The brown liquid swished around inside of the glass for a moment or two
before finally settling. He wiped off the sides with a tablecloth.
"Will this do?" Reese asked, moving towards her. He offered her the glass. She took it from and nodded slowly.
"Uh huh," she grunted just before she knocked back the entire glass. He lifted his eyebrow in amusement. She just handed him the glass to fill up again.
"Wait," Barbara said softly, reaching out to touch her arm. "Why don't we talk first. You get drunk too easily."
"I do not," Helena Kyle muttered as she slouched back against the couch. Finally she sighed. "Okay. But then I get the whole bottle."
"Deal," Reese said, sitting on the arm of the couch. Dinah was seated on the ground, legs folded beneath her. She looked uncomfortable but very interested. Like she was about to be told a campfire story.
"Falco," Helena said slowly. "He was a very bad decision." She wrung her hands and looked down at the ground. "I wasn't in the best place."
"Why?" Reese asked, trying to be gentle. He reached down to the ground and picked up a discarded baseball that was lying under the coffee table.
"I found out who killed my mother." She looked up at Barbara. "I didn't know for the longest time. She hid it from me."
"I didn't have a choice," Barbara protested. She thought they had gotten past this. Obviously she was wrong.
"I know.I mean I know now that you didn't. I was so angry and I wanted someone to strike out against but you wouldn't tell me then. You waited until you thought I could handle it." She shook her head. "I guess I just felt betrayed."
"You know I never meant for that."
"I know," Helena replied, holding up a hand. "And I'm not angry about that anymore. But I was. There were so many things going on in my head. I guess I just wanted to lose myself."
"I certainly understand that," Reese commented. "We all have our moments."
"This wasn't a moment, Reese. This was rage. Know me long enough and you'll get that."
"I can't wait," he replied dryly. She shot him a look but he just waved her off, his lip quirked upwards into a semi-smile.
"I met him at a bar. I woke up with him in a hotel room. We kinda went like that for a few months. No fuss no muss."
"I had no idea of it," Barbara put in. "I just thought she was constantly tired. She really wasn't talking to me much."
"You couldn't have known.and it wasn't your fault anyways.I just thought it was." She laughed then. "Look, we're getting all twelve-steppy."
Barbara smiled sadly making it obvious that she did believe it to be her fault. It had been a hard time; a nearly unbearable one. New Gotham had been in the strong grip of so much violence and turmoil and she had been distracted. That was no excuse.
"What about Falco? What we he like when you met him?" Reese asked, eyes still locked on Helena. She squirmed a bit beneath his penetrating gaze. "He was smooth. Very smooth. You saw him and you were attracted to him because you just knew that he was bad and he'd make you forget," Helena replied, her mind obviously elsewhere. She looked like she was a million miles away, deeply lost in the past.
"So the sex was good?" Dinah asked, grinning.
Helena laughed. "You know it's not all about sex." She paused for a moment and then shrugged. "Okay usually it is and yes, it was good. In that primal tear the sheets kind of way. Being with him was exciting and enticing.I didn't have to think."
Reese snorted. She looked up sharply at him but he waved her away. "Sorry. Clearing my throat."
"Uh huh. Nice commentary there."
"Falco," he reminder her quickly, feeling the heat overtake his cheeks. He didn't quite know why either.
"Right. He was the kind of guy who seemed to channel your rage. If you told him you were pissed at someone, he gave you twenty more reasons to hate that person. And then he almost made you feel the hate."
Barbara looked away, the pain obvious in her eyes. These were not good memories and momentarily Reese felt bad for unearthing them. That said, he knew full well that he didn't have a choice; if he didn't get the truth about Falco well then he was going to have to take Helena in for his murder.
There was silence in the room for a long beat and then Helena said softly, "I did some things I'm not very proud of." She swallowed hard. "Some of the things they think we did but couldn't prove.we did. I did."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Reese said, moving over towards the kitchen.
"Pretend away," Helena replied dryly. "It was just robberies though. No one was getting hurt."
"No one hurt like the Animal Gang kind of no one hurt?" Reese asked, returning with a tray of mugs. He offered Barbara a cup of coffee and then Dinah. She of course shook her head in the negative. Probably for the best really; Reese had a feeling that caffeine was no kind of good for the young blonde.
"No.really no one hurt," Helena replied, a bit irked. "Let it go, Reese. I said I was sorry and you know I didn't know."
"Guys," Barbara put in, wondering idly was she was always cast in the role of having to mediate for Helena. "Not helping."
"Sorry," they both said and then looked awkwardly away from each other. Barbara chuckled a bit; these two really were going to eventually kill each other.
Or end up falling head over heels.
Both were of course, utterly insane.
"So what ended the honeymoon?" he asked, pushing the mug of coffee into her hand. She looked down at it and frowned. "It's still brown," he insisted. She favored him with a bit of a smile.
"The honeymoon ended when I realized he was offing people for shits and grins in his spare time." She snorted angrily. "I came home one day to find him showering blood off himself. In my shower. I asked if he was hurt and he said it wasn't his." She looked over at Barbara. "I am so sorry for all of this."
"We can deal with this. We always do," Barbara assured her. She squeezed Helena's hand. She looked up at Reese. "Turns out that he was going back and killing the managers of the banks they were robbing."
"I think I remember that. I was just a beat-cop back then. We never caught the guy or even figured out who it was."
"Well now you can close that case, Detective," Helena muttered.
He turned and looked at her, exasperation on his face. "Well not unless I want to further involve you."
She offered him a knowing smile and then winked at him.
"So, when did you and Falco go separate ways?"
"Well I tried to do it that night." She picked up the folder. "Hence the pictures."
"So he did get the drop on you?"
"Not exactly. I went to the bar. I got a bit toasted. I kind of woke up on the floor of my bathroom." She shrugged.
"She blows it off now. I get a frantic call.the first time I've heard from her in almost a week. Of course one of the patrons at the bar had already called the police."
"Hence the pictures," Reese said, echoing Helena's words. She nodded.
"Falco and I fell out after that."
"Sounds like a short story," Dinah remarked, watching her friend closely. It didn't take a telepath to get that Helena was still holding something back.
"You're observant," Helena muttered. "We had a few more forceful.shall we say.arguments until he and I decided to go our separate ways. I wasn't in the best condition and by the end of our last fight, neither was he."
"You sound proud," Reese noted.
"You've seen the pictures. I don't let anyone do that to me. The son of a bitch tried to bring out the anger in me so I raged on him. Am I supposed to feel sorry for that?"
"I get that but the problem with all of this is.none of it exonerates you. In fact, if anything it implicates you even more heavily," Reese commented.
Helena snorted and held out her hands. "Fine, Detective. Take me in."
TBC.
"Will this do?" Reese asked, moving towards her. He offered her the glass. She took it from and nodded slowly.
"Uh huh," she grunted just before she knocked back the entire glass. He lifted his eyebrow in amusement. She just handed him the glass to fill up again.
"Wait," Barbara said softly, reaching out to touch her arm. "Why don't we talk first. You get drunk too easily."
"I do not," Helena Kyle muttered as she slouched back against the couch. Finally she sighed. "Okay. But then I get the whole bottle."
"Deal," Reese said, sitting on the arm of the couch. Dinah was seated on the ground, legs folded beneath her. She looked uncomfortable but very interested. Like she was about to be told a campfire story.
"Falco," Helena said slowly. "He was a very bad decision." She wrung her hands and looked down at the ground. "I wasn't in the best place."
"Why?" Reese asked, trying to be gentle. He reached down to the ground and picked up a discarded baseball that was lying under the coffee table.
"I found out who killed my mother." She looked up at Barbara. "I didn't know for the longest time. She hid it from me."
"I didn't have a choice," Barbara protested. She thought they had gotten past this. Obviously she was wrong.
"I know.I mean I know now that you didn't. I was so angry and I wanted someone to strike out against but you wouldn't tell me then. You waited until you thought I could handle it." She shook her head. "I guess I just felt betrayed."
"You know I never meant for that."
"I know," Helena replied, holding up a hand. "And I'm not angry about that anymore. But I was. There were so many things going on in my head. I guess I just wanted to lose myself."
"I certainly understand that," Reese commented. "We all have our moments."
"This wasn't a moment, Reese. This was rage. Know me long enough and you'll get that."
"I can't wait," he replied dryly. She shot him a look but he just waved her off, his lip quirked upwards into a semi-smile.
"I met him at a bar. I woke up with him in a hotel room. We kinda went like that for a few months. No fuss no muss."
"I had no idea of it," Barbara put in. "I just thought she was constantly tired. She really wasn't talking to me much."
"You couldn't have known.and it wasn't your fault anyways.I just thought it was." She laughed then. "Look, we're getting all twelve-steppy."
Barbara smiled sadly making it obvious that she did believe it to be her fault. It had been a hard time; a nearly unbearable one. New Gotham had been in the strong grip of so much violence and turmoil and she had been distracted. That was no excuse.
"What about Falco? What we he like when you met him?" Reese asked, eyes still locked on Helena. She squirmed a bit beneath his penetrating gaze. "He was smooth. Very smooth. You saw him and you were attracted to him because you just knew that he was bad and he'd make you forget," Helena replied, her mind obviously elsewhere. She looked like she was a million miles away, deeply lost in the past.
"So the sex was good?" Dinah asked, grinning.
Helena laughed. "You know it's not all about sex." She paused for a moment and then shrugged. "Okay usually it is and yes, it was good. In that primal tear the sheets kind of way. Being with him was exciting and enticing.I didn't have to think."
Reese snorted. She looked up sharply at him but he waved her away. "Sorry. Clearing my throat."
"Uh huh. Nice commentary there."
"Falco," he reminder her quickly, feeling the heat overtake his cheeks. He didn't quite know why either.
"Right. He was the kind of guy who seemed to channel your rage. If you told him you were pissed at someone, he gave you twenty more reasons to hate that person. And then he almost made you feel the hate."
Barbara looked away, the pain obvious in her eyes. These were not good memories and momentarily Reese felt bad for unearthing them. That said, he knew full well that he didn't have a choice; if he didn't get the truth about Falco well then he was going to have to take Helena in for his murder.
There was silence in the room for a long beat and then Helena said softly, "I did some things I'm not very proud of." She swallowed hard. "Some of the things they think we did but couldn't prove.we did. I did."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Reese said, moving over towards the kitchen.
"Pretend away," Helena replied dryly. "It was just robberies though. No one was getting hurt."
"No one hurt like the Animal Gang kind of no one hurt?" Reese asked, returning with a tray of mugs. He offered Barbara a cup of coffee and then Dinah. She of course shook her head in the negative. Probably for the best really; Reese had a feeling that caffeine was no kind of good for the young blonde.
"No.really no one hurt," Helena replied, a bit irked. "Let it go, Reese. I said I was sorry and you know I didn't know."
"Guys," Barbara put in, wondering idly was she was always cast in the role of having to mediate for Helena. "Not helping."
"Sorry," they both said and then looked awkwardly away from each other. Barbara chuckled a bit; these two really were going to eventually kill each other.
Or end up falling head over heels.
Both were of course, utterly insane.
"So what ended the honeymoon?" he asked, pushing the mug of coffee into her hand. She looked down at it and frowned. "It's still brown," he insisted. She favored him with a bit of a smile.
"The honeymoon ended when I realized he was offing people for shits and grins in his spare time." She snorted angrily. "I came home one day to find him showering blood off himself. In my shower. I asked if he was hurt and he said it wasn't his." She looked over at Barbara. "I am so sorry for all of this."
"We can deal with this. We always do," Barbara assured her. She squeezed Helena's hand. She looked up at Reese. "Turns out that he was going back and killing the managers of the banks they were robbing."
"I think I remember that. I was just a beat-cop back then. We never caught the guy or even figured out who it was."
"Well now you can close that case, Detective," Helena muttered.
He turned and looked at her, exasperation on his face. "Well not unless I want to further involve you."
She offered him a knowing smile and then winked at him.
"So, when did you and Falco go separate ways?"
"Well I tried to do it that night." She picked up the folder. "Hence the pictures."
"So he did get the drop on you?"
"Not exactly. I went to the bar. I got a bit toasted. I kind of woke up on the floor of my bathroom." She shrugged.
"She blows it off now. I get a frantic call.the first time I've heard from her in almost a week. Of course one of the patrons at the bar had already called the police."
"Hence the pictures," Reese said, echoing Helena's words. She nodded.
"Falco and I fell out after that."
"Sounds like a short story," Dinah remarked, watching her friend closely. It didn't take a telepath to get that Helena was still holding something back.
"You're observant," Helena muttered. "We had a few more forceful.shall we say.arguments until he and I decided to go our separate ways. I wasn't in the best condition and by the end of our last fight, neither was he."
"You sound proud," Reese noted.
"You've seen the pictures. I don't let anyone do that to me. The son of a bitch tried to bring out the anger in me so I raged on him. Am I supposed to feel sorry for that?"
"I get that but the problem with all of this is.none of it exonerates you. In fact, if anything it implicates you even more heavily," Reese commented.
Helena snorted and held out her hands. "Fine, Detective. Take me in."
TBC.