Coincidence. Right. Life was full of many coincidences lately. Dahlia figured this meant trouble, and began wondering how she was going to get out sooner than later. "Oh, what's up, guys?" She asked with subtle sarcasm. "How'd you know I'd be home?" Trying not to be obvious, she casually adjusted the bag over her shoulder to be positioned in a more accessible way. That revolver was at the forefront of her thoughts. She wondered how long they were tailing her for.
Without instruction, Dodge's men dispersed. Half of them stepped back outside, the other two covered a window and her bedroom doorway. She didn't like this one bit. Dodge answered her question with feigned sweetness. "Just keeping an eye out for my business interests."
Her fear was making her impatient. "Well, as you can see, I'm quite well. So ..."
"You sure?" He asked with a squint. His eyes caught the bandage near her forehead, and not-so-subtly scanned her up and down.
Not skipping a beat, Dahlia replied, "Yes, I'm fine. And I'd like some privacy."
"Hm." Dodge looked to both of his men, and flicked his chin up towards Dahlia's bedroom. They both left the room. Dodge smiled. "Better?"
Dahlia's brows furrowed. What was he here for? "Fine enough." There was a long pause that he didn't seem to mind. Finally she said something again. "So, what is it?"
"You'd prefer I cut to the chase?" He began taking a few idle steps forward. She wanted to move away, but made conscious attempt to hold her ground. It was hard getting a read on him, outside the creepy glances and flirtatious manner of speaking. A strange thought passed through her mind: She was now hoping that Crane, too, sent someone to follow her. If he found out about this surprise meet-up, she knew with bated certainty that he'd kill Dodge.
When Dahlia didn't reply, Dodge spoke again. "Crane's operation is struggling. He's gone down some roads that a man with business acumen wouldn't have ventured. That's the difference between us, Dahlia. I know how to run a business, and I know how to make it successful. I should know, I own about 9 of 'em. I wanted to offer you a new position employed under me. Same rules, better pay, greater success ... nicer scenery." He bared his white teeth in a smile, causing the muscles in her neck to twitch. "That's protection you can't buy."
It was at this point that she almost began to regret getting involved with any of them. Her old lifestyle seemed so far now, and the incentives seemed to stop trickling in a while ago. And she also couldn't get why in the world Dodge would be interested in employing a college kid with no relevant degree or resources. There wasn't any intrigue in her mind, but she still felt compelled to ask. "What's in it for you?"
She hated that he began approaching her again. Making her thoughts clear, Dahlia turned and walked further into the room. He followed, keeping pace. "You're sharp Dahlia. You're green, but sharp. We can learn a lot from each other." She hated that.
Surprisingly, she felt his hand come to rest at her waist. It made her shudder and quickly turn to face him, while continuing to walk backwards and away from him. He didn't flinch. But the un-breaking gaze he laid on her was making her more and more nervous. He chuckled. "You don't have to be nervous, Dahlia. I'm a very fair man. I'd treat you like a goddess."
Eventually Dahlia felt her back meet a wall. "I'm taken." It felt strange to say. Was she really?
Dodge didn't visibly react. "Is that so?"
The effort Dahlia placed into trying to appear unintimidated didn't feel like it was working. "Yes."
"Hm. Tried to be nice."
In a blink, Dodge threw the back of his hand into Dahlia's face, sending her to the blackened floor with a crash. Landing on her stomach, her bag swung up with the momentum and landed near her head. Soot and dust kicked up all around. Phased, she couldn't move. He packed a much firmer swung than Linda. The rotten essence of charred wood and chemicals invaded her senses.
"Why'd you have to be that way, Dahlia? Now look what I have to do to you."
Unable to see quite yet, she felt him kneel over her, grab, and yank at the waistline of her jeans. Instant panic. What was he doing?!
She hurriedly clutched her bag and dizzily managed to dive a hand inside. Aggressively, Dodge pushed the bag away to reveal that Dahlia had swiftly gotten hold of the revolver. As she swung towards him, he grabbed her wrist and kept the barrel pointed at the wall. "Ah, la chica es fuerte!" Forcefully, he slammed her arm to the dirty floor, causing her to shout in pain. It took only two times before her fingers couldn't grip the weapon anymore, dropping it with a clatter.
A strange, loud shot echoed from the other room, followed by a thud. Dahlia thought it was a gunshot - it was similar but lacked a certain quality. It seemed to alert Dodge, who reached for something in the back of his waistband. Then an armored man entered the area with a silenced pistol at the ready. He and Dodge both fired a round at the other. The unknown man barely missed a shot entering the wall behind him, but Dodge shouted out in pain after a bullet hit him in the knee. The two other men from outside peeked in, and the newcomer responded by firing a few rounds towards the door. He heard them step back and shout commands across each other.
While they seemed distracted, the man rushed to Dahlia, kicking the distracted Richard Dodge aside in the process. First he picked up both their firearms and shell casings and tucked them away in a hip bag, then yanked Dahlia up off the floor as she clutched her duffel bag tightly. She felt herself get hoisted up and over his shoulder. A few more shots were fired, probably for a distraction, while the man took her back out to the fire escape and descended towards his strategically parked getaway car.
Dahlia's head finally stopped spinning after realizing she was strapped in and speeding off. Just in time to hear the man state "headed back." She rolled her head to the side and furrowed her brows at the guard, seeing him hang up a cell phone call. "Jon sent you?"
He didn't care to make excessive conversation. "We're heading to the lab." Saying nothing, she looked back towards the road they were traveling. So Crane did have her followed. That said a lot of things.
It took nearly an hour to reach it. Dahlia made a conscious effort to remember the route. Eventually the pavement of the unmarked road ended and they traveled on a dirt path for several miles. After heading through a discreetly guarded and locked gate, they passed a massive expanse of orchards with barren trees. A collection of buildings came into view in the distance, buried within a tight bundle of tall trees.
When they came closer to the compound, more guards came into view. Among them was the Scarecrow, masked and waiting.
When the car stopped and Dahlia carefully stepped out, Crane approached. He removed his mask and let it fall to the ground, and the look on his face was only of concern. "Dahlia, are you alright?" His hands brushed the black dirt from her face, gently pulling her near. "I shouldn't have sent you alone with her."
Dahlia noticed a fresh blood bruise on the upper side of Crane's cheek. She wondered if he was going to tell her how he got that. Probably not. At this moment, finally back with him, she realized that they couldn't ever go back to how things were.