here we go with chapter 13. thanks to reviewers & those who read! just as a warning, this part of the story deviates slighty from the movie (you'll know where), but it seems to work, so i hope the change can be forgiven.
disclaimer: yep, you guessed it, i still own nothing more than this rotten circuits textbook.
Chapter 13: Split the night
Jonathon's last research assistant had been a horrible organizer. Every time Ev went to find something in the file cabinet against the wall of her office, nothing was ever where the labels indicated.
She swore that one weekend soon she would come up here and sort through it all to make her life easier. Things were complicated enough without having a file cabinet full of important files in disarray.
Arkham was unusually quiet, even for 8:59 pm. Usually at least there were some sounds from Jonathon's office or the front office or others scurrying about. But Evelyn hadn't seen Jonathon in the hours she'd been there and she tried not to let that concern her. But in the month Ev had been at Arkham, Jonathon had yet to miss a day or be late...or not work late into the evening.
She sighed, suddenly chiding herself. What business of hers was Jonathon's anyway? It wasn't like there was anything between them…or not anymore at least. She'd told herself at one time she could love Jonathon…but they were just friends, and now that Bruce had come into her life…. But right now, her chaotic love life was not what she needed to be focusing on.
She breathed deep, her fingers continuing to skim across the file folder tabs and contents.
A door slam echoed out of the silence of the corridor, making the breath catch in her throat. Jonathon perhaps? She abandoned her file cabinet search and moved to the doorway, curiously glancing down the hallway.
Sure enough…he was walking down the corridor, a wide-eyed, almost frenzied look haunting his entrancing eyes. And he walked with such a cautious air, as though just now seeing things for a first time. But what really struck Evelyn was the blank, yet wickedly calculating stare on Jonathon's face.
"Jonathon?" He cast his sharp eyes to hers, focusing intently as though reading her soul or trying to place her under a spell. Those few moments felt like eternities to Evelyn, as all she could do was swallow hard and fight to keep breathing.
His gaze was borderline terrifying, as though giving a hint at the power he held within him. And then, only then did Evelyn realize it—this was not the same man. The Jonathon Crane she knew no longer existed. This man—whoever he was—was something else entirely different.
Without a sound he bolted through the nearest door, the room that held Arkham inmate's personal belongings. Ev took off at a run after him, morbidly curious to know what he was up to. She flung the door open and quickly started scanning the room for any glimpse of him…wherever he might have been amongst the shelves.
She heard it behind her, the rushed footsteps, the rustling of cloth, the rapid breaths. She spun around to see the door closing in the wake of a person on the run. She flung the door open and rushed back out in the hallway, only to hear the slam at the end of the hallway.
Damn it. She had not even thought to check behind the door for him. And sure enough, he snuck out around her and bolted, not even giving her time to catch a glimpse of him.
Well whoever this new Jonathon Crane was…he wasn't a fool, and he wasn't one to suffer fools like her either.
Quickly she grabbed her coat and bag, and flew down the stairs to the patient floors, hoping to find some answers.
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Police were pouring onto the island by the time Ev left Arkham…it was all a bit frightening actually. Evelyn now stared out the cab window, watching the passing brigades.
All she was trying to do was get off the island and go home. All the Arkham inmates had been released, and the dead calm had been completely unnerving. And after her run-in with Jonathon, she figured it was high time she left, and leave the rounding up of inmates to the police.
"You know what," she said, tossing the cabbie some money, "I'll just walk across the bridge and catch the train or a cab from there…this waiting is unbearable." She flew out of the cab before the cabbie could attempt to talk her out of it. Ev walked close to the railing, observing the passing police regiments with profound interest. Surely this couldn't be leading to anything that her father and Henri had wanted her to leave for…could it?
"Excuse me, miss," a man in uniform ran up to her as she neared the police car barricade, "we're raising the bridges…did you just come from the Narrows?"
"I work at Arkham…all the inmates have been released. I left because it was unsafe."
"You have good timing," the cop agreed, a relieved smile on his face, "well, then go on and keep away from Arkham until we let you know."
"Thank you." She smiled at the cop before wandering off, and turning around to look back at the island. It looked frightening at night…the shadows from the dim lights almost made it seem alive. As though it had a menacing face capable of so many dark things. She shuddered in the brisk night breeze, a hint of fear passing through her as well.
"What are you doing here!" A rough, deep voice commanded, a gloved hand wrapping tightly around her arm. She met those eyes and froze. She couldn't scream, couldn't think, couldn't breathe.
"I…I couldn't…"
The little minx had lied…and he, the fool, the idiot, had believed her. "B—" He roughly turned her around, pressing her back against his hard chest, clamping a hand over her mouth. Her protests now were nothing but muffled sounds, especially as he pulled his hand back, leaving a thick piece of tape in its place. Her eyes were on fire as she continued to scream muddled words.
"Batman?" A cop tentatively questioned, turning around curiously. "What are you doing?" The cop broke out in a worried run, concern creasing his brow as he saw the struggling woman.
"This woman was Dr. Crane's accomplice at Arkham—his assistant." The cop's eyes widened as Batman threw her ID badge from around her neck at him.
"It's a safe bet she knows everything, or close to it, about this operation," the cop said, his eyes lightening, "thanks Batman—without you, we never would have caught her. And she may be the key to this whole thing, especially since he's now gone loco." Ev's strugglesfaded as those words sunk in, unwilling to believe it true. Batman handed her over to the cop, who instantly clapped her in handcuffs. Her eyes locked with his, swirling with every emotion.
His eyes were nothing. With a silent whoosh of his cape he had disappeared back in the shadows, and suddenly Ev felt her world collapsing in around her.
She stared lethargically ahead as she was lead to a black and white car and shoved in the back seat, still cuffed and taped. Faintly she could hear that cop reporting the incident, and she sighed, playing through the events in her head that had all happened so suddenly.
There was nothing in his eyes. No hint of the man she knew anywhere. And that thought in of itself terrified her. And then hearing that tidbit about Jonathon from the cop…and remembering meeting him earlier….
She threw her head back against the seat, willing to kill for a straight answer from anyone. The roar and revving of an engine caught her attention and she sharply sat up just in time to see a black…tank-like-car jet across the river.
Batman, no doubt.
well that's all i got for now. (i'm sorry to disappoint you KHSsSoccerGurl, but i just couldn't find a way for jonathon to find out about the relationship). please post a review if you wish, and if not, thanks again for stopping by! next chapter (second to last one) should be up in a week or two.
and this may be too early to be asking, but does anyone have any thoughts about sequel? i've an outline all typed out, but don't know how a squel could potentially go over, so i'm just looking for general feedback (but i guess you'll need the ending to know if a sequel is the best idea, but only two more chapters & an epilogue left.)