Hopeful Idiot

Chapter 21: The Party part 2

As a new man took Ra's place by her side, Ra's himself inclined his head and disappeared into the crowd. "You should stay away from him," the new man told her in a calm but firm tone.

Hope turned to look at the newcomer and straightened slightly. Bruce Wayne stood beside her, dressed in a bespoke 5-piece tuxedo. He looked every inch the wealthy aristocrat. Which she knew was all a sham, a false face he showed the world, but she couldn't help but appreciate the very nice view he presented. I'm with Clark, but I'm not dead… She could appreciate art without wanting to buy it…or fuck it in this case.

Without saying anything that was whirling through her mind, she was quite happy with her calm tone as she introduced herself. "Good evening, Mr. Wayne. I'm Hope Smith." She stuck out her hand.

His smile was immediate and brilliant. "I'm very happy to meet you, Hope Smith. And please, call me Bruce." He gripped her hand, but brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles, his lips lingering for several seconds as he maintained direct eye contact before releasing her hand.

While she had expected that behavior from Ra's (he'd done it before—though never for so long!), this was decidedly unexpected and Hope actually found herself blushing! To direct attention off her, she gestured to her dog. "This is Winston."

Not missing a beat, Bruce actually got down on one knee and held out a hand. "Hello, Winston." His grin widened when Winston executed a perfect puppy handshake. "It's very nice to meet you too." His eyes went up to Hope as he straightened. "He's very well trained."

Winston's tail did a happy wag and he woofed softly.

Bruce's eyebrows went up. "How well trained is he?" His detective mind had already calculated that the biggest reason she would've brought a dog was that it was a guard dog, trained to defend her. However, this innocent medium-sized puppy wasn't what he pictured as a guard dog. Yet, Winston was also obviously extensively trained to be able to shake without command; only recognizing the situation to accurately execute the desired response. "He's a smart dog."

Hope raised an eyebrow of her own and crossed her arms. "He's smarter than some people I know."

Winston's tail wagged harder and gave a single bark, as if saying he was indeed a very smart dog! Hope grinned and gave his ears a scritch as praise. His eyes closed and tongue lolled in doggy pleasure.

Instead of taking it as the insult it was meant to be, Bruce laughed. "I've no doubt about that! I've met more than a few people like that myself." Most criminals weren't very smart. They were young, dumb, and hormone-addled. Or crimes committed in the heat of the moment, meaning that afterward was panic and guilt and not much thought into how to escape or hide evidence. It made them very easy to catch.

The thought of his nighttime activities sobered him a bit as he remembered who he'd just seen. "Seriously Hope, stay away from that man."

Hope eyed him suspiciously, her arms still crossed. "He had no idea that I'd be here. He was here for you. To see what had made you change your tactics. Him knowing you isn't that weird; he's a smart guy. But for you to know him…that's interesting. How do you know Ra's al Ghul?"

Bruce froze, his grin completely falling away. His bearing changed, became more straight, more certain, more ready. To defend or attack? "You know Ra's." It was a statement, not a question. His tone was practically glacial. "How?"

Hope rolled her eyes, but she put a hand down to place on Winston's head. Ready to give the signal if it was needed. "I figured out some rather…choice incidents had the same pattern. I tracked the pattern and ran into Ra's. Sent him an email. He replied." She shrugged. "Rather like yourself. Only he didn't try to hack my system. He sent a live chat request instead and we argued for awhile."

"When?" his timbre had warmed but was still hard.

Very one-syllable now, isn't he? Probably how he sounds dealing with criminals…if he bothers to chat with them. Hope realized that she was talking to Batman, not Bruce Wayne. Like Clark, Wayne had a separate countenance for each aspect of his life. Unlike Ra's, who was secure enough to be himself at all times.

Hope thought for a moment, "Five years ago? No, wait," she had been in college and Ra's had been the second major pattern she'd found as part of her senior thesis. Which would be giving Bruce way too much information if said aloud! "It would've been around eight or nine years ago. Ish."

Bruce blinked, his harsh demeanor easing back. "You've been 'arguing' with Ra's al Ghul for nine years?" He used her word, his incredulity obvious.

"Well, not continuously," she snarked at him. "We don't argue all the time. And we'll go months without speaking at all!"

In fact, after they had gotten through the initial spurt of 'how did you track me down' and 'don't tell anyone or I'll kill you' bit, they'd been very amicable. Ra's had become something of an advisor those first couple years out of college, when she'd been so alone. She hadn't wanted her parents to know how insecure and scared she was, so she had spoken with Ra's instead.

Both knew that her temperament wasn't aggressive enough for more, but he had been the one to take her through the basics of how to punch, what to do with her knee, and other generalizations. He had been the one to advise her on getting her concealed carry permit and took time to instruct her.

While her parents were wonderful and very paranoid and had taught her the theory behind all of her defensive tactics, Ra's had been the one to actually physically show her, demonstrating and practicing with her until he was satisfied that she not only knew how but could also perform the task. (The difference between theory and actual was large enough to have surprised her for several days. If she had known that the theory wasn't enough, she'd have started practicing years before.)

After that, she gained confidence in being alone in a large city, and he realized that she wasn't going to agree to work for him no matter what incentive he tried, that while the pair kept in touch, the frequency between visits and chats decreased greatly. Now that she thought about it, it had been a while since they'd spoken for any good length of time.

"In fact," she crossed her arms again, more secure with Wayne's more relaxed posture, "other than a single email, I haven't spoken to him since last Christmas." Not that it's any of your business! went unsaid.

"Christmas," Bruce said flatly.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Christmas. I called him up to wish Ra's and Talia a Happy Winsol."

Bruce's eyebrows rose again, openly staring in astonishment. Hope knew who Ra's al Ghul was, knew what he did, they were amicable enough to actually debate, AND she knew about Talia, and Hope hadn't been killed?! To Bruce's knowledge, the number of people who knew that Ra's even had a daughter—let alone her name!—outside of the League itself, could be counted on one hand with fingers left over! "Who are you?" he breathed.

Hope's aggressively defensive posture shifted to more uncomfortable embarrassment. She gave a one-shoulder shrug.

"How many emails have you sent?" He saw her instant disgruntled 'are you stupid' expression and clarified his question before she could utter her no-doubt caustic rebound. "Emails like the one you sent me."

She shrugged again. "Lots. But most don't reply."

His brows furrowed a bit. "Who replied other than Ra's and myself?"

She didn't answer for a long moment. Finally, she said, "No one you've met."

"You'd be amazed at who I've met."

No she wouldn't. He was rich and had travelled everywhere. He could say he'd met the Pope and she wouldn't be surprised! Time for a different tactic. "I'm not going to share anyone's secrets, Mr. Wayne." Her tone was as icy as his had been earlier. "Not yours. Not theirs. Not ever."

His face smoothed. He knew that she believed that. However, he also now knew that she held so many secrets; more than just his own identity. (Which would've been bad enough!) If the wrong people found out that she knew, she was going to be in serious danger. Torture would likely occur. Death would be a blessing in such a situation, and those types of people wouldn't be kind enough to grant it until after they had everything they wanted from her.

Anonymity was a good defense, but it wasn't enough. She needed to be protected and watched. Constantly monitored. For when—not if—she was kidnapped, he would need to know immediately in order to rescue her before they could do much. Before she broke. Before she told them everything in a vain attempt to get the pain to stop.

(He was amazed that Ra's al Ghul hadn't already done so. The man was certainly ruthless enough!)

Of course, to be able to put her under surveillance, he would need to know who she was… Which she wasn't going to give him. If she wasn't willing to give him her name, she wasn't going to agree to cameras and tracking either. He'd have to find out another way.

Bruce suddenly wished he hadn't made the party a masquerade. Facial recognition software would've made this a lot easier! But he had wanted her comfortable enough to come.

And he had thought of all this before, of course, but the amount of secrets she apparently held was much, much greater than he had previously realized. He'd need to enact his backup plan immediately instead of as a last resort. Plans certainly change. At least he had thought of this contingency as a possibility and had the necessary tools with him.

Bruce bent and began to pet the dog. Both to please the dog and as a distraction. "I didn't mean to offend you," he said quietly as he pulled the tiny tracking dots from his pocket with his other hand. "I'm just surprised. You surprised me." He slipped one dot under Winston's main collar, another went into one of the small bags, and a third was tucked under the harness. "It's very dangerous, knowing what you know." He gave the dog several more scratches before standing.

Hope was eyeing him suspiciously again, but it wasn't aggressive. More resigned humor, which surprised him. "I'll be fine. Not only do I know lots of secrets, but you're not the only overly protective male around."

"Oh?"

She rolled her eyes. "I seem to collect them."

Winston, as if on cue, gave a soft bark and lolled his tongue out in a big doggy grin. Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, he's one of them," Hope acknowledged. "I break a few bones and suddenly I can't even go to the bathroom alone!" She threw up her hands in disgust.

Bruce couldn't help it. He laughed. The smug look of the dog and Hope's utter exasperation worked in concert to be hilarious.

"Well, well!" A smooth feminine voice came from behind them, making each turn. The brunette's smile was wide and genuine, welcoming. "Anyone who can make Bruce laugh like that is someone I need to meet." She held out her hand. "Hello, I'm Rachel Dawes."

Automatically, Hope reached out and shook it. "Hope Kra—" she cut herself off with a mental SHIT!

"It's lovely to meet you, Hope Cray." The smile didn't waver. It appeared as if Rachel hadn't even noticed. "So what's so funny?"

Bruce of course, had not only noticed, he was internally cheering. That sort of response was habitual. Which meant that her name WAS Hope! Not only did he have a first name, he had the beginnings of a last name too! He could kiss Rachel right at that moment for her perfect timing. Instead, he only smiled and gestured. "Apparently when Hope broke a couple bones, Winston here wouldn't let her out of his sight, even to visit the ladies' room."

Rachel's grin widened. "Oh you poor thing!" It didn't come out very sincere; she was laughing as she said it.

"Yeah, yeah." Hope grumped. Which only made the others laugh harder. Even Winston. "Laugh it up, fuzzball," she glared at the dog, her arms crossing. He didn't take it to heart and just wagged his tail while letting his tongue loll. She huffed, relenting enough to scratch his ears. "I love you too." It was really hard to stay mad at the pup.

"How did you break something?" Rachel asked curiously when the laughter died down.

"A building fell on me," Hope said dryly. "It's hazardous to one's health."

Bruce stiffened. Rachel blinked. "What?"

"I was in California when the earthquake hit."

Rachel tilted her head in confusion. "California? But that was only a few weeks ago. Broken bones take at least 6 weeks to heal, if not longer. How…?"

Hope realized her mistake and did her best not to curse aloud. "I uh…meant a different earthquake," she improvised lamely.

Rachel was kind enough not to comment on the other woman's obvious guilty expression. Clearly Hope was lying, but about what was unclear to Rachel. Perhaps the story of the bathroom and the dog was a lie to get Bruce's attention. Perhaps it was something other than a broken bone, something more embarrassing. Perhaps it was a different dog, one that was deceased and it was painful for Hope to remember. There were many possibilities in Rachel's mind.

However the lie, it wasn't significant enough to be any of her business. And Bruce was used to women lying to him to get his attention. He knew how to take care of such problems. Instead, Rachel changed the subject to what Hope found good to eat. When the other confessed she didn't know because she had been afraid to try anything she couldn't identify, Rachel laughed and began to guide the other down the table of hors devours.

Bruce stayed close, but only made various small comments on his own favorites as he contemplated what he thought the lie was in actuality. It was obvious to him that Hope didn't lie very often. It made her too uncomfortable for it to be a common occurrence for her. With a mind like hers, and a reaction like that, she may not be around people enough to need to lie often. Considering her hacking ability, that may mean she had some job in the information technology areas. Hope dealt with computers, not people. Yes, that made sense.

Bruce felt a cold certainty as several other things came together, like puzzle pieces snapping into place.

Hope dealt with computers, not people. She didn't understand human nature, she couldn't predict them, couldn't account for the possibilities. Oh, she knew they existed…but she didn't know why. She didn't know why criminals did what they did. And she was still young enough and idealistic enough to bother. Hence why she sent those emails. They were caustically worded—which was probably a personality flaw combined with extreme defensive behavior; possibly a learned response to previous rejections—but were a sincere attempt to help. She didn't understand, so she did what she could understand.

Lies made her uncomfortable. The first time she had been truly uncomfortable all night was with that one sentence. The rest had been embarrassment, due to lack of experience at taking a compliment. (Indicating she didn't get many, which astounded him.) Thus she hadn't been lying before. She HAD been in California when the big earthquake hit a month ago. She HAD broken several bones. No doubt she'd had much more than broken bones from a building falling on her!

And yet she was fine. His eyes analyzed how she walked around the buffet table. No, not even a limp! Therefore, she had been majorly injured only a few weeks before, injuries that should have taken much, much longer to heal, and here she was, perfectly fine.

His eyes narrowed. One of Hope's very dangerous secrets included rapid healing. Or someone who knew how to rapidly heal another.

He eyed the champagne glass she held and knew he'd be running some tests later. Any chemical residue could be taken from backwash in the liquid. DNA from saliva on the rim. Fingerprints and a hack would get her run through the police database. He could get lucky and find out her full name and address that way. Even if he didn't though, he had a giant head start. Another couple tracking dots, one in her purse and another on the bottom of her shoe when she wasn't looking where she was walking, and he'd have her address before morning…

+++++HOPEFUL+IDIOT+++++

Finished: 06.25.2021

The Aeslin mice come courtesy of the "InCryptid" series, from the mind of the singular Seanan McGuire.

Please tell me what you think, but constructive criticism please. I know it's not perfect. Barbed Caress generously donated his time to beta this chapter. Thanks dude!

Thanks to an unexpected internet downtime, we get this chapter early. Yay!