Wayne Manor loomed in the distance as the taxi approached the front gate. Alex clutched the car door handle nervously. Taking a deep breath, she waited until the taxi stopped in front of the entrance. She thanked the driver and handed him the cash. As soon as she closed the car door, he drove off as Alex looked on with envy. What she would give to be just a cab driver… then again this was Gotham.
The front door opened to an elderly man in a butler uniform. Alex jogged up the stairs and thanked the butler. Alfred gave her a smile and introduced himself, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Arkham. My name is Alfred Pennyworth. Master Wayne is preoccupied at the moment, but he will be with you shortly. Would you like any refreshments?"
Alex bit back a sigh and replied, "No, thank you, Mr. Pennyworth. I'm fine. I don't mind just waiting here until he's done."
But she did mind. Why would he call her over if he wasn't ready for her? The brat. Alfred had a mischievous gleam in his eyes as though he could read her mind, but he led her to a room with a couch and excused himself. Alex took a seat and checked her phone. "Master Wayne" hadn't sent her anything about him being busy, even after she'd messaged him that she was on her way. Maybe he just hadn't noticed her message… But Alfred hadn't seemed surprised to see her on the doorstep.
Alex put her phone back in her pocket with a sigh. Sneaking out here had been far more risky on her end than his, and now he was suddenly busy… Or perhaps he was hiding something. She already knew about his big secret, so she doubted that was the answer.
Feeling bored, Alex studied the room around her. Everything in this place had an elegant aesthetic. Dark wood furniture and marble contrasted each other and brought balance, and the immaculate leather couch alone told Alex that this place had cost a fortune just to decorate. A large window on the opposite side of the room had the curtains drawn, leaving the lighting of the room solely up to the old-fashioned lamps. This house probably looked classy and welcoming during the day, but at night Alex couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding, especially with the portraits of dead Wayne family members looking down on her from high on the walls.
The sound of footsteps brought her out of her thoughts. Upon seeing Alfred, she stood up quickly. Alfred gave her an encouraging smile before he led her up the stairs and into a study. Bruce sat at the desk, still looking through papers, when she walked into the room.
"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce said and stood up.
The room got a lot more stifling after Alfred left and closed the door behind him. Alex shifted nervously and crossed her arms as Bruce walked closer.
He held out a file to her and explained, "That's your contract. Read it over and get back to me. I'll set up an appointment time at the office for everything to be signed."
Alex took the file from him and replied, "Oh… Okay. I'll get back to you… is that… all you wanted to talk to me about?"
Bruce ran a hand through his hair and asked, "How much do you know about Dr. Crane?"
"Not a whole lot," Alex answered, trying to read Bruce's poker face. "He was my therapist. We didn't exactly chit chat about our favorite movies and hobbies in Arkham Asylum. …Why? Did you find something?"
"He's a dangerous man. You need to stay away from him."
Alex gripped the paperwork in her hands but didn't back down. "How is he dangerous? You need to give me more information than that; otherwise, how am I supposed to know in what ways he's dangerous? How am I supposed to trust you when you don't trust me enough to give me a decent warning?"
Bruce's jaw tightened, but he forced himself to relax and replied, "I assume that you've heard about the 'disappearances' around the asylum."
Alex nodded. Honestly, she'd suspected that Dr. Crane had something to do with the disappearances, but she needed to hear Bruce say it out loud.
"Your Dr. Crane was the one who 'assigned' them to the places they never went."
"I'm not arguing that that isn't fishy, but… I bet he's signed off on more than just those people. Do you know for certain that it's him?"
"Call it a strong suspicion."
"So you're not going to tell me what you found while snooping around?"
Bruce went quiet but held her gaze. Alex felt the blood pump in her ears as she stared back at him. She was the reason he was even able to get the information, and he just expected her to follow his orders on no information.
"What about the missing nurse?"
That threw Bruce off, and he stared at her for a moment. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he just waited for her to continue.
"Guess you didn't hear about that one. There was a nurse that really liked him. All of a sudden she 'ran away with some mystery man.'"
"When were you planning on telling me?"
"When you finally answered my messages. So… now," Alex said, trying not to sound too smug. Bruce had kept her in the dark until now, so she didn't feel guilty about doing the same to him.
"So you knew about him?"
"I had a 'strong suspicion'… Besides… one of my friends is still in Arkham. She needs him to testify for her."
"So you were willing to let him continue whatever he's planning just to let one of your buddies out of Arkham?!"
"Woah, there! If you had enough proof about him doing something sketchy, then you wouldn't be talking to me. You would have him locked away by now. Instead, you finally decided to reply to me. You still need me to play friendly with him… And what happens if I try to distance myself from him? I might become the next person to 'disappear'... or worse…"
"Or worse?"
"He takes it out on Pam… Look… I know that I look super suspicious to say the least. My friends aren't exactly 'on the up and up.'"
"A kingpin, his underling, and a hitman," Bruce replied with an eyebrow raised. "I can't imagine how being friends with them would seem suspicious."
"They've helped me… even Dr. Crane," Alex defended them with a step toward Bruce. "Without his help, I'd still be in that asylum or in the hands of my abusive brother. Without Falcone, my brother's hitmen would have killed me by now. Without Victor, I couldn't leave my apartment, and without Oswald, I'd still have no idea about anyone in this city. I'm not saying that they're 'good' people; in fact… I'm terrified that one day I'll say or do the 'wrong thing' and they'll turn on me… But they're what I've got. I'm doing the absolute best I can, Bruce. I woke up one day in an asylum not knowing a thing about where I was or who I was. My own brother put his hands around my throat. A girl died in my room, and now her uncle blames me for it. I know! I know… that the people around me aren't 'good', but they are to me. So I've given you what I have… Is that good enough?"
Bruce looked away with a pained look on his face. His body language finally relaxed, and he looked at her with eyes that were no longer suspicious of her every move.
"I… may have held you up to an unrealistic standard. And I… apologize for that."
Alex stood frozen for a moment.
"What? Even I can admit when I've done something wrong," Bruce said with a smile.
"I just… wasn't expecting one from you," Alex admitted, and Bruce sighed.
"I'm not exactly 'on the up and up' either. I broke into an asylum to read documents from a respected psychiatrist… among other things. When you first told me that you knew about the vigilante, do you know how terrified I was? Where did I go wrong? What did I not cover up? I don't believe your story about a friend knowing who I was. I've done my own research on you, and you didn't have any friends before being admitted into Arkham… But I have yet to figure out how you knew, and until I do… I can't trust you."
Alex clenched the paperwork to herself and replied, "Then I guess that's just how it is… Because I can't trust you with the truth." She set the paperwork down on the coffee table and said, "I may have been too hasty in accepting this offer. I think it's probably best if I just go…"
Alex turned and left the room. She heard him protest her leaving, but he didn't follow her. The rooms flew by as she headed outside. Taking a deep breath of the night air, she pulled out her phone and hoped that the cab company would be quick.
The door opened, and Alex turned to see Alfred locking the door behind him.
"Miss Arkham, please let me drive you home. It's quite late…"
Alex hesitated for a moment, choosing between comfort and safety. She relented and said, "Thank you, Mr. Pennyworth. That would be great."
Alfred smiled and led Alex to an expensive looking car. Alex gently got inside, careful not to touch anything more than she needed.
Alfred started the car and drove toward the main road. He didn't ask directions, so Alex assumed that he had driven Bruce to her house before. Feeling comfortable enough that Alfred knew where he was going, Alex gazed out at the night sky. Gotham's air pollution normally didn't allow the sight of the stars, but she could see a few glittering in the distance. The Wayne Manor was located a bit away from the hustle and bustle of the inner city, so maybe that was why she could see some now.
"Miss Arkham, I hope you don't mind me saying…" Alfred trailed off as he seemed to struggle with finding the right words.
"I don't think Bruce is a bad person," Alex told Alfred and watched his shoulders relax. "He's tough on everyone… including himself. I know that he's worried about me knowing his secret, but… I have my own reasons why I can't tell him."
Alfred nodded and replied, "Everyone has their secrets. I just hope that you two can come to an agreement."
"It's hard to work with someone who doesn't trust you," Alex replied in a tone more somber than she'd intended. "Not that I don't understand why. It's just… I haven't told anyone about , and I won't tell anyone… After my friend gets out of Arkham and I get my life together, I want to just disappear."
Alfred looked alarmed, so Alex clarified, "As in move away from Gotham… and that asylum. After what's happened to me here… I don't exactly have enough fond memories to want to stay."
"It's not surprising that you would want to get away from a place that caused you so much pain. In fact, I would say it's a healthier response than haunting the streets at night and chasing criminals."
Alex laughed and watched Alfred smile in the rearview mirror.
"Just know this… It's better to run toward something than away. Running away can leave you stranded and confused on how you got there, and you may not even be in a better place than you ran away from. Find somewhere you want to live and something you want to do, and stick with it."
Alex smiled and met Alfred's eyes. "Thank you. That's my plan. Even if that means I have to stick around longer than I want to."
"Good… I'm just curious. Did you refuse the position because you felt that he crossed a line?"
"No," Alex replied and shifted in her seat. "I already know that he doesn't trust me. I'm trying to be as truthful as I can, but if he's going to continuously ask for an answer that I can't give him, then… I just can't deal with that. I'm not asking him to fully trust me. I don't even fully trust him… But if he's going to demand that I do something or stay away from someone, then I need to know why. Keeping me in the dark until he gets an answer he wants is not something I can deal with."
Alfred nodded thoughtfully and said, "I feel like that's reasonable to ask for. Give Master Bruce a few days to stew it over. I'm sure that he'll reach the same conclusion."
Alex returned to looking out the window. Fidgeting with her shirt, she tried to calm herself with the night sky, but the stars had already disappeared with the appearance of the city lights. She could hope that Bruce would come around, but she'd need to start planning things as though he wasn't. Perhaps she'd just asked too much from him. With a sigh, Alex watched as she got closer to the apartment. She'd go to bed, hit the reset button, and hope for a better tomorrow.