Sophie gets two new jobs.

Is there a topic you could talk about for hours?

I am really passionate about animals and work in a dog shelter, so I can talk about them for hours, if people don't stop me. I am actually better at remembering the dogs' names than those of my girlfriend's relatives. It's driving her insane. – Matthew, 32

Sophie was feeling frustrated. The last evening had produced more questions than answers- and also a throbbing headache which made it hard for her to get out of bed.

She would love to go to Oswald's again to find out more. Maybe she could gain the barkeeper's trust and pick his brain for information. On the other hand, she didn't enjoy deceiving people. The very thought of flirting her way out of a parking ticket made her cringe. Making goo-goo eyes at the barkeep wasn't really an option.

In addition, Sophie didn't like the way his attention to their conversation had peaked when Gina mentioned the fire

Of course she was being paranoid, but she was sure that this was probably a good thing. Any employee of the man who hired the bald man should be treated with care. He seemed like a good person, though. She thought about how sad the barkeeper had looked and sighed wistfully. Sophie would have loved to interview him for her blog. Oh, the stories he must have in store!

Barkeepers in general were rather interesting to her. In her mind, the image of a run-down pub with only a handful of customers sitting at the bar, purring their hearts out to the one who purred them drinks, popped up. They would tell stories about heartbreak, family tragedies, and nostalgically share fragments of times that had long passed. What stories would a barkeeper whose boss was probably a mafiosi have to tell? Sophie would have loved to work as a barkeeper.

She forced herself to snap out of her daydreaming- I need to stop regarding people as a source for literature- and continued to think about the problem at hand: her dissatisfied curiosity.

Another possibility for gathering information would be becoming a regular and observe the place more often. This way, she could see what kind of people the penguin-man interacted with. Yet, she didn't want to get too close to draw attention. Perhaps she should just give up.

Sophie felt sorry for herself. She had hoped that the evening at Oswald's would at least partly satisfy her curiosity. It was rather disappointing.

Moreover, the library hadn't called her back yet and Sophie couldn't quite shake the feeling that she wouldn't get her dream job. At least that means the place probably won't burn down anytime soon, she thought dryly.

Sophie settled in front of her computer and opened her novel, keen to use this day to continue her work. It took her about 30 minutes to give up.

Instead, she opened a newspaper and looked at the job section. I wish I could stop doing this, she thought before calling a restaurant that was looking for a kitchen help. When they told her that she could start in a couple of hours, she allowed herself an aspirin and a shower.

To her surprise, Sophie enjoyed working in the kitchen. Chopping vegetables and cleaning dishes was exhausting, but in a different way than waiting tables. She could focus on just the task at hand and was for once glad that she did not have to deal with any customers.

It was physically exhausting and the air in the kitchen hot and steamy, but Sophie didn't mind. She didn't need to look presentable and she could laugh loudly with her colleagues down here without gaining disapproving looks by her superiors. Her colleagues were warmhearted people who had been nice to her from the very start and who miraculously managed to retain a relaxed attitude in spite of how stressful things could become in the kitchen.

Furthermore, she felt safe there.

If she was honest with herself, she had begun to think that she was cursed in some way and drew doom to every place that employed her. She knew that these thoughts were both superstitious and self-absorbed. It's not like the bald man is purposefully choosing places where I work, she scolded herself.

Yet, she was grateful to have a job where she remained more or less hidden in the background.

The crushing downside of her new occupation was that the low hourly wage was not compensated with any tips, forcing her to get an additional cleaning job which she definitely did not enjoy as much, as it left her smelling of detergents and sweat.

This is only temporary, she thought, as she stretched her muscles after having spent the last hours cleaning a very big part of an immensely huge building. Scrubbing a ridiculously long staircase had made her knees ache, so standing and walking was a nice change.

Sophie was glad that her way home from the office wasn't that long, Gotham wasn't a safe place at night and the fact that the cold, which had even further intensified lately, caused her stiff limbs to tremble did not particularly improve her spirits.

The sound of sirens wailing in the distance had long ceased to worry Sophie. For the people living in this city, they had long become a background noise that they grew so accustomed to that they don't even hear it anymore.

Only when she sensed someone moving in a dark side alley to her right and fear began to infiltrate her heart, Sophie became painfully aware of the sirens.

"You have to be fucking kidding me."

Author's Note: I would like to say a big "Thank you!" to my three reviewers. Your very existence makes me happy.

Oh, and I'm going to upload another short chapter soon* - the one after will be a bit longer again!

(*as in: as soon as I am alright with it)