8. And Say July 23

Jonathan followed Jenny out of her apartment and down the stairs. He paid careful attention to where he was, in case he had to find his way back. It was, after all, his first time outside of her home. He looked around at the bad condition of the neighborhood without comment. He'd seen worse. The neighborhood near Arkham, for instance.

She led him through a complicated labyrinth of streets without pause. Clearly, she'd been there before. Where ever they were going. He kept in mind where they were, especially when he saw a familiar sight. Soon, he was pretty sure he could find her apartment with little trouble from anywhere. Why he would need that information, he wasn't sure. It depended on the result of this interview.

Speaking of which, why had she decided now to take him? He remembered that she had gotten a call not long before. So perhaps that was a summons. But she hadn't told anyone she had him, so why was she taking him? He could only assume that she meant to turn him in. He didn't blame her. Moreover, there was no reason for her to put up with him anymore. Not after he'd attacked her. He hadn't really, but that's what she was probably thinking. Oh well, he thought a little sadly.

Finally, Jenny stopped in front of some warehouses. She looked around warily, then led the way down a narrow alley. He remembered that the note he'd found had talked about warehouses. Very cliché, he thought, for criminals to be meeting in warehouses. He would have smiled at the thought, but then she turned around.

"Okay, now, listen to me carefully. You're going to go up this fire escape and climb in that window on the second story. Just wait by the window. You should be able to hear us from there. You won't be able to see anything, but that should be okay. Right?" she pressed, sounding nervous.

"Of course," he replied, though he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Okay. Good. Don't make any noise. When you hear me leave, come back down the fire escape and meet me right here. Got that?" she asked.

"Yes." His eyes narrowed a little.

She sighed. "Good." She frowned at him for a moment. "What's wrong?"

"What are you doing?" he asked.

She smiled. "I'm going to go talk to Ra's about what he wants to do with you. He doesn't know I have you, but he might guess. So, he might have sent someone over to my house to check. So, you're safer here, as long as he doesn't realize how easy it would be to capture you," she explained.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"Because I won't get anything if he just takes you while I'm gone. And you deserve to know what his intentions are for you. You know everyone else's," she added.

"Oh. Thank you," he said awkwardly.

She smiled and left. He shrugged, and climbed up to the window. He carefully crossed into the building, trying to be silent. He was on a platform of some sort. It was only a couple feet across. What its purpose was, he didn't know. There was a railing, so presumably it was used. Perhaps for inspection. He considered going to the edge and looking down, but decided against it. He might be seen. So, he sat down quietly to listen.

Jenny walked around the corner to the main entrance to the warehouse. She had been there many times before, but something was different about it this time. It was more somber, perhaps. Or maybe it was just her. She might be being unduly paranoid. Shaking her head, she knocked on the door.

It opened silently and she entered, never seeing the person who let her in. But she was used to that. She looked around. Fortunately, her eyes adjusted to the relative darkness quickly. It wasn't really that bright outside. There were boxes and crates everywhere. A few pathways through them, but the room was packed pretty well. She frowned, wondering how she was supposed to find Ra's in this mess.

"Hi, Jenny!" a familiar voice said, and she found herself wrapped in a hug.

"Hello, Renee," she said quietly.

"What took so long?" Renee asked, her beautiful face conveying a little worry.

"Just had a few things I had to do first," she replied with a wave of her hand.

Renee shrugged, then turned away. Jenny followed her sister deeper into the building, until they reached a sort of throne. It was mostly hidden by the boxes that surrounded it. A man was seated in it. He looked a little worse for wear. And he seemed to be dozing.

"Ra's, darling, wake up." Renee, of course.

He started, then looked sharply at Jenny. "Did you bring him?" he demanded.

"I don't have him," she replied slowly.

He frowned. "Oh, that's right," he said, but didn't seem like he believed her.

When he didn't seem to want to say anything further, she said "I just wanted to know what you would do for him. And what you'd pay," she added meaningfully.

"Not again!" he said sharply. "I won't let you sell off any more of my… employees," he continued.

"He's not yours," she replied calmly.

"Then who's is he?"

She smiled, shrugging. "I wouldn't know."

He glared at her while she continued to smile. "Fine," he grumbled. She noted that he was much less suave and conniving than usual. Must be because he's sick, she thought. Or dying. But that didn't appear to be possible. He'd lived for generations already, so it was unlikely he could be killed.

"Will you answer my questions, or shall I leave?" she said finally.

Ra's frowned at her. "I'll answer," he said. He paused, thinking. "Well, I suppose I'll pay more than whatever the police will pay you. As to what I'd do with him, I'll probably just kill him as soon as I get him. He's not worth anything to me anymore. But I don't want him running around town without anyone to keep him in line," he added. Jenny was struck with the thought of the extremely proper Dr. Crane acting like a small, wild child. She held in a laugh.

"I do want to see his execution personally. You can't trust lackeys these days," he continued sadly.

Jenny smiled. "I wouldn't know," she repeated.

"No? I suppose not," he replied. He put a hand to his forehead and frowned. "Is that all you have to say?"

"Yes, sir. Thank for you for your time," she said smoothly.

Ra's didn't reply, just waved his hand at her. She smiled, and turned away. She walked calmly back the way she had come. Once outside, she slipped around the corner to the fire escape. Jonathan was standing at the bottom of it, looking nervous.

"Shall we?" she asked. He smiled, but looked like he was thinking about something. She shrugged, and led the way back home.