You have been patient and you are being rewarded. (The title of the chapter may change if something better comes along.)
Warning: Some Language . . .
Another helicopter, one not owned by Hamilton Industries, landed in the area between the pool and the boat house. Hugh and Edward got out first and then Elle stepped out between them. One of the men had his arm around her waist and the other had an arm covering her head as they ran a safe distance from the whirling blades.
Elle pulled up. She wasn't ready to go to the house. This trip was totally unplanned and the likelihood that whoever had been shooting at her earlier had somehow managed to get through Chicago rush hour and beat her here was slender at best. The two men complained but that wasn't anything she wasn't used to. If she truly thought there could be a danger here on her family's estate, she would allow them to do their job however they saw fit. Elle wasn't stupid nor was she dangerously stubborn or egotistical. Being uncooperative could more easily get one of her bodyguards killed trying to protect her than it would to endanger her. These men had been with her nearly all her life. They were, themselves, like family . . . favorite uncles, she liked to think of them.
"Hang on," she told them. "I want to talk to her."
They knew the 'her' Elle was talking about. They had spotted her in the sky following them twenty-five minutes ago, just after they left the airport. Hugh and Edward had initially pulled their guns but Elle knew that particular bogie wasn't dangerous . . . Well, wasn't dangerous to her, anyway. She didn't really know much about the alien warrior princess except that she was beautiful, strong, could defy gravity . . . and had almost married Elle's fiancé. But, despite this, Starfire had caught Elle and taken her to her jet when she could have just as easily let her rival splatter onto the sidewalk.
Apparently, the Tamaranian princess didn't seem to hold any grudges . . .
Soon the glitter on the horizon neared enough to easily make out the shape of a woman. Starfire landed smooth as silk in front of them. Her men blinked in surprise. Their hands rested on their weapons but they didn't pull them. They eyed the heroine warily but took their cues from Elle.
She's taller than Edward, Elle thought, revising her early estimate of the alien female's height from six foot to six foot three or better. Edward, Elle knew for a fact, was six foot two inches.
"I followed to make certain you were safe," the golden-skinned woman said.
Despite herself, Elle's lips quirked up in amusement. "Saw my escape, did you? What did the boys say when you told them?"
"I did not tell them," Kori admitted with her own small smile. "You obviously did not want them to know. Jason would have only tried to stop you again and the second time he would have succeeded in doing so."
Elle gestured for the woman to walk with her to the house. No sense making the men any more anxious than necessary by standing around in the yard and making herself a target. She felt rather childlike walking beside the princess. In height, Elle came up only to her breast. And if her bodyguards thought an alien with flaming hair was odd, they chose not to comment on it. Perhaps they had heard of Starfire before but, at the moment, they were content to follow Elle's lead.
"He might have," Elle conceded, "but he wouldn't have been happy about it later when I got him back."
Kori blinked those strange emerald eyes at her. "Got him back where?"
"Revenge is a dish best served cold," Elle muttered in her best 'evil' voice as she quoted the infamous Klingon proverb.
"You would have . . .?"
"Pranked the living crap out of him," she finished for her.
Kori frowned at the expression.
Hugh snorted with laughter. "No one tops Elle when it comes to pranking."
Kori looked at the smaller woman with a newfound respect. The confusion was still present but the alien got the general idea.
Edward smirked. "We've been on the wrong end of more than a few of them," he admitted.
"That last one . . ." Hugh began.
"Hey! I apologized for that! How was I to know the goats had been stolen?" Elle grumbled, still irritated at that whole fiasco. "I paid good money to borrow them for a couple of hours."
Edward barked in laughter. "The look on Hugh's face when he discovered the two beasts standing in the middle of his bed, wearing frilly pink nightgowns, and eating all of his pillows!"
Starfire's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "What happened next?"
"Nothing!" Elle and Hugh both shouted at the same time.
Edward answered. "The owner showed up with the police. Might not have been such an issue if we hadn't been in Turkey at the time."
"Turks take goat-napping very seriously," Hugh assured her.
"Papa grounded me for that prank for an entire month," Elle complained.
"After what it took to get Hugh out of jail and all three of us out of the country, you deserved a lot more than that, little girl," Edward narrowed his eyes at her, but the look was offset by the crooked smile he wore.
Hugh shook his head as he opened the French door leading into the informal family room. "Elle has banned from stepping one goat-napping foot back into the country ever since."
"So are you," she smirked.
Kori was smiling at the outlandish story, her eyes sparkling with humor. The discomfort that they experienced at her appearance had fled with the silliness of the conversation.
"That might not have happened had we been in the US," Edward noted. "The cops would have shown up, had a good laugh, and returned the goats to their owner, no harm done."
"Miss Bella," Franklin greeted them upon entry. "You've brought company. Shall I arrange for refreshments?"
It said something about the man that not a muscle or eyebrow twitched in response to the sight of a tall, skimpily-clad, alien woman entering the house unexpectedly with them. Elle always suspected there was a special British butler school where normal expressions and reactions to surprises were stripped from students before they were allowed to graduate.
"That would be greatly appreciated, Franklin. Thank you," Elle told him. Turning to her guest, she continued. "Please, have a seat. Let's talk."
Hugh and Edward murmured their goodbyes and retreated from the room. Elle knew by experience that they were heading to the room that contained the estate's security monitors and to apprise Franklin and the rest of the staff of the new heightened security measures they were bound to be implementing.
They sat down and stared at one another for several long, uncomfortable moments. All the affability of earlier had fled with Franklin and her bodyguards. Elle supposed as host, she was expected to make her guest at ease, but what the hell did they have to talk about? Were they supposed to giggle and compare notes on Dick's kissing?
That thought nearly had her bolting out of the room.
Elle was disgusted. She didn't like thinking of herself as some fainting hothouse flower. Where was her courage, her gumption? She sighed . . . It probably fell out of the helicopter with her and was, at that moment, decorating the sidewalk in downtown Chicago.
"I am sorry if what I said hurt you," Kori told her suddenly. "It was not my intent."
Okay . . . Let's bring up the elephant in the room.
"If you don't mind my asking," Elle said tentatively, "what happened?"
Kori bit her lip, looking amazingly enough, uncertain.
"You don't have to answer that if you don't want to," Elle added quickly. She'd be getting the story out of Dick soon enough.
"A friend of ours was taken over by . . . evil," Kori began.
Elle blinked. That wasn't what she expected to come out of her mouth.
"Raven . . . She interrupted the ceremony and killed the minister before it was complete."
That was what she had said on the jet.
"What about afterwards?" Elle asked hesitantly. "Why didn't you finish what you two started?"
For once, Kori looked uncomfortable. She turned her face away to stare out at the view of Lake Michigan beyond the grounds.
"I-It wasn't meant to be," she said softly. "Raven . . . She . . . I was possessed for a time."
Elle's mouth dropped open. "D-Does that sort of thing happen a lot?"
"You'd be amazed . . ." Kori shrugged her shoulders.
"I will admit to having reservations about the wedding beforehand as well," Kori went on to explain. "We . . . Dick and I had just broken up after a big misunderstanding, you see, and he came back from it upset. He was acting strangely and, well . . . He suddenly wanted to get married right away. At the time I accepted, I was so happy but it was so rushed and nothing seemed to be going right for either of us."
It hit Elle suddenly that this wasn't a happy story. A broken relationship never was. Is this why Dick hadn't told her? Because it was so painful? Elle's anger had been her first reaction. She ran because she couldn't face Dick while she was so upset. It would have ended with people yelling, and things being said that were meant to hurt rather than a reflection of what the person thought.
"Afterwards," Kori continued quietly, "I was not myself for a while. I didn't remember everything from before and when we finally discussed our future . . . There wasn't one anymore. I'm not sure there ever had been now that I look back on it."
"What do you mean?" Elle frowned.
Kori looked at her then, really looked. "I love Dick Grayson," she announced. "I will always love him in my heart but Dick . . ."
Kori leaned forward and set her hand over Elle's. Elle looked down at that lovely golden skin. The woman's hand completely engulfed her own, Kori's fingers even extended up her past her wrist a good distance. Warmth radiated from her palm, taking the chill from Elle's own.
"Dick never loved me," Kori told her. Elle's eyes jumped up to meet the emerald fire of the other woman's gaze. "He cared about me, I believe but love . . . No. Not the kind I wanted or deserved. Lust might be a better word for what he felt."
Against her will, Elle's eyes darted to the alien princess' figure. There wasn't much left to the imagination. When Kori leaned back onto the sofa, she was smiling mischievously.
"I think I can understand what he saw in you," Elle blurted out. Her hand slapped over her mouth a second later, a little shocked at herself. "Oh, um . . . I didn't mean it like that!"
Kori laughed, abruptly at ease once more. "Tamaranian customs and morality are a little different than those of earth. We love easily and we love hard. Sex wasn't taboo on my world. Earth is far more prudish about the subject that my people were."
"I . . . see?" And she thought maybe she did. Certainly one couldn't harbor a lot of hang-ups over sex when one spared no thought to wearing the kind of thing Kori did. Or, not wearing, as the case may be. Being partially raised by her grandparents, Elle's own sense of propriety was perhaps a bit more prim that the average twenty-three year old's.
"You aren't just telling me this to make me feel better, are you?"
Kori smiled. "Of course I am. You were obviously shocked and hurt by what I so carelessly blurted out on the jet. Jason had told me who you were beforehand as well. I still have trouble sometimes determining what is acceptable to say in public and what is not. But you shouldn't worry that Dick still harbors feelings for me."
Elle nodded.
A noise had her looking in the direction of the entryway. Franklin was pushing in a tea cart. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. How long had he been lurking out there before making that noise to announce his presence? She glanced at the clock. It had never taken him quite so long to bring refreshments before today. She couldn't find it in herself to blame the man, however. Franklin had worked for her father since Elle's birth. The man was loyal if anything and harbored a protective streak.
"Thank you, Franklin," Elle said as she stood up. "I'll take it from here."
"As you wish, Miss Bella." Franklin bowed slightly, ever the proper English butler. Alfred reminded her of him somewhat, although what Franklin might think of the Wayne family secrets, she wasn't sure she ever wanted to find out.
Kori stood up. "I should be going."
"Nonsense. You were brought in to help protect me for the day, correct?" Elle poured the tea. "How better than to have tea with me? Sugar? Cream?"
"If you are certain?"
Elle didn't know if she could be friends exactly with Dick's exes, but Koriand'r of Tamaran was hard to hold a grudge against. She'd admit to a bit of envy, standing next to the statuesque princess but for the first time Elle took solace in the mystical force that bound she and Dick together by their souls.
He loved her. Elle knew that through the bonding. What he felt was real, at least she thought it was. She had to trust what Arthur had told her once, that her half-breed voice didn't have the power to force Dick to love her. This assurance, that what they had was real, was more than most couples had.
Whether they truly wanted it or not, however, the bond ensured that she and Dick would be joined for eternity. Certainly there was a measure of security in that?
Kori accepted the tea graciously and announced, if Elle would agree, that she would keep watch over Elle and her estate until Dick could arrive. She took time to eat as Kori and Elle exchanged stories of their happier childhoods but then Kori stood up to go.
"It would be better if I took up post outside. I can watch for the approach of any enemies that way," she explained to Elle. She handed Elle a small device. "It goes in your ear," she explained. "Jason gave it to me a while back. You can contact me if you are in danger."
Elle took it. "Thank you. Are you're not cold outside?" Elle was still freezing in the Illinois winter. So different from the milder Mediterranean winters of Southern Italy.
Kori laughed. "I am a living solar battery. I do not get cold."
"Is she here?"
Franklin stepped back as Aiden pushed his way into the house. It hadn't been but a few short weeks since he had last been here; the night his father had passed away. He looked around the foyer and into the two rooms that opened off of it, searching for signs of change. It was probably too early for that but he didn't expect Bella to leave everything the way it was. Eventually, she would be putting her mark on the place now that it was hers alone.
"She is," Franklin answered stiffly.
The butler was holding grudges it would seem. He tossed his coat to the man.
"Hang that up," Aiden ordered. The man was no longer considered his employee but he was still a servant. "Then go get Bella. Keep in mind, she invited me here."
"Indeed," Franklin sniffed, holding the coat out like a smelly bag of garbage. "Under protest, I can assure you."
Aiden did a double take. The older man had never spoken in such a disrespectful tone of voice to him before. His lip curled. The amount of contempt the butler must have held for him through the years was surely enormous.
Aiden wandered into the sitting room as Franklin left to retrieve his half-sister from wherever she was hiding. He moved to the bar and poured himself a drink, wondering at the gall that had possessed her to call him of all people. He had been tempted to refuse her call and, later, to refuse her request but his damned curiosity had gotten the better of him.
Little Bella had grown up and apparently had grown some claws.
"Good. You're here."
Now those were words he had never expected to hear come from her. Aiden turned around, his lips twitching at the sight of Bella's ever ready bodyguards. The two men flanked her, positioning themselves on either side of the entry. But someone was missing . . .
"Where is your husband, Bella? I thought the two of you were joined at the hip," he remarked, unaware still that the marriage had been a hoax.
"Unavoidably detained," she told him briskly.
Did he detect a bit of trouble brewing? She didn't seem nearly so enamored of the man as she had the last time he had spoken to her.
"Would you like to follow me into the study?" She turned without awaiting his reply and walked out.
He supposed it was better than doing whatever business she had planned out on the front porch. Aiden topped off his glass with his father's best bourbon before heading after her. He had a feeling he might be needing it before this little impromptu meeting was over. He lifted his glass in a salute to Edward and Hugh as they waited to escort him.
Either they were treating him like a royal guest or, and this was far more likely, like a common criminal.
"I do remember the way, you know," he told them lightly. "Or do you suspect that I might attempt to make off with the silver?"
"You're here under protest," Hugh informed him.
"Ah, yes, so I heard," Aiden admitted mildly.
"Just get this over with as quickly as possible and be on your way," Edward told him as he held the door open.
Aiden entered, frowning. It looked exactly the same. Bella was using it but the office looked exactly as it had when Cedric Hamilton had sat behind the desk. It annoyed the hell out of him to see her sitting in his father's chair.
She nodded to the seat in front of the desk like he was some recalcitrant child being called onto the carpet for some prank. But then she had surprised him.
"Hugh? Edward? Please close the door on your way out," Bella said softly.
Aiden slid into his chair, his curiosity renewed. She wished to discuss something out of her bodyguards' hearing? Something that they would not approve of, perhaps?
"Miss Bella," Edward spoke with formality. "I would prefer if one of us remains in the room with you."
He was doing it for Aiden only because her guards had long forgotten their role as employees many years past. Aiden also knew that Bella encouraged it and he had to admit that both men were incredibly loyal and more than willing to take a bullet for their charge. In fact, if he remembered correctly, both of them had at one time or another done exactly that.
"Please close the door behind you on your way out, Edward. Thank you," she repeated patiently but firmly.
"Under protest," Edward said, closing the door with a soft 'snik'.
Aiden looked at his sister. "There seems to be a lot of that going around lately."
She frowned at him. "And what is that?"
"Protests," he rumbled, suddenly amused. He sipped his drink and relaxed back in his chair. "Let me guess. You wish me to drop the suit against you."
Bella lifted an eyebrow and pursed her lips. "While that would be appreciated and most convenient," she remarked, "it is not the reason I asked you to come here today."
It was his turn to lift his eyebrows in question. "I'll admit, now you have me rather intrigued."
"You admitted to me once that you were not behind the attempts on mine and Dick's lives. Is that still your story?" She met his gaze.
Aiden frowned and shifted slightly in his chair. Not from nerves, however but from concern. He had not lied to her about his intentions. He wanted his inheritance but he knew as well as she did that, if Bella died, whatever their father had foolishly left her would go to her husband, the cop, or to Wayne in Gotham. He'd rather eat ground glass than to see his father's company turned into a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises.
"You know it is." Where was she going with this? "What's this all about?"
"It's about getting what we want and what I want is be left in peace," she snapped.
Ah, the stress was leaking out.
"How many times must I tell you that I'm not behind the attempt on your lives?" Being accused of something he didn't do was beginning to grate on his nerves.
"But you know how to go about it, don't you?" Elle leaned forward, her elbows on the desk between them as her gaze grew in intensity. "Even if you aren't involved in the plot against me, you have the connections for this kind of thing."
Aiden set his glass down and leaned back in his chair. He wasn't sure what was going on behind all that hair but he was fairly certain he wouldn't like it. "What are you accusing me of, Bella?"
The intensity was gone, just like that. His sister leaned back in her on chair and steepled her fingers, much like their father had been fond of doing.
"I'm not accusing you of anything," she told him in a conversational tone of voice. "I asked you here to make a deal. But I need to know if you are even capable of handling your side of it, otherwise this whole thing seems rather pointless."
"What kind of deal?" She had drawn him into her web with expert skill. He was hooked but would he remain that way.
"I still own controlling shares to seven companies that fall under the Hamilton Industries umbrella. I'm willing to sign over my shares to three of them. That would be four for each of us. Could you live with that?"
It took a second to stop reeling at the bomb Bella had just dropped on him. "I could just wait for the competency hearing and get them all."
Bella snorted. "Pfft," she waved a hand dismissively in the air. "Nothing is going to come of that hearing. I have an iron clad defense and you have burden of proof. And whatever you're paying to have stories made up about my 'instability' I can easily double or triple the amount. If I am cleared, which I guarantee you that I will be, you will walk away with nothing . . . except a reputation for ruthlessness that could scare away any future prospective business deals." She smiled. "What say you, Aiden? I know you don't rest on your laurels. How many deals do you already have in the works, hm?"
"So you don't just sit around all day singing pretty songs," he mused.
"I have a master's in business, the same as you do," she replied.
He was beginning to see what Cedric saw in her. Her voice didn't work on him; he was immune and yet she retained a control of this meeting between them easily. He was finished underestimating his witchy little sister. He decided to take the bait to see where it led.
"Just like that? What do I have to do for this generosity in return? Kill the president?"
"It isn't generosity," Bella corrected. "You know, Aiden . . . You know I never wanted this. You've been present for enough mealtime discussions to know Papa was railroading me into his world. I will do my duty and see to it what is left to me profits and prospers but not at the expense of sacrificing my own dreams. And right now, those dreams are being threatened by someone wanting to kill me . . . Hell, not just me! They're after Dick, too."
"There's been another attempt? They must be getting shoddy," he remarked. "You're still here."
"Yes, although barely. You, however, should be counting your lucky stars for that," Bella shoved back from the desk and stood. "This opportunity? It all ends if I do. You'd get what you were given and good riddance to you. But I'm offering you half of the company for your assistance. It's a sweet deal, Aiden. You really should take it."
He sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Bella was right. She had proven herself to be as clever as he was. They appeared to be matched. If at some point he could swallow his hatred of her to sit down across a chessboard, Aiden was curious about the outcome. He had once been so positive of the superiority of his mental acumen, only now . . .
"Spell it out for me, then," he said, reaching for his glass. He needed a little fortification to get through this, he expected.
"Use your connections," she said. "Find out who's doing this and stop it."
He blinked. "It isn't exactly that simple."
"Then find the men that made the contract and make them a better deal," she snapped.
"And you'll sign over three of Father's companies to me . . . when?" He asked. "I have no control over how many people want to do you in, Bella. You understand?"
"It is the same person behind it," Bella told him, dryly. "I'm sure of it. But this last time wasn't the same hitman. The first guy isn't in any condition to come after me. I've thought about it and ,I suspect, perhaps that someone simply took over the original contract or else the first guy hired someone to complete it for him."
"There is a level of secrecy involved in this," he reminded her. "It's not something I can just pick up the phone and take care of."
"Then you better get started," she told him.
"What about proof?"
"Proof would be pleasant," she agreed.
"Hm," he grunted, and stood up to face her. "You think this will square us? That when this is over that I won't still hate your guts with every fiber of my being?"
"Frankly, Aiden, I could care less. When this is over, you and I are through with each as far as I'm concerned. You go your way, I'll go mine."
"And never the twain shall meet?" He rumbled, almost good-naturedly.
"If we are at all lucky," Bella agreed. "I am perfectly fine living in a world where I no longer have to share holidays and company picnics with you."
He snorted and reached for the door handle. "It's a start," he murmured.
Hugh and Edward were standing just outside of the door, waiting to see the man to his car and watch him exit the estate.
Edward glanced at her, searching for a sign of fear or upset. When he found none, he asked her. "How did it go?"
"Surprisingly well, all considering," she whispered back.
She still didn't trust the man. Her brother's hatred had flourished for longer than she had been alive, transferring from her mother onto her at Elle's birth. It wouldn't just go away. But, like Aiden, she spoke the truth. She didn't care if he hated her as long as he stayed away from her and left her alone. Perhaps this deal would soothe him enough that there could be some measure of peace . . . At least for a while.
Right now, it was the best that she could hope for.
He smiled and moved to catch up to Hugh and Aiden Hamilton.
Elle's lips quirked. "Surprisingly well."
Sighing, Elle turned. She had another meeting to prepare for and, she checked her watch, barely a half an hour left to do it in. Dick was going to be so pissed . . .
REACTIONS?
Elle is tired of reacting to the things around her. A glimpse into a heretofore seldom seen facet of her personality. If she isn't strong, thank God she is smart.
The next chapter, the Hamilton jet will be arriving in Gotham . . . Let's check in with the other half, shall we? ;D
In my "Collection 2: What The Hell Was I Thinking?", you will find deleted scenes and excerpts from "Last Chance" and even one from this story, "Second Chances" posted. "The Exterminator" is an amusing bit that I just couldn't find a place for amidst all the drama and excitement happening here. So, feel free to check it out.