Chapter 33: Confrontation 2.0
"Going through the front door would've been easier," Max commented. I was in Gotham's MedCorp building trying to find Victoria's office. I had ten minutes before our meeting.
"If she didn't want me sneaking around, she would have given me better instructions," I said, while avoiding yet another guard. There seemed to be a ridiculous amount for the size of the building.
"You did get an invite."
"A piece of paper in a wad of cash I can't use isn't a proper invite. Plus she knows about the suit and made sure I got it while on patrol. She wants the Shadow, not Jamie."
"Is that the name you're going with?"
"Seems Gotham made that choice for me. Not that it matters. I won't be joining the Justice League or anything," I ducked around another corner. I was trying to remember where Victoria's office was from my tour a month ago.
"There's a chance news will get back to Bruce. Or your dad. Then you'll be in even more trouble."
"I'll burn that bridge when I get to it."
"Don't you mean cross-"
"Nope. Hopefully after tonight I can put the suit up. That's the plan anyway."
"I doubt this is the last time 'Shadow' will make an appearance," She said skeptically.
"Have you decoded those Phase 3 files yet?" I was eager to change the subject. There were just some things I didn't want to admit. Not even to myself.
"Should be done soon. I haven't had much time to work on it because someone was insistent on playing hero."
"You wanted to help," I stopped at a directory on the wall by the elevator. I had two more floors. "Ugh. I feel like a lab rat running in a maze."
"Isn't that kind of Victoria's whole intent for you?"
"You're not wrong, but damn. Harsh."
We both fell silent as I made my way up the two floors. I was focused on avoiding security guards, and ignoring the throbbing in my ankle. What was Victoria planning that she needed this much security for? I finally got to the hall with her office. There was only one guard. Perfect! I really didn't want to fight anyone tonight.
"Max, I'm turning off the comms. If I don't call back by midnight, get Terry," I dug around in my belt for a smoke bomb.
"Is that really the best idea? Who knows what she has planned."
"Please trust me. I have to do this alone," I found the bomb and prepped it to throw, "I can't risk her knowing you're in on all of this too. Like you said, we don't know what she has planned. Better she thinks it's just me."
"Jamie wait. I really don't-" I turned off the comm so she couldn't argue.
I threw the bomb, startling the guard. It gave me enough cover to take him out without much of a fight. The noise was enough to get Victoria's attention though. Her office door opened, the light illuminating the dissipating smoke.
"You're two minutes late. But never-mind that, come in Mija." She smiled coldly at me. I was really starting to hate that word. I reluctantly followed her into the office.
It was smaller than I expected. It only had enough room for a desk and a few extra chairs. Nothing like the offices I saw in New York.
"Forgive the decor, I don't have much reason to visit my Gotham offices. Have a seat Mija." She offered as she took her own seat. I ignored her and kept standing.
"Do as you'd like then," She said when she noticed me.
"Cut the small talk Victoria. What do you want?"
"Can't a mother talk to her daughter?"
"Not with your track record," I crossed my arms, trying to channel my inner Bruce.
"But you must have so many questions for me. I'm willing to answer them." This felt like a trap. One I couldn't figure out.
"I do. But first tell me why I'm here." I glared at her.
"Hm. You're more like your father than I would've liked," She stood up and turned to the wall of windows in the room, "I brought you here to explain to you what Project Whisper is about."
Seriously. What game was she playing? Did she think I was just curious, and not actively trying to stop whatever this was?
"I'm listening," I turned on the recording device in my mask. Max and I could go over it later.
"To understand, I have to start from the beginning. 34 years years ago," She turned back to me and slid a file folder on her desk towards me. "It's in Spanish, but I can read it for you."
"I can read Spanish," I snapped and reached for the file and opened it. It was an old case file from 2002. From a city in Mexico called Mexicali. My five years of taking Spanish paid off as I read through it.
It was for the murder investigation of Marco and Dante Ramirez. The murderer? Isidora Ramirez. My uncles and grandmother. Witnesses say they heard the boys screaming and begging for their mother to stop hurting them. Then two gunshots and silence. They couldn't actually pin any evidence to Isidora. They could only charge her for neglect and leaving a firearm unsecured. She got off with ten years in prison and dependent on her behavior for house arrest. Overall it was very incomplete.
"So grandma was a horrible mother. Seems to run in the family," I tossed the file onto the desk. Victoria rolled her eyes.
"Despite what you think of me, I did let you live. I am nowhere near as horrendous as that bitch," She spat. Okay, no love loss there apparently.
"My mother wasn't a good prisoner either. She was always rebellious and selfish. I remember her and Papa fighting constantly. One day she finally snapped, Marco and Dante suffered for it. Her house arrest is ending this year."
"What does this have to do Project Whisper?"
"As I said, I had to start from the beginning. To continue a legacy you have to discover a legacy Mija," Ugh, that name, "What the report doesn't tell you is how my father disappeared almost immediately after finding out about my brothers. I was left to my Abuelo's care in Spain. I was abandoned by my father in a strange country because my mother was left to her own choices," She sat down in her chair, "This is how the project started. When I was sixteen, she was released from prison. That woman had taken my whole world away and gets to walk free now. It wasn't fair then and its not fair now."
"I still don't understand how this is relevant," I crossed my arms.
"So impatient," She shook her head, "I promise I'll answer everything in time."
I rolled my eyes and gave in to taking a seat. I was clearly getting nowhere by trying to skip this useless story.
"About a year after my mother was released from prison, she contacted me," Victoria continued, "She said she had been following MedCorp to learn anything she could about what happened to my father. She instead heard the announcement I was set to take over Roger Tech once I graduated college. She wanted me to use my new influence to help some people she had met in prison. I laughed at her and told her I didn't do favors for murderers. Especially my brothers' killer.
She warned me that she had made many friends in my father's circle, and she didn't really need my help. She threatened that she would get what she wanted, she always had before."
"Why didn't you report her? Or tell your Abuelo?" Dammit. I meant to stay quiet so she would answer my questions sooner.
"She had powerful friends. I knew many of them. Anything I could've done would have changed nothing. How do you think she got away with murder? Normal people get sentenced for life for what she did. So I created my own solution."
"Project Whisper," I guessed.
"Precisely. At it's core, Project Whisper is meant to stop criminals from becoming repeat offenders and high risk people from becoming offenders."
Okay, understandable. Actually it was a great idea. In theory. I could see the potential it had to be revolutionary for the justice system. Something Batman would even support. In theory. But this was Victoria, and what little I knew of her, I knew this was going to be executed wrong.
"How," I was already dreading the answer, "do you plan on doing that?"
"Haven't you figured it out, Mija? The microchips," Her usual slyness had returned. Thank god, I was weird-ed out by the backstory.
"Save me some time and just tell me," I stood up, done with whatever game she was playing this time.
"Oh I would love to, but it sounds like security has found the little mess you left," She smirked.
I could hear voices outside the office. I scanned the room for an easy out.
"I'm afraid you're trapped Shadow." This was her game. To give me no way out. To stop me before I could do any real damage to her plans. Max was right. Max!
"Jamie? Everything good?" Max asked the second I turned on the comm. I couldn't answer her directly without giving her away to Victoria. There was a knock on the door. I was running out of time. Shit.
"Computer, find the quickest exit out of my current location," I prayed Max understood.
"The room?" Max asked, "Either the door, or the window. What are you thinking, Grayson?"
I sighed. I had really hoped to leave without an incident. There was a knock on the door. Shit.
"Window it is," I pulled out a batarang and turned to Victoria, who had been watching me intently, "You might want to duck," I smirked and threw the batarang at the window. It hit it's mark and the glass spider webbed. I didn't check to see if she ducked.
I ran at the window, crossing one arm over my face and grabbed the grapple with the other. 23 stories up? I would have time. The instant I hit the glass, I fired the grapple blindly, hoping I wouldn't become a stain on the sidewalk.
In the few seconds of free fall, my life flashed before my eyes. Then the hooked gained a hold and my right arm was yanked painfully upward. I screamed and clutched my shoulder the entire time it took me to get to the next rooftop.
"Jamie! What happened? Do I need to call Terry?" I could hear Max frantically asking. I couldn't form a response through the haze of pain. I laid on my back, trying desperately to move my arm. I couldn't, but I could feel the muscles around my shoulder spasm. Which meant it was probably dislocated and I would need to set it back in place, quickly. Otherwise I'd be screwed and in even more pain later. I sat up and immediately fell back onto my back. The pain made me so dizzy I wanted to puke. I forced myself not to. God it burned, I felt like I was in hell. Great. A bad ankle and now a shoulder too.
"Jamie, if you don't answer me, I'm sending Terry," Max warned.
"I'm fine," I gritted out, shoving some snow from the roof on my shoulder.
"You don't sound fine."
"Had to do a little improvisation. Give me a minute to catch my breath," I took off my mask and wiped the tears of pain from my eyes.
"That scream sound like a hell of a lot more than improv," She was skeptical. Fair.
"I'll be fine Max, just a dislocated shoulder," I dug around in my belt for any first aid supplies. I found a roll of med tape. I made the most pathetic sling ever, which was extremely difficult one handed. And laying down.
"Just a dislocated shoulder? Are you serious? We need to get you to a hospital, now."
"I have it under control Max." I hunted through the belt for some painkillers and swallowed them dry. I was grabbing some more snow when I heard them.
"Great," I muttered, dragging myself to the edge of the roof to get a better view.
"What now?" Max asked.
"Commissioner Gordon is down there talking to a guard. Just a sec," I vomited, "Ugh. School food is impossibly worse the second time."
"That's it, I'm calling Terry."
"Why are you so pushy tonight?" I muttered, " I have other problems, like the cops. Hold off, please," I looked over the edge of the roof. They were still talking, but they both looked up to the roof. I scrambled away from the edge. Commissioner Gordon was too smart to not know Shadow was connected to Batman. Didn't need to give her proof Shadow was real on top of that.
I waited until the voices were gone. I looked down at my shoulder. It was visibly not right, even through the suit's Kevlar. I had to set it back myself otherwise I would be getting nowhere close to home without McGinnis.
I remembered one time in gymnastics when Evan Larkin dislocated his shoulder. Our coach had messaged it back into place. Of course our coach was also a paramedic and knew what she was doing, but I figured I got the basics. It was my only choice anyway. Wasn't about to walk into the ER in a stolen suit.
I gently touched my shoulder, and just about bit my tongue off from the pain. I got the med tape out again and bit down on the roll to prevent myself from screaming. It felt like an eternity, but I eventually messaged my shoulder back in place. Shoving some more snow down my now soaked suit, I headed for home.
Believe it or not, this chapter was even longer, but I felt the second part needed to be on it's own. So next chapter is halfway written already!
Jamie really needs to get this superhero thing down if she's gonna keep going out.
Fun Fact: Before dislocating her shoulder, Jamie's worst injury was a broken wrist when she was 9. She fell out of a tree in Central Park. She got a neon purple cast.