"Interesting." he said looking around. His cell phone ringing, and he turned to take the call. After speaking quietly for several minutes he turned back to face her. "I'm afraid I have to be going. Thank you for the lovely tour." he told her as she escorted him out.
"Feel free to check up on the research at any time." she told him, and he left quickly. Interesting, she thought. Mr. Wayne is quite intriguing, but too intriguing. No time for that Callie my girl, no time at all.
Callie left work early that evening. She had a dinner date and didn't want to be late. That would not work into her plans at all. She met her date at the Centurion Hotel restaurant. His name was Nico Kramer, and she hoped he'd end up leading her to information she desperately wanted. Her mother had always told her to use all of her advantages to get a head. As she and Nico, an attractive man in his mid thirties were being seated she caught sight of Bruce seated at a table with several individuals including one of his dates from the ball, and Rachel Dawes. She acknowledged him with a nod, and he seemed surprised to see her there. She chuckled to herself. Probably knew of Mr. Kramer's reputation. Sorry Bruce, you're a nice guy, but I have business to take care of. Nico Kramer had been rumored to be affiliated with organized crime in Gotham. She was sure he was, but charges had never been brought.
They were seated and Nico looked at her with appreciation. "You look exceptionally beautiful tonight Calliope."
Callie gave him a gracious smile. She'd worn the dress hoping to keep the man distracted. It cut in a low vee and was the shade of crushed grapes. It fell to her calves, and had a slit up the middle to her mid thigh. "Thank you Nico." she told him breathlessly.
He ordered for her, which irritated her to no end, but she hid it well. Obviously the man was old fashioned and thought the little women couldn't think for themselves. She caught herself realizing she was picking up on his thought patterns. "I'm so glad I could persuade you to join me this evening. It seems since you've come back to town you've been so busy." he smiled charmingly as they ate their meal.
"Yes, I have been busy unfortunately. But I'm glad we were able to get together tonight. I don't date much since my parents died." she said sadly. And with that statement his mind opened and hers flooded with information. Not everything she needed, but enough to give her another path to follow. Slight guilt throbbed through him, and lust. He wanted Callie, wanted her badly. So many emotions poured through him and her head started to pound.
"Are you okay?" he asked, concern tinging his voice.
"Hmm, I just have a bit of a headache, but I didn't want it to bother our date tonight." she told him, lying slightly.
"Oh please, I have a quick call to make and then I will take you straight home." he told her. He got up and headed to the lavatory. She rested her head in her hand for a moment wincing at the pain. Sometimes this happened. She read too much, or intercepted too much, and it attacked her mind.
"Ms. Hughes." the voice came from her right. She looked up to find Bruce staring at her.
"Mr. Wayne, and how are you this evening?"
"Very well thanks. I was slightly shocked to see you here with Mr. Kramer. I didn't realize you knew each other."
"Oh yes," she told him politely. "Mr. Kramer and I were introduced at a Country Club function recently. He's been after me for quite some time to go out to dinner. Unfortunately I've been just terribly busy."
"You should be careful Calliope. Nico Kramer is a dangerous man." his voice held an edge.
"I can certainly take care of myself Mr. Wayne, though I do appreciate your concern. Right now though, I believe your date is getting impatient." she said softly.
"Of course, please forgive me. Certainly none of my business." he said his voice taking on a remote tone. He walked back over to his date who was looking fairly bored, but brightened considerably when he returned.
"What did Wayne want?" Nico asked angrily when he returned.
"Oh, he was just saying hello. We do business together. It was one of those polite required things you know." she told him.
"Hmmm, the man is crazy if he just wanted to say hello out of politeness. But I guess what you can about a man who disappears for years on end, is considered dead, and just turns back up like nothing happened." Nico shook his head. "He's a strange man." Nico helped her to her feet, and took her home for the evening.
Rachel Dawes was walking back to her parked car. After dinner, she'd returned to her office to get several files, and now she was exhausted and wanted to go home. A figure moved out of the shadows toward her and she gasped in fright.
"Fear not, I won't harm you." the woman told her.
"Who are you? What do you want?" She asked the masked person in front of her.
"I am The Seer. I see all, and try to help. You've been working on the arson strikes in the city."
"Ye-es, how did you know?"
The woman laughed softly. "I told you, I see. You're going in the wrong direction." she whispered. "The fires didn't start two years ago with the first hotel fire. It started three years ago with Hughes Labs. The explosion in the labs that killed several people and injured others. That fire was the start. The beginning of an illness. That fire is where you need to start Ms. Dawes."
"They investigated that. It was an accident." Rachel told the person.
"Remember who investigated Ms. Dawes. Do what you want with this information, but if you go back, you will find your culprit." the figure stepped back into the shadows and disappeared.
Callie made it back to her hotel and changed quickly. The pain in her head was stabbing. Once in her robe she went to the doors of her balcony and opened them trying to help her headache with fresh air. She'd done too much. She still didn't know all of her limitations. She heard a noise and looked to the doors. Batman stood staring at her. Callie stepped back in fear. Did he know?
"I'm not here to harm you." he whispered in that voice.
"Really?" she said faintly. "Then why are you here?"
"You've been messing with some dangerous people Ms. Hughes. Lawrence James, Nico Kramer. That along with your new business transaction with Bruce Wayne might attract the attention of individuals you don't want to come knocking on your door."
"So you came to warn me?" she said in a faintly unbelieving tone.
"Lawrence James is missing." he told her, and saw that this startled her. "Not to be found. His last thoughts were destructive to your person. You need to be more careful."
Callie walked forward towards the man, "Well Mr. Batman…" she began but didn't get to finish as the stabbing in her head hit. She made a gargled sound and dropped to her knees, blood running out of her nose and ears. The last thing she saw before the white light covered everything was Batman leaning towards her.