The cab ride back had been a quiet one, you never really know who might be the behind the wheel. The driver either had somewhere to be or prided himself on fast service because it was bumpy as hell. It didn't seem to bother Danvers, who was intently sizing me up the whole journey. I let her think, I was keeping an eye behind for any tails anyway and she had very little reason to trust me. All she really knew was that I was a hell of a lot friendlier than anyone she had met in the past few weeks.

We stopped off a few blocks away and walked the rest to my office building. The adrenaline was yet to wear off fully, so we were both too awake to crash. The next hour was her throwing questions my way as to who I really was, mentioning Jimmy seemed to put her most at ease. I fired some questions back, her explanation as to why she ended up there was vague. Poking around LexCorp business and the like, I knew there were pieces to this puzzle missing. In truth there was no need to press, I'd done the hard part of my job. She attacked my fridge before setting off to her new digs to shower and sleep. She must have missed the little luxuries in her old, more hostile accommodation at the docks. The next day was more logistical, asking if she had someone to stay with or at least bring any of her stuff to my office. She wanted nothing to do with that at first, thinking she could just go back without the LexCorp goons going for round two. That spark in her I saw in the photo was very much on display. Eventually I talked her down and she told me she would look into different arrangements. Any close friends or family weren't in National City, yet she was out sorting whatever she needed to sort for a couple of days. I insisted on regular phone check-ins to my office. Partly as an excuse to sit around all day and call it work, mostly so I could ponder on this situation and wonder when that extra two-thousand dollars was going to show up. I had also yet to face any consequences for ditching Imra at that ball, that would come back to haunt me. She'd be extremely impressed or extremely angry at the audacity of it, I was okay with either. I may owe her one now, but the ball was in her court. She would still have to come to me cash that favour in.

My mind rudely put the case together extremely quickly, so the two-thousand dollar pondering thing took up most of my now boring free time. Danvers rarely paid me much mind as she darted in and out of my building. I never asked what she was up to all day, she'd only lie. It was the third evening that the plucky Miss. Danvers knocked on my office door. I was laid back and my feet were up on the desk.

"Come in," I said between drags of my cigarette. She was wearing fresh clothes and a tight ponytail, miles away from the grimy acrobat I had first met. At this point I was willing to bet she didn't even need those glasses.

"This was anonymously left for me at the Daily Planet," she said holding an envelope with "Mr. Monarch" written on the front.

"You went back to the Planet?" I said holding out my hand.

"That I did," she said and handed it over. Smooth paper, neutral handwriting and two thousand dollars inside.

"That was… brave," I said, I stashed the envelope in the desk drawer to move later. She backed up and had originally intended to get out quickly. The hook was too much to resist.

"What do you mean by that?" she said, turning to me.

"What was the reaction to your return?" I asked.

"Not much fanfare. My boss put me on paid leave. I liked it that way, let me get on with things so I can go back when I'm ready," she said. I laughed.

"You seem sharp, Danvers. Yet there's so much you need to learn," I said. She didn't like that line one bit.

"You don't know me at all," she said. I gestured to the seat in front my desk.

"There was no fanfare because while you were missing for weeks, your boss was telling everyone you were on assignment in Metropolis, you're on paid leave because they don't want you around. Luthor's reach is far and wide, that includes a lot of what goes on in that newspaper of yours," I said. Danvers stopped and mulled over my words as she took the seat. I offered her a drink and cigarette, she refused both. I planted my feet back down, she deserved more than contending with the bottom of my shoes.

"It's just a cool-off period I'll be more careful next time," she said, more to herself than me. I wanted to change the subject, she could self-reflect in her own time.

"Tell me, you barely blinked at handing me two grand and have still yet to ask who hired me. Why is that?" I said.

"I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. You played no small part in getting me out of that jam. All those showers and I still have the smell of fish stuck in my nose," she said.

"Intrepid type willing to take on Lex Luthor has nothing further to say on that topic?" I asked, making sure she saw the disbelief on my face.

"You don't have to believe me Mr. Monarch, that's still the truth," she said. My eyes narrowed. She was a decent liar, there was no squirming, shame for her she was trying a little too hard on keeping eye contact.

"I know for a fact that a fringe investigation of LexCorp's activities would never provoke such an extreme response, his operation is too airtight for you to find anything significant enough. Sure disappearances happen, but you've had nowhere near enough time to piss them off that much. You also told me you left all your friends behind when you moved yet you seem to have no trouble with the recent complications of your life. You clearly know who your rich benefactor is, or you'd be asking a lot more questions," I said. She shrugged at me.

"Maybe I'm more resourceful than you give me credit for," she said. She was sticking to her story, or lack of one. In a way I had to respect it.

"If it means anything, I don't judge. Whoever makes you happy in this disaster of a city should be held tight," I said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. Monarch," she said. Despite the feigned innocence and poker face, we both knew I was talking about Lena. It all added up. I'd seen how Lena looked at Imra, raw attraction is easy to spot if you're paying attention. Romance with Danvers must have bloomed in their personal interviews. The anonymous donor of this case paying so much and Danvers being in the know about it. Finally, the extreme reaction. A fling with a man was ultimately harmless gossip. An affair with a woman, that was a scandal. The kind of scandal that can ruin a family name and cause psychotic brothers to silence said woman. It was a sad reality. The only hanging thread was why I was the one Lena called upon. Maybe I wasn't the only one she sent that message and 500 dollars to. Maybe my reputation was the right balance of successful and small time so Lex wouldn't see me coming. Or maybe Lena got desperate and threw this case at the first P.I. she could find. Though I wanted to know, they were questions for another time. Danvers clearly had no intention of talking about it, I had no right to push any further.

"Overactive imagination I guess," I said. A relieved Danvers looked to be leaving. I spoke up again before she could. "One more thing before you go. I think you have what it takes to do some real work in this city, if you're even still employed by the Daily Planet by the end of the week you're going to be side-lined so hard that you won't even be in National City or anything you write will never see the light of day. That desk out there is yours if want it. Rent free floor would be a perk of the job," I said, looking out my office window to the secretary desk that was never used. Danvers smiled to herself at offer and stood up.

"Thank you, Mr. Monarch, but I know my worth. Accepting a secretary or assistant position would side-line me just as much you claim the Daily Planet will, I'll take my chances," she said and walked out the room. She politely closed the door behind her with a click and went on her way. I turned in my chair and looked out of the blinds. The setting sun gave the sky a warm red hue, almost made the nasty streets look prettier. I should have predicted Danver's rejection, she was right in what she said. I wanted time to evaluate her further, that had been shut down. She more than had the right background for investigative work. More importantly her natural ability and cool head out in the docks was something very few people had. A little bit of coaching to the nuances of National City and she could be a damned wrecking ball to LexCorp or anyone she set her sights on. That would be a lot of fun to watch, all with the potential to be bankrolled by Lena Luthor. I got to the end of my cigarette and I swivelled back round to stub it in my newly empty ash tray. Having a guest finally was a good enough excuse to empty it. I was right in thinking I'd miss the smell, it was the end of an era and perhaps the start of a new, cleaner one. The lonely and bare office matched the lonely name of "Monarch" etched on door's glass. There was more than enough room for another. I took a sip of the comforting bitter swill from my hip flask, the Hilton had nothing on it. If I moved the other desk inside the office and offered a partnership maybe she'd be on board, it'd be a damn site better than wasting her talents at a paper with Lex's grubby mitts all over it. She would still be living here while the heat of the docks adventure blew over, I could pitch it to her when the time was right. "Monarch & Danvers investigations," had a ring to it. I just had to hope she didn't insist on making the name order alphabetical.

Thanks for reading, would appreciate any feedback.

This one was a lot of fun to write, may return to this as a seires with more short stories once I've got some more time and sorted other projects.