The Crane and the Falcon

Chapter VIII

Blodeuedd - Ha, I know, I dancing around the subject of Jon and Sakura's "extracurricular activities" and haven't really found a spot to stick it in. But this is a T rated fic so don't expect too much, heehee. Btw, love the Jonandsakura dish, brilliant! And your fic is perfection in the least!

"I hate overseeing."

It was half past 8 when Sakura arrived at the docks, this time in a blood red Aston Martin Vanquish. She knew the shipment wasn't in yet, judging by the lax security by the warehouse and the men smoking in a lose circle just outside the door. As Sakura stepped from her car, she could see Crane standing by himself a few feet beyond the laughing men.

"Boys," she inclined her head in greeting. They straightened and tried to look alert instead of half-numb with the cold. Sakura was easily a head shorter than the smallest of them. Despite her paltry 5'3" stature, her hard eyes commanded respect wherever she went.

"Miss Falcone," they said in somewhat-unison before returning to their cigarettes and light conversation. Sakura brushed past them, her eyes on Crane's turned back.

"Jonathan, good to see you again."

Crane turned with a light smile but his eyes were ice. "Sakura. I knew your uncle would send someone to keep an eye on me." He extended a hand for her to shake, but she did not take it. He grimaced slightly as she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and stuck one in her mouth.

"Cig?" she held the pack out to him, but Crane held up a hand in silent protest.

"No, thank you.."

"Your loss," she sighed, putting the pack away and lighting the cigarette. A cloud of white smoke escaped her lips and were quickly dispersed by the cold wind assaulting the docks. Crane clenched and unclenched his hands before crossing his arms tightly across his chest. Sakura smirked to herself until she broke out into a light laugh.

Her laugh reminded Jonathan of the painful days of high school. He heard that laugh every minute of his early life. "What?" he spat, rounding on her. His movements were mechanical, calculated, like some bird of prey.

But he didn't scare Sakura. Next to nothing could. "Cold yet?" she chuckled, staring him in the eye. It was a frosty moment between them before he broke into a light smile, knowing she meant no harm and was only joking.

"How can you do this?" he replied, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Sakura could see his glasses were fogged from his breath which hung in clouds of moist vapor before being blown away by the brutal wind.

She took another drag from her cigarette. "Do what?" Jonathan sensed an almost defensive air in her tone, and knew his simple question could have a hundred painful answers. The psychiatrist inside him wanted to know more, to pry apart her brain, to see what made her tick. To see what made her scream. But the last...that was the Scarecrow talking.

"This." He let an ungloved hand gesture back to the men and the warehouse behind him.

Sakura relaxed, a breath of smoke coming in a full, steady stream. "Oh, this." She flashed him a toothy smile, to show no hard feelings for the misunderstanding. "This is the first time I've done this in two years. I've long graduated from overseeing."

"Then, why are you here?"

"You've already answered that."

Jonathan furrowed his eyebrows for a moment. "Ah. You're here to keep an eye on me."

"Yes. You must have struck a chord in my uncle. He rarely sends his best."

For a moment, he was at a loss for words, dissecting what she had just said. Was it meant to be threatening, an example of her strength? Or could she simply be making another wisecrack in an effort to lighten him up?

"Alright, boys, let's get this moving! Jimmy, Mike, get the forklifts!" Jonathan's head snapped up to see Sakura walking away from him, her posture perfect, barking order at the circle of thugs. The men scuttled away quickly to their usual posts. "I want these sorted into two piles, bears and rabbits and I want it done quick!" She pointed to the piles of crates inside the truck that was pulling up to the warehouse, fresh from being loaded at the docks.

Jonathan decided to follow her, in case he was needed. He inwardly scoffed at the thought. He was not one for physical labor, and he knew by his appearance, everyone else knew that as well. "Jon?" Sakura's voice rang out as she turned to see him walking towards her.Jon. No one had addressed him with such informality since his school days. "Jon?" Her voice was softer this time, seeing his eyes clouded with hard memories. Tentatively, she put a hand on his arm.

He pulled away before her gloved fingers could touch him. "Yes?"

"Who's coming to pick up your shipments?"

Jonathan had to say she recovered fast. Only the slightest flicker of confusion crossed her eyes as he pulled away and her voice was hard and cold when she spoke. He cleared his throat, "Another truck should be here before midnight. The drugs will be taken to the drop in the Narrows."

"Good, it's the same with us." She turned her head to peer over her shoulder at the men loading the crates of bears onto forklifts. "Let's go, double time! I want the rabbits unloaded and away from the trucks!" she called to the men. Jonathan felt a course of adrenaline as Sakura's voice changed in volume and shut his eyes as she yelled, as if the loud tone physically hurt him. "If you would kindly step to one side-," she made to push him out of the way of a forklift, but grabbed him by the collar before he could move any further.

"Excuse me-."

"Don't move."

"But you said-."

"Don't move," she repeated. Her eyes were wide as they stared straight ahead.

"Sakura-."

"Don't move. I'll tell you in a second." Her eyes fought against the darkness outside the sphere of light and she could just see a flurry of movement. "Where's your car?"

"What does-?"

"Where's your car? I don't like to repeat myself so listen the first time!"

"Over there." He pointed off to his right where his car was parked in the shadows of the warehouse.

"Alright, I'll have to give you a ride," Sakura muttered to herself, "You'll never be able to outrun them in that pile."

"Exactly what is going on here?" Jonathan's blue eyes widened in anger and confusion.

Sakura nodded to a small rise a few hundred yards away topped with a wide abandoned warehouse. "The cops. They're getting ready for a raid. You move another inch to the right and they'll have a nice photo to blow up for the Gotham Times. They've already seen me, but I've got enough lawyers at their throats-."

"The drugs need to be moved."

"Yes, thank you," Sakura spat back sarcastically. She had had about enough of Jon's self-important air and his condescending tone. "I'll have someone strip your plates, we'll just lock up whatever drugs have been unloaded and move the rest in the truck."

"Strip my-?"

"Yes, strip your car's license plates. You don't need the fuzz knocking down your door with a warrant, do you?" Jonathan clenched his jaw in reply. "That's what I thought. Now come on, I'll need some help getting this moving. I'd say we've got ten minutes, tops."

Oh, I am so looking forward to writing part two of this chapter. Sakura and Jon, high-speed chase through Gotham in an Aston Martin. The one thing any movie is missing. Mwuhahahaha!

Ahem…review, pretty please.