're here,' said Lucius, 'there's not much else you can do before dark.'
'Disneyland?' I asked, deadpan.
'I was more thinking of food or scenery,' Lucius grinned.
I pulled my camera out of the front pocket of my bag. 'That's why I've got this.'
It was a normal camera that fit inside the utility belt of my suit, meaning I didn't have to leave it in Hong Kong, like I would my suitcase.
Lucius smiled. 'Glad to see you're prepared, Evelyn.' He nodded at said suitcase. 'I'll let Mr Wayne know you're all set.'
"All set" did not mean I still didn't have a lot of work to do. I spent the rest of the day enjoying myself, taking photos of the skylines, bridges and mountains.
Then just before closing time I went to the shops in the giant skyscraper, hid in an area I wasn't supposed to be in at the top of the tower and waited.
The plane was coming soon. I changed into the suit, over my carefully chosen clothes, killed the lights on the floor and put on my Batman cowl.
I pulled the rest of the kit out of the bag, squeezed the bag as small as it would go and stuffed it under the pack for the balloon.
I picked the lock on the door to the roof, locked it again and pulled out Lucius' other gift.
I set the timer on the gun and fired, painting the windows of Lau's floor with the tiny explosives.
Then I turned on the "phone" Lucius planted for me to kill the lights, stood up, took a deep breath and leaned forward.
Even in the suit, the high altitude and air rushing past made it cold.
Then it was gone as I smashed through the window, rolled and engaged in the first of many guards.
The yelling around me wasn't distracting, but it told me where people were.
I took care of the guard next to the window I'd burst through and charged across the floor amongst a hail of gunfire through the dark.
I dove behind a desk and circled the room in the dark.
Lau had two guards behind him. I got rid of one with a hard kick and dealt with the other by grabbing his arm as he turned, gripping it from the other side and pulling him down, headfirst in a tumble to the floor.
Lau tried to fire at me, but my eyes were faster.
I threw my cape around to distract him, hit him in the throat within two long strides and dragged him by an ankle to the window, startled yells booming through the room.
We got to the window, I hauled Lau into a stand and strapped the balloon harness around his waist and then turned around.
The police had enough time to blink at me before the windows blew and I sent the balloon into the sky, flashing to the plane.
Then there was enough time to see the startled looks on the faces of the police before there was a rumbling overhead and the plane hooked the cable.
Lau screamed as we were pulled from the building, flying through Hong Kong's night after the plane.
Lau's screaming didn't ruin the moment. If anything, it made it satisfying.
It would have scared Bruce, who'd be focused and tense if he was there, and Alfred, but I loved the feeling flying through the air so fast.
As I waited for the cable to be pulled in I watched Hong Kong blur below me and looked at the bay, the islands and the mountains.
Should the right type of life await me, I'd come back for a holiday. A proper one.
The crew pulled us into the plane and shut the hangar.
I whacked Lau unconscious and nodded my thanks as the plane turned for Gotham.
We had Lau.
Ryan stared at the glittering Gotham morning, the early light hitting his eyes. He wondered where I was, if it was day or night, what I was doing.
He wondered who posed a threat to him in the city down below, and he wondered if the only reason he hadn't yet gone mad almost completely confined for nine days in one house was due to the fact the house in question was so large.
He wondered where the man he'd identified at the MCU was, and why I was so fine with leaving him in Gotham. I obviously had a lot of trust in someone.
Footsteps made him turn and smile at Dad. 'I made breakfast.'
Dad sighed at the state the kitchen had been put in within half an hour. 'I hope you're cleaning that up.' He began to help himself to food and looked across the large space of the house at Ryan and the window. 'Missing Evelyn?'
'Of course,' Ryan replied, twisting slightly around to talk. 'Though not too much, since we're in her house.'
'Mm,' Dad agreed, then peered at my tea collection as if he didn't do the same thing every morning. 'Now that she actually has a house for us to be in.'
Ryan let out an amused breath. 'It only took her six years.'
'Well, Jordan died five years ago,' Dad said in fairness.
Ryan bit his cheek and joined him at the kitchen counter. 'There's something I don't get, Dad.'
Dad carried his tea and bowl around the floor the few steps to the dining room around the corner. 'Mm?'
Ryan followed him and waited until they'd both sat down at the table, Dad at the head so he could see his favourite part of Gotham and Ryan to his right, also facing a window. 'Why does Evelyn never talk about Jordan?'
Dad blinked, surprised. Then he softened. 'If you brought it up, she'd happily talk about it.'
Ryan tilted his head slightly.
'But to Evelyn, it's a fact,' said Dad gently. 'It's not that she doesn't like talking about Jordan, but she's accepted it as a failing, as a tragic event, and in her mind, is as plain and factual as knowing the sun sets in the west.'
Ryan nodded slowly, giving Dad a smile. 'I just hope she's okay.'
'She's your big sister. You'll know if she isn't, you always do.'
Happier, Ryan looked out of the window at Gotham again in a moment of peace before Dad brought up his broken printer.
I got back into Gotham with the help of Batman's tumbler, which drove itself to meet me in the closest small airport near Gotham. Another sixteen hours had brought us back to Gotham at one in the morning.
I thanked the pilots, wished them luck, shoved the bound, blinded and gagged Lau into the tumbler and pulled off my cowl, letting the tumbler drive itself back to Gotham. We got to the MCU just before dawn, I threw Lau onto the pavement outside with a note that he was to be delivered to Gordon and set about returning the tumbler to the cave and telling Bruce and Alfred I'd got Lau.
'Good morning, sir.'
'Morning Alfred,' Bruce grogged. 'You're up early.'
'Yes, sir. Evelyn's here.'
'Already?' Bruce frowned in surprise.
'She came back to Gotham a few hours ago and is here to return equipment. Mr Lau is currently in the custody of the MCU.'
Bruce smiled and relaxed, sighing in satisfaction.
'No injuries,' Alfred added.
Bruce nodded, stretched his arms, and swung his legs over the side. Alfred fetched him a shirt and large dressing gown and Bruce then headed for the music room.
The lift rolled down into the cave.
Bruce looked around, trying to spot anything out of place. 'Evelyn?'
No response came. He went deeper into the cave. 'Evelyn?'
As he went down to the lower level he spotted a shadow against the light coming from the waterfall, a silhouette of someone sitting on the rocks.
I couldn't hear him over the water.
Bruce walked down, past the tumbler, and sat beside me with a small smile.
I had turned at the sound of his footsteps, bare feet splashing through the puddles.
The air was biting through the cold water, and I was tired and colder than usual.
'Lucius' skyhook worked perfectly,' I said. 'He really is amazing.'
'What happened?'
'Crashed through a window onto Lau's floor, got him, got out.'
'Sounds fun.'
'Heights like that normally are.'
Bruce noticed the goosebumps on my arm and tense neck. He pulled his dressing gown off and waved it through the air, dropping it around my shoulders. 'Long flight?'
'I've been in the cold for about twelve hours now.' I explained and used my shoulders to bury myself under the thick fabric. A moment later I heard a small amused chuckle come from Bruce. 'What?' He was looking behind me.
'It looks like a cape.'
I laughed through my nose, enjoying the crisp air. I grasped the fabric and held it out around me, scowling with my eyes peering above my arm.
Laughter forced itself through Bruce.
'It's good to be back in Gotham.'
Bruce looked out at the large pond and the trees, relieved I was home.
It wasn't a content atmosphere, rather an eye of the storm type feeling. But it was still a nice change.
We sat there for a long time, at some point I rearranged the gown to throw half over Bruce, too.
Thanks to the waterfall, we didn't hear Alfred walk through the cave. He stood there for a while, allowing himself to feel a little hopeful. It was the first occasion in a very long time that he couldn't say we were fading, even if wasn't the opposite either.
