Disclaimer: I don't own Dr. Crane and/or any of the characters/places associated with Batman Begins.
Author's Note: Thank you all again for the wonderful reviews. For those of you who like Julie, well…..you're not going to be too happy with this chapter but please, read on.
He arrived at the Gotham Docklands at precisely 6:45. As he had predicted it had taken exactly 30 minutes from Arkham. Thoughts of this latest episode with Vanessa plagued his mind. She had succeeded in ruffling his feathers yet again but he had maintained control of the situation. What annoyed him was she apparently thought of him as gullible. A little bit of flirting and a few kisses and he would melt like putty in her hands. She failed to understand that if or when they shared a bed it would be on his terms, not hers.
Jonathan parked by the entrance to Pier 14 and began walking down the poorly lit dock. Even at this relatively early hour the docks were deserted, further proof that Gotham's economy was almost completely dead.
They were waiting for him at the other end of the pier. Two men who matched the text book definition of mob enforcers and Julie. From the looks of things the men had worked her over pretty good. Jonathan could see that a rope coiled around her lower body. One end of it fastened around her waist, the other tied around a large cement block. The men hovered over her awaiting further instruction.
"Hi Julie. It's been a while. How have you been?" Jonathan asked, sarcasm and contempt dripping from each word.
Before Julie could say anything in response one of the men stepped toward him,
"We found her at the bus station about to catch a ride uptown. She had the files on her and everything, pretty god damn stupid if you ask me."
Ignoring the startling eloquence of that statement, Jonathan asked, "Do you have the files now?"
"Yeah, got em right here."
Reaching into the inside pocket of his trench coat the man removed two manila folders. They had been folded several times over which made Jonathan cringe but as he perused through them he found that all the contents were in order. After he double checked that nothing was missing he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Did she tell you anything?" he asked.
"Not much, She knows she's dead meat so she ain't talking, but we've got her cell phone now. We'll find out who she's been in touch with."
"Let me talk to her alone for a minute."
"Sure thing. Give us a yell when you're ready to get down to business." the man said before he and his associate stepped away.
He looked down at Julie who regarded him coldly. She seemed resigned to her fate and without fear.
"Who did you talk to about this?" he asked as he tapped the files.
"Go to hell Crane." came her reply.
He smiled at her. Her feistiness was a bit endearing. Part of him would miss her.
"So you were going to uptown Gotham? Isn't that where you sister lives with her two daughters? What was her name again? April, that's right. Does April know what kind of trouble you're in?"
"You're an idiot. Why would I take information like this to a housewife in Jerold?"
Did he say her feistiness was endearing? He changed his mind.
"Who did you talk to then?"
"Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough." Julie taunted.
She seemed to get a great deal of satisfaction in watching him squirm. He was beginning to lose his temper.
"Who's the idiot? I gave you that job at Arkham. I made sure you were well paid. All I required in return was that you keep your mouth shut and do as I say. If you had followed those instructions you wouldn't have gotten hurt."
"Is Vanessa held to those same requirements?" she asked, anger flared up deep within her, "How can you live with yourself? Don't you remember the Hippocratic oath? You know, the part that says you're not supposed to sedate your patients so you can rape them?"
Jonathan was taken aback by this line of questioning.
"What? Is that what you think I'm doing?"
"I work the night shift doctor." She spit that title at him as if it were an insult, "I've seen you go into her room at night. You have no business being there at those hours."
"You don't have a clue what's in these files do you?" he asked.
"I know enough. You've got her on some kind of experimental drug. That's why she had the seizure isn't it? I've already spoken to Rachel Dawes in the D.A.'s office. She knows what you're up to."
"So you and Ms. Dawes think I'm drugging my female patients so I can take advantage of them?" he chuckled, "Well, without any evidence or a witness I don't think she'll be able to make much of a case will she?"
Julie's eyes widened as Jonathan pulled a scalpel from his pocket and grabbed a handful of her hair. He cut quickly as she tried to move away from him. As he grasped the severed lock of hair in his hand he tucked the scalpel back into his jacket.
"A little something for Vanessa to remember you by." he said.
Julie spat at him. Luckily he had backed away from her at that point and her poorly aimed projectile landed on his shoe.
"It's time." Jonathan yelled to the two men.
As they returned he addressed Julie for the last time.
"To set the record straight I have never laid an unwanted hand on Vanessa, I promise you."
Working together the two men pushed the cement block into the dark water. Julie quickly followed. She let out a shrill scream as she clung to the edge of the pier for the briefest of moments before disappearing under the surface. It was done. As he left, Jonathan couldn't help but notice that the night had become eerily calm.
When he looked at his watch it was only 7:00 p.m. He felt like he'd been at the docks much longer than that.
Jonathan wanted nothing more than to go home early and take an evening to relax but there was too much that needed to be done. He took a left when the light turned green and headed back to Arkham. He hadn't bothered to ask Julie if she'd made any copies of the files. She would have most likely lied to him anyway. Besides, she had been so hunted this past week he doubted she could have gone anywhere. The second she had shown her face in public his men had taken her. He had the originals back now and that's all that mattered.
When he entered the basement of the asylum he saw that Falcone's man had finally accessed the water main. Armed guards supervised as the inmates began pouring the first batch of toxin into the city's water supply. Now that the wheels were in motion more help would be arriving quickly. In a short period of time Gotham would get its first glimpse of hell on earth and everyone would come to know the extent of Dr. Jonathan Crane's power. For now he left the men to their work feeling confident that things were moving along nicely. As luck would have it he would be meeting Rachel Dawes face-to-face for the first time tomorrow morning. Falcone had called in another favor and Jonathan would now be putting a serial killer named Victor Zsaz to work in his asylum He welcomed the opportunity to size up Ms. Dawes and get a feel for exactly how much she knew. Rumor had it she already had a bone to pick with him over the last two men he had brought here. If she were and idealist as he'd been led to believe then the likelihood was high that she would need to be dealt with too.
Lost in his own thoughts he found himself outside Vanessa's door again. He entered her room and found her in a deep sleep. She didn't stir when he shut the door behind him and knelt by her bed bringing his face level with hers. Jonathan stayed there for a moment and watched her sleep. She'd been crying. He could see the evidence on her face and tear stained pillow. She looked beautiful to him in that moment, but he always found her beautiful when she expressed pain and fear. Jonathan thought about waking her up and telling her about Julie but decided to wait. It would be far better to leave her in suspense for a few days before breaking the news. He'd be able to enjoy her reaction much more if he could get some rest first.
Making one last stop in his office he searched his book shelf until he found what he was looking for. He pulled the desired book from the shelf and flipped to page 92. After giving the chapter a quick scan he placed it in his briefcase and started to his car. In his mind a plan was beginning to form.
