Chapter 28

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Within the last eight months, Bruce had asked me to move in with him. And I had said yes. Some would say that we were taking things slow. And to those I would say, every relationships were different. I had told him everything I knew. I had shared all of my secrets. I had no reason to say no. And why would I refuse? It just felt right. It felt nice to make it official. The move did not take that long. I was practically living there anyway.

"Good morning, Mr. Wayne." I greeted him, kissing him on top of his head.

"Good morning, Detective Sanders." He greeted back, his eyes fixed on the screen.

"What are you working on?" I asked sitting next to him. There was a diagrams and suits designs. "Is that a new suit?"

"Is that an interrogation, Detective?" Bruce leaned in.

I squinted my eyes, leaning back. "No, those are fair questions. But it's fine, if you want to keep secrets." I pouted and crosses my arms over my chest.

He leaned in and pecked my lips. "It's an old project I had given up." He sat back down.

"Is it really the right time for you to go back to it? Bane and Talia are in Gotham. And things are gonna get pretty chaotic."

"I know." His hand went to my knee. "But trust me, this is the right time."

I exhaled deeply and rested my hand on his. "I trust you. And if you think it's the right time, who am I to say anything." I stood up and leaned in. "I have to go. Love you." I kissed him.

"Love you." Bruce said back. And I left for work.

I had no idea what this new suit was all about. I did not remember Bruce Wayne working on a new suit in the movie. In fact, I was pretty sure he had not work on a new suit in the movie. Maybe, he thought it would help him face Bane. Maybe it would change the tide in our favor. And maybe it wouldn't. At least, I hoped he was right. That in the middle of all of this he had time to work on this new project.

As I walked into the office, Stephens stopped me. He told me that all hands were on deck. The Congressman's wife had called the previous night. Her husband never came home after the Wayne Foundation Event. I knew that. The Congressman was with Selina Kyle, he wasn't in any danger. At least, I didn't think he was. But I nodded nonetheless, working on his disappearance just like my partner. I had to keep up the appearances.

I hated lying to him. I hated lying to Gordon. I hated lying to Blake. I did not have a choice, I knew that. Still, not letting them know what I knew was frustrating. But the more people knew, the greater the risk. And I could not take that risk.

"You okay, Kid?" I asked Blake as he stepped into the office.

"Yeah." He answered absentmindedly before going to his desk.

I frowned up. I stood up and followed him. "What happened?"

"Jimmy, from St. Swithin's." Blake sighed.

"Yeah?"

"He was found dead this morning." Blake said. "Near the sewers."

"What was he doing in the sewers?"

"Looking for work, a place to live."

"Isn't he sixteen?" I asked Blake. "Why would he need to look for a new place to live? Or look for a job?"

"He aged out." Blake shook his head. "Without money, the boy's home can't keep them past sixteen. Wayne's Foundation hadn't given money for that within the past couple of years."

"Oh." I let my head down. I let out a deep breath. "I don't know what to tell you other than—I'm sorry."

"Why did he stop giving money to the boy's home?"

"Blake, Bruce and I don't talk about money. We don't even talk about our jobs." I said. "So, I won't have an answer for you. But I'm curious what sort of jobs can you find in the sewers?"

"I don't know."

Everything had to go the way it was supposed to, right? And yet, I felt I could have done more for this kid. Save him, somehow. I made some donations to St. Swithin's. But clearly, it hadn't been enough. I should have done more for this kid. I could have done more for him. I should have done more.

The Congressman had been located. Which meant the prints had been given and Selina had gotten them to use the Congressman's phone. Things were following their course. We made it there, a little after the SWAT team. There was an exchange of fires behind the bar that stopped a few minutes after we arrived.

"Manhole! Get this up!" Gordon ordered. "Get the DWP down here!" He turned to me and two other officers, "You three, down with me." He turned to two others. "You two, you go down, cover the next exit!"

I nodded stiffly. This was the moment that sent Gordon to the hospital. This was where Bane was based. I certainly did not expect this turn of events. I did not know what would happened in the sewers. Would Gordon survived this? Would Bane be in fact where he was supposed to? So many things could still go wrong.

I went down after Gordon, pulling out my gun. Two shots were fired. Two men went down. The other three replicated. An explosion went off and Gordon and I took cover. I definitely did not expect this turn of events.

"You're okay, kid?" Gordon asked me.

I nodded quickly. "Yeah, you?" He simply nodded. We took a few steps forward before I was hit in the back of the neck and everything went black.

I didn't know how much time had gone by. All I knew was that I was being dragged through tunnels. I caught glimpses of armed men, young kids with face covered with mud. And it was really noisy. And yet, I couldn't help but think. Why did they keep me alive? They didn't kill Gordon because he was the Commissioner and they didn't know what to do with him. But what about me? Why would they keep me?

I was dropped on the ground, next to Gordon.

"Why are you here?" The deep and somehow breathy voice of Bane resonated in my chest. My heartbeat quickened. My stomach was churning. He was so close to me.

Gordon grunted as the goons kicked him. "Answer him." They yelled at Gordon.

"I was asking you." Bane said. I rolled on my side to check on Gordon. He was breathing heavily.

"It's the police commissioner." One of them answered. "And she's Bruce Wayne's fiancée?" I wasn't his fiancée.

"And you brought them down here?"

"We didn't know what to do." The other one answered. "We just thought—"

"You panicked." Bane cut him off. "And your weakness has cost the lives of three others." He strangled one of them. To the other he said. "Search them. Then I will kill you."

He did a quick search of my body. Took away my gun. I rolled on my side once again and grabbed Gordon's jacket with both hands. I rolled on my back and into the water, pulling Gordon in my fall.

The water was freezing cold, the current pretty strong. It carried us away from Bane and his goons. Water was entering through my nose and my mouth, I had water in my ears. I was slowly drowning. I did not know where he would take us. But it had to stop somewhere, right? Anything was better than facing Bane. Anything.

Our course finally ended in one of the many outflows. I coughed up the water in my lungs while trying to move to Gordon. His face was down in the water. Blake rushed to us.

"You okay? You okay?" Blake took Gordon in his arms. "Hey, hey, you awake?"

"Call the medics." I was able to choke out.

Gordon had been shot. I wasn't. He was in pretty bad shape. As for I, I was to stay in observation because of the amount of water I had swallowed. I hadn't seen Gordon since we had been taken to the hospital. The door opened and in came Bruce.

"Hey!" Bruce walked up to the bed.

"Hey!" I smiled back.

He propped his cane against the bed. And hugged me tightly. And I didn't know why but I started to cry. He comforted me and did not let go. If anything his arms tightened around me. I barely saw Bane. I just heard his voice. And that was enough. Enough to tell me that it was really happening. All that I had feared was on the verge of happening. The Siege, Bruce being thrown in the pit. I was not ready for this.

"Do you know how's Gordon?" I asked my face against his shoulders.

He moved to pull away but I just tightened my grip. "No, I don't. How are you?"

"I'm better." I sniffed. "I forgot—I forgot—"

"What?"

"How dangerous he really was."

"Let me look at you." He said softly, his voice rumbling through his chest. I reluctantly pulled away. "You're scared and that's fine. But we've prepared for this. There's no reason to be scared. I'm not afraid of him."

I know he was trying to comfort me but it didn't help make me feel any better. I felt as terrified as I was the moment Bane officially entered the game. I hated this feeling. I needed to have a clear head. There was still a lot to do. So much to go through. So much to be done.

There was a soft knock on the door. The door opened and on the other side was Blake.

"Hey, kid!" I smiled at him.

"Sanders." He smiled back as he approached the bed. "Glad to see you're doing okay."

"Yeah, thanks for coming." I retorted. "Did you see Gordon?"

"Yeah, he's not doing so hot." Blake told me. "But he'll be fine."

"Good." I nodded.

"He keeps babbling about an underground army. A masked man called Bane." His eyes were now on Bruce.

"Shouldn't you be telling your superiors about this?" Bruce asked him.

"They asked me if he saw any giant alligators." Blake replied. "He needs you. She needs you." He pointed at me. "They need the Batman."

"If Commissioner Gordon thinks—"

"Oh, he doesn't know or care who you are." Blake said. "But we've met before. It was a long time ago. I was a kid. Uh, St. Swithin's. It used to be funded by the Wayne Foundation. It's an orphanage." I glanced up at Bruce. He was intently listening to Blake. "My mom died when I was small. It was a car accident, I don't really remember it. But, my dad got shot a couple years later, a gambling debt. And I remember that one just fine." He paused. "Not a lot people know what it feels like, do they? To be angry in your bones. I mean, they understand. Foster parents. Everybody understands for a while. And then they want the angry little kid to do something he know he can't do. Move on. So, after a while they stop understanding. They send the angry kid to a boy's home. I figured it out too late. You gotta learn to hide the anger. Practice smiling in a mirror. It's like putting on a mask." My eyes were now on him. "So, you showed up this one day, in a cool car. Pretty girl on your arm. We were so excited. Bruce Wayne, billionaire orphan. I mean, we used to make up stories about you, man. Legends. And, you know, with the other kids, that's all it was, just stories, but—right when I saw you, I knew who you really were. I'd seen that look on your face before. It's the same one that I taught myself. I don't know why you took the fall for Dent's murder—but I'm still a believer in the Batman—even if you're not." Blake turned to the door about to leave.

"Why did you say that your boy's home used to be funded by the Wayne Foundation?" Bruce asked him.

"Because the money stopped. Might be time to get some fresh air. Start paying attention to the details." Blake answered. "Some of the details might need your help." He walked out of the room, and shut the door behind him.

"He's smart." Bruce commented.

"Always been." I said quietly. I took a deep breath. "It's almost time for the Batman to make a comeback."