Chapter Five: Burns like Battery Acid

Hestia had bolted from her break room, slamming the door behind her to attempt to slow Zsasz down. He waited as he listened to her sneakers squeaking against the tile floor out in the hallway. Which way was she going to go? Towards her main desk to attempt to exit the front door. Surely she had heard the noise. But what about her home? She wouldn't dare go there would she? A large grin spread across his face. This was his favorite part. He whistled as he rolled his magazine up, and then he tucked it into his boot. He would have to finish reading it later. She couldn't have waited a few more moments?

He continued to whistle as he approached the door, and he slowly opened it. However, he was not expecting the next event. He first noticed her sneakers placed neatly right outside the door frame, then he noticed the hand approaching him at a rapid speed. He felt a sharp pain graze across his shoulder as Hestia's scalpel pierced through his jacket. He simply chuckled as he grabbed onto her wrist, a slight twist, and soon the scalpel was clanging against the floor. Her next hand connected sharply with his face, causing his nose to water. "Quite surprising, but disappointing. Our chase is over so soon? You didn't even try, did you?"

He had grabbed onto her second wrist and had pushed her backwards as he walked out into the hall. She pulled her arms roughly and she began to squirm. Maybe he wouldn't be disappointed after all. Hestia's mind was racing a million miles per minute, her eyes glancing crazily around to find some sort of escape. She thrusted her head towards his, and this caused him to only grasp her harder. "Can you at least make it hurt?" He asked, a low chuckle in his throat.

One of his sleeves had moved up slightly, revealing scars upon his arm. She glanced towards it, and in the back of her mind she realized that as crazy as he was, he was just sick. She shook this idea from her mind. No. She would die if she thought that. Instead she steeled herself and inhaled sharply. "So, Mr. Zsasz, shall we go then?" Her eyes glared into his and she attempted to puff herself help to make it seem as if she was bigger than she actually was.

He began to lead her towards the back exit of her clinic. "Are you sure you want to go this way? Cops tends to hang around there, you know? And if not the cops, the witnesses."

Zsasz looked over towards her, his smile growing bigger. "Oh, you are so coy. Do you really think I hadn't thought of that?" Perhaps he had gotten his hopes up too high. This meant she would break faster once they got to his basement, but he had wanted fun. She was so defiant towards Oswald, so why did she play so easily into his hands? She could have least gotten away for a little while, prolonged his wait for his play time. He continued to pull her into the alley way. The car should be around somewhere close.

Her bun had let loose a few strands after the scuffle in the hallway. She began to look around for different avenues of escape. Her heart raced quickly through her veins as she realized she was running out of time. "Alright. Alright. I will take the deal."

Zsasz stopped to move her in front of him. A mischievous grin took over his features. He stood staring at her as his smile faded to leave his face void of emotion before looking her over. She stared defiantly back in his direction, her jaw stiffening He let go of one of her hands and held up his index finger. His hand touched her face carefully. "Are you sure you don't want to come play instead? We would have so much fun, Hestia." He waited for some sort of outburst, but none came. She still held it in her eyes though—life. No, she wasn't ready to die, and he could tell she would fight for it. Zsasz tilted his head slightly to the left before continuing to search for what he was looking for. "Come on, Dr. Zaqar." His words hissed through his mind, but nothing echoed forth from his lips.

She stared angrily back at him, her free hand clenching and unclenching. Her mind raced impatiently for an idea. His hand left her face, and he slipped it into the inside pocket of his jacket. She listened for the dialing sounds from his keypad. He cleared his throat as he waited. He clicked his tongue behind his teeth. "No answer. I guess that means we'll just have to wait. Now, if I take you back inside, you promise to play nice? Otherwise, I will have to take you to my playroom, and you might not enjoy it so much."

Hestia bit her bottom lip before exhaling sharply. "Let's go inside."

"I want your word. Promise me." He brought his face closer to her, and he fought the urge to lick the fear from her neck.

"I promise to play nice, Mr. Zsasz." She snapped back. He quickly moved her back into the clinic and pulled her back towards the break room. Her mind began to wander as he had her take a seat by her food. They sat in silence, but he had returned to reading his magazine. She played with her fingers, her mind reeling. Then it snapped into her mind. She recognized his name, but from where? She closed her eyes and began to focus on it. She faintly remembered it, one of her first newspapers after returning to Gotham. The black ink began to circle into her mind, the pictures of some body of water flooding her mind. Her eyes finally shot open and she moved them towards his face. It couldn't be him, but that name was too unique for it not to be. "Boating accident." She finally spoke.

His eyes slowly moved over his magazine to peer at her. "What?"

"Your parents… They died in a boating accident. A few years ago? I think I remember reading about it." She looked at him carefully as he lowered his magazine to the table. "I'm sorry."

He had moved so quickly to the side of the table closest to her, she wasn't even sure if he had been on the other side of the table to begin with. He sat in a chair in front of her so that he was close enough that their knees were touching. He scoffed lightly before bringing a gloved hand to her face. "Why are you sorry doctor? You simply asked a question. Death is a part of life. They were simply ready to go."

Hestia moved her face away from his hand slightly before making eye contact with him. "My parents died too." Zsasz smiled inwardly to himself. She still played into his game and she didn't even know it. He looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "They were murdered. So was—" She stopped abruptly. "Never mind about that. When do you think Don Falcone will call you back? I would like to open my practice again, in case I received any emergencies."

"He'll call when he'll call. It just depends on how busy he is. He's a busy man. Now, why don't you tell me about your parents?"

Her eyes narrowed in on him. She stared at his blank expression, her teeth working at the corner of her lip. It was something she did while in deep thought.