"Gotham is in your debt," Commissioner Gordon said to Shade. "It's incomprehensible that fools such as this-"
"Ow," the robber said as he was lifted from the floor by another officer who had just handcuffed him. Three of his fingers had been broken in his fight with Shade just moments earlier.
"Fools like this one, would even consider robbing a bank," Gordon continued. "With both you and the Batman defending Gotham."
Adriana smiled and nodded, unwilling to speak. She felt that Gordon would recognize her voice, since he knew her so well, and she was unsure if she could disguise her voice the way she had seen Bruce do it.
"Thank you so much," one of the bank tellers came over and took Adriana's hand. "I thought he was going to kill me."
Adriana was surprised when the woman embraced her in a hug, and even more surprised at the applause that followed. The police, bank employees and citizens of Gotham loved her.
.
.
.
Adriana noticed the purple bruise on her right collar bone as she pulled on the black dress that evening. It was strapless, no fabric to cover the very obvious damage from where her suit had protected her from her first gunshot wound. Her body ached from fighting and strenuous exercise and she wanted to get back into the hot bath. The thought of Bruce perked her up a bit as she used foundation to hide the bruising. She smiled as she swirled the makeup brush over her clavicle. Once the bruise was covered she noticed how different the dress looked now compared to when she had first purchased it. Somehow, the more fit and toned look of her figure made the dress even more risque.
She gave her nails a quick coat of black polish after straightening her hair. She did her makeup and put on the only pair of diamond studs she owned as Harri had instructed. A pair of fishnet tights would be overkill, she thought as she looked into the mirror. Harri would bug her about it if she didn't wear them though. She found a pair in her drawer that she had almost forgotten about..a very fine mesh like fishnet. The holes were small enough that no one would know it was fishnet unless they were looking closely.
"Hfffff," she moaned in a bit of pain as she pulled the pantyhose on. Her right arm ached from the shoulder where the bullet had hit her.
The sound of the doorbell let her know to go to the door but she couldn't move too quickly because she was absolutely sore. The pain made her feel a bit frumpy even though she had put so much effort into her look tonight. She felt battered and drained.
"Right on time," Adriana said to herself, noticing it was seven sharp. She stepped into her shoes and went to the front door.
"Wow," Bruce said immediately after she opened the door.
"Hey," Adriana said as he handed her a bouquet of a dozen roses. "Oh, it's beautiful thank you."
"You are.." he said, voice trailing off as he followed her into the house. "Quite welcome."
"I'll put them in some water," she said and disappeared into the kitchen.
"You have a lot of boxes," Bruce noticed her home looked like it was being packed up.
"Uh, yeah," she said from the kitchen. "My sis and I, we've been talking about me moving to Chicago with her."
"Oh," Bruce said quietly, sure Adriana didn't hear him.
"So yeah," Adriana said as she came back to the living room. "Been packing and selling things. It's taking a while though."
"So, when are you moving?" Bruce asked.
"Not sure yet," Adriana said. "It's kind of up in the air. I'm still a bit undecided to be honest. I just decided to move because there wasn't really anything keeping me here."
"Well," Bruce said. "Let's see of we can change that."
Adriana smiled and took her black trenchcoat from the closet in her living room.
"You look amazing," Adriana said, noticing Bruce's sharp black suit.
"You.." Bruce said, unable to finish his sentence. "Your dress."
"Is this dress okay? My sister told me I should wear it but I'm not sure if it's too much for where we're going."
"It's..." Bruce looked her up and down very slowly. "Maybe I need to see it from all angles." He took her jacket from her and smiled.
"Hahaha," Adriana laughed and took a few steps in each direction, rotating a circle.
"Well.." Bruce said, admiring the peek of fishnet and the sleek hair falling over her shoulders to her mid back. "I'd say this dress is precisely what dreams are made of."
"So...do you think it's a bit inappropriate?" Adriana wondered aloud.
"Absolutely," Bruce gave her a fierce smile and stood behind her with the coat. "I love it."
.
.
"Mr. Wayne," the host said to Bruce upon seeing him. "Right this way."
"How did you get reservations here so last minute?" Adriana whispered to Bruce as they followed the host. The restaurant was almost fully seated.
"I don't have a reservation," Bruce said.
"Right," Adriana laughed a bit. "I feel like everyone's looking at me."
"Yes," Bruce said and rubbed her arm which was interlaced with his. "All the men are looking..and all the women want to see what their men are looking at."
"Oh," Adriana said feeling a bit nervous as they reached their table.
"Yes," Bruce said quietly into her ear after pulling out her seat. "I am incredibly lucky."
"So am I," Adriana said as the waiter poured her water from a glass bottle.
"Compared to me," Bruce said. "Barely."
"Wine?" the waiter already had a bottle.
"Sure," Adriana said as their drinks were poured.
Adriana looked over her shoulder and noticed an older couple looking at her. The woman in a gray cardigan and skirt and a very gaudy necklace. She gave them a polite smile and turned back to her drink.
"Pay them no mind," Bruce said. "They just are trying to determine if you broke the dress code."
"Have I?" Adriana said nervously.
"I'm joking, obviously," Bruce said. "You could be topless and they'd let you in, if you're with me."
"Very funny," Adriana replied with a grin.
"I usually get the same thing when I come here-"
"Venison sounds great," Adriana said.
"I'll never stop being impressed by that," Bruce replied.
"I'm sure you will after a while-" Adriana's arm froze in a bit of pain as she reached for her wine glass. Slowly she moved it to the drink, trying very hard to hide her pain.
"Do you like red wine?" Bruce assumed she had an issue with the drink. "I should have asked."
"No, I love it," Adriana said, trying not to clench her teeth. "My favorite."
"Good," Bruce said as his gaze drifted down to her chest. "Mine too."
Adriana did her best to ignore the pain while eating the appetizer and reaching several times for her glass. She was hoping that the venison would come sliced because she was sure that using a knife and fork at the same time would ache beyond belief.
"Are you okay?" Bruce asked. "You seem like you're in pain."
"Oh," Adriana said, realizing that he was very perceptive. Especially of pain. "Yeah, I think I hurt my shoulder..practicing pull ups at the gym. It's okay though."
"Are you sure?" he asked. "I have a great masseuse. He could sort it out in no time."
"That sounds great," Adriana replied. "Thank you."
"My pleasure," he said. "So, you were thinking of moving to Chicago. To be with your sister?"
"Maybe," Adriana said. "It's only a couple hours away by train. I'm okay with Gotham for now, but my sister think's it's the most dangerous place in the world."
"Isn't it?" Bruce said, half joking.
"Yeah," Adriana replied. "It's not so bad once you get used to it. I don't mind it."
"Good," Bruce said and took her hand and raised it to his lips. "I'd hate to see you go."
Adriana felt the warmth of his lips on her as a woman walked over to their table.
"Bruce," she said in a cheery but nasal voice. She hair her very fair blonde hair in a Roman style updo. "I though that was you!"
"Katya," Bruce said. "Good to see you. This is Adriana Navarro-"
"Hi," Katya turned to Adriana. "Nice to meet you. I'm Katya Bershire. Bruce and I dated a million years ago."
"Uhh, how nice," Adriana said, realizing she sounded a bit catty but she was unsure of what else to say.
"Bruce," an older man came over and wrapped his arm around Katya's waist. "Good seeing you."
"Warren," Bruce said. "Great seeing you."
"And who is this stunner?" Warren said and turned to Adriana, and Adriana noticed the look on Katya's face when the man complemented her.
"Adriana Navarro," Adriana introduced herself and Warren took her hand for a second.
"Warren and I have done some business together," Bruce said. "Katya is his wife."
"Oh," Adriana said, noticing that Warren looked like he could be Katya's grandfather.
"Let's get to our table darling," Katya said and pulled her husband away after he said goodbye to Bruce.
"They seem nice," Adriana said.
"No they don't," Bruce said. "Small talk isn't your thing, I see."
"I kind of hate it," Adriana admitted.
"So do I," Bruce said. "But I've learned it like a second language."
"I need some lessons," Adriana joked.
"You don't," Bruce said. "Those would be lessons on how to be fake. You're very real. I like that." His eyes slowly drifted back down to her chest and when he finally met her eyes again he noticed her blushing a bit.
"You're in my thoughts," Bruce guessed, his tone showing he was not at all ashamed of what was going through his mind. He leaned back in his seat while gently holding the stem of his wine glass.
"Yeah..a bit," Adriana said, her voice warm and seductive. "Do you want me to stop?"
"Hardly," Bruce said, his expression intent and serious.
The room around them disappeared as their eyes locked. The magnetism was overwhelming and Adriana could see that he didn't want to wait for the entree. He wanted to leave with her right now. This was the weakest he had ever been for a woman. He was imagining leaving Gotham, leaving work. Escaping to the Greek islands, Santorini, both of them disappearing together until summer and beyond. He wanted her, not just for the night, but felt he needed weeks merging his body with hers, giving her more than he did the previous night. He needed to see and feel her lose control. Can she handle it?
Adriana looked at him, her eyes fastened to his. She bit her bottom lip and nodded. His Adam's apple caught her attention as he swallowed, looking as thought he would pounce on her then and there.
He was shaken from his hypnosis as his phone buzzed momentarily.
"Everything okay?" Adriana asked as he looked down, but then she noticed her phone buzzing too. She checked the text message that came in.
Possible sighting of the Joker. 4040 Avenue X.
Lucius had programmed her phone to receive text versions of what were determined to be emergent police reports that she may be able to handle, with his algorithm. However he had programmed it to exclude anything involving the Joker. Adriana knew how to reprogram it though when he was done, after scanning his thoughts and memories intently. She had promised him she would stay away from the Joker and so far she had done so but she didn't see the harm in being aware of anything emergent about him.
"Everything's fine," Bruce said. "But there's a situation I need to attend. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Adriana said. "I understand."
Bruce sat for a few seconds with a look that somehow managed to be both disappointed and stoic.
"Okay," Bruce said and pulled his card from his wallet and handed it to her. "I will call you later."
"Okay, be safe," she said as he stood and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He then gave a longer kiss on the lips, after realizing he could not resist even though time was crucial now.
After he was gone, Adriana felt herself making a strange decision. She had promised Lucius she would stay away from the Joker but she wanted to watch. She wanted to be there to watch Bruce handle the Joker. It was silly, but she felt the need to actually be there.
"I'd like to pay now, please," Adriana said and handed the waiter her card. "I'll be leaving, there was an emergency."
"I'll be quick," the waiter said and came back with Bruce's card and a receipt in a matter of seconds. Adriana looked at the paper and noticed the total was over 14 thousand dollars. The wine alone was well over twelve grand.
"Thank you," Adriana said and signed for a 20% tip before leaving.
She was unsure of why she felt she needed to break her promise to Lucius. Maybe she wasn't breaking her promise. She didn't want to get involved. She was going to be a silent, invisible observer.
