A/N: So this is the fourth chapter. This was originally part of the last chapter but it was too long so I split it up.
Thx!
AMM
Alfred drops me off at the north entrance of Cobblepot Park. I climb out in just my button up white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dress slacks. I walk past a man huddled in front of trash can fire with a shopping cart full of items pulled close. I get to the bottom of the stairs leading up into the park and look around. I notice the graffiti now covering the dirty and cracked walls along with the weeds and trash littering the sidewalk and stairs. Where are you Oz? I take a deep breath and begin to climb the stairs.
Once I'm at the top of the stairs, I'm surprised to find even more garbage and homeless people huddled in on themselves. I see a homeless man and the alcohol bottles and cans around him. Despite knowing what the money will go to, I crouch down and drop some spare change into an empty cup.
"Thank you sir," the man mumbles weakly.
I get to another set of stairs, except this time they descend into a familiar area. I remember Oz and I used to play here, running around the statue at the bottom of the stairs. Right as I go to take my first step, my phone dings. I pause, pull out my phone, and see an unknown number.
Running Late. Meet you by the statue.
"Great," I sigh. I know the number's Oz so I change the contact name and then descend the stairs. I come to a stop in front of the statue. "There's the statue, but no Oz." I mutter to myself. I look around just to see more garbage, graffiti, and homeless people with weeds going rampant.
I approach a small plaque on the back wall, quickly reading over the history of the park. "Well, it isn't what it used to be." I say before turning around and walking to the front of the statue. I hear someone approaching me.
"Watch, wallet, cash." He demands and I turn to see it's one of the homeless men. "Or this," he gestures to the small pocket knife he's holding, "goes through you." I don't move as another homeless guy approaches.
"Hey, you heard him, man." He tells me.
"Go ahead," I taunt. "Try to take it."
"The hell'd you say!" the first man orders.
"End him!" The other says and the first one approaches slowly before someone interrupts.
"Gentlemen!" the man says. I look over and recognize it to be Oz.
"Oz," I say quietly.
"Keep walkin', alright? This doesn't concern you, twerp." One of the thugs tells Oz.
"You see, that's where you're mistaken." Oz's familiar strong English accent says. "My old mate and I have some catching up to do." The first thug comes towards Oz with his knife outstretched when Oz punches him hard in the face and shouts," And you're ruining the moment!" The thug doesn't fall so Oz kicks him. "Think that'll do?"
The other thug turns to me and tries to throw a punch but I dodge and hit him in the stomach. I can hear the grunts and groans of Oz beating the first thug up. "Stay down!" he shouts after ramming the thug's head into a metal bench armrest. I turn back to the remaining thug as he pulls a gun out from his waistband. But before I can do anything, Oz comes up and punches him in the shoulder, sending him sprawling towards me. I punch the guy and send him to his knees before grabbing his gun and easily disarming it.
"This used to be a nice place!" Oz shouts angrily before punching the thug to the ground. "Low lives like you don't belong." The first thug is suddenly awake and on his feet, running towards me but I sidestep him and allow him to run right into the statue. But before the man can move, Oz grabs his head and slams it into the statue once more. The man falls before scrambling to his feet and running away. The second thug does the same.
"This is my park! Mine!" Oz shouts after them. "You hear that?" Suddenly he laughs, as if it was a bunch of fun for him to go all crazy like that. "Ha, oh hey, Bruce! You've got a little…." He trails off and before I can stop him, he licks his thumb and brushes it over my jaw where some of the blood spatter from one of the thugs must've gotten me. I stand there appalled before clenching my fists. That was uncalled for and inappropriate. He's not my mother. "There! Good as new!"
I notice how much blood splattered on his own face and shirt but don't say anything. "Woo! That was a right little scrap, eh? Nothin' kick starts the system like a dash of adrenaline, eh? Besides, someone needed to deal with the rubbish situation here."
"Hey, I could've handled that myself. " I tell Oz as he walks a few paces away.
He spins on his heel to face me again. "You mean a knife handle in the back? 'Cause that's what would've happened, mate. No offense."
"Yeah, right," I say as Oz approaches me again.
"It's been, what? Two decades?" he asks.
"And you know what, I haven't been mugged once that entire time," I tell him, crossing my arms over my chest.
Oz laughs. "That wasn't why I brought you here, mate. Right now, I'm tryin' to recognize the little Bruce I used to run 'round this place with. Back when it wasn't, y'know, like this," he gestures to our surroundings. He goes and sits down on a bench. "This park….it used to mean something. A place that was safe for kids, for families….people came from all over to visit. Oh, mum and dad put so much work in here."
"This place is a wreck," I tell him as I stuff my hands in my pockets, aware I'm stating the obvious. I'm still trying to see if Oz can still be the same kid I grew up with or is like the crazy maniac I witnessed only moments ago. "It's better off bulldozed." I tell him, wondering if I'll get a rise out of him, if he'll get all angry with me easily.
"This park still matter to me, Bruce," he tells me. "It's all my folks left behind. This city chews right through people." He pulls out a flask and takes a large swig. "Mum, committed to Arkham; Dad, ended it himself, he did. My family's fortune….there's nothing left, Bruce."
"I know," I say quietly. "Alfred told me." I pull my hands from my pockets.
Oz takes another large swig from his flask before saying, "S'funny, huh? Same place that ground my family to dust gave you a good life. Used to run in the same circles, we did." Oz slumps in the bench, folding an arm back to rest on the back of it. "Hobnobbin' parties, round the world vacations, unlimited potential, hot Amazon girlfriend. Now all I've got is this park."
"I'm sorry, Oz. No one should have to go through that," I tell him though I'm unsure his reason behind telling me all this.
"Thanks, Bruce. But we're not the only ones suffering." Oz stands, still clutching his flask. "Y'know when I saw you at the party last night I thought….Bruce Wayne….hasn't changed a bit." He lowers his voice as he walks past me and says. "But maybe I was wrong."
He walks up to the statue and puts his flask on the ledge. "Shouldnt've been a surprise when I saw you with Carmine Falcone. Made himself right at home, that oily f-ugh! Wish I could've punched that grin into the back of his throat." Oz growls.
"Falcone was an uninvited guest-that's it." I defend. Maybe I should bring up that he was an uninvited guest as well. "I never want to see his face again."
"On that, we can agree in earnest." Oz tells me, turning away from the statue and his flask. "Falcone's made a stack of cash and corpses a mile high ruining families like mine!" Oz suddenly snarls, obvious anger suddenly boiling under his skin but he's back to his calm façade when he speaks his next words. Almost too calm. "All he needs is a little push and…."Oz trails off as turns back towards the statue and pushes a now empty flask off the ledge and sends it crashing to the ground.
"It'd be a treat to watch him hit the pavement." He says quietly before squatting down and picking up the flask.
"Sorry, mate. This reunion got a lot more grim than I planned!" And he's back to being cheerful. I wonder if he's suffering from some type of bipolar or multiple personality disorder? Loss of family and lots of jail time can do that to someone.
I stuff my hands back in my pockets. "Things're gonna be on the upswing soon though. A revolution is knocking on Gotham's door….and I'm here to let it in." A revolution?
Oz walks towards a ledge against the walls surrounding the small area. "Which brings me to you, Bruce. You see, you throw a rock in any direction; you break a window that Wayne Enterprises owns. As the 'rich and powerful' go, you top Gotham's list." He says almost distastefully. He seems upset with my family's and my fortune. Maybe it's just because he no longer has his family's fortune. Oz is proving difficult to figure out and read.
He paces the ledge, one hand behind his back, the other gesturing wildly through the air as he talks. "But when my revolution starts, we're going to smash windows and cross off names all the way down." We? "Like I said, it's not gonna be pretty….it's gonna be beautiful!" He says enthusiastically.
"That's a battle you won't win, Oz," I try and warn him. Despite his past, especially these past two decades, Oz was still my friend and I don't want to see him getting in more trouble.
"No? I've learned a thing or three since we were kids." He hops down off his ledge and walks towards me. "I have got a great affection for you, Bruce. I really do. Which is why I'm warning you," he puts a hand on my shoulder. "When this whole thing starts, make sure you're on the right side." He drops his hand and begins to walk away.
"Good seeing you, Bruce, but I've got some rocks to collect. Cheers!" He says over his shoulder before disappearing. I stare after him, rather shocked by all that's happened in the past ten minutes.
My phone dings, drawing my attention away from Oz's retreating form.
Press conference for new hospital starts soon. The text from Alfred reads.
Car waiting for you on south side of park. I sigh before shoving my phone in my pocket and walking towards the south entrance.
A/N: So for you guys, these chapters are going every other week basically. Every other to every two weeks but I've actually written this chapter and the last three on 12/27/17 and 12/28/17. I might even do the next chapter tonight as well (12/28/27). We'll have to see. But this chapter is shorter, especially compared to the last. This chapter and the last was actually one but I split them up after I saw how long it'd gotten. That chapter's already long enough as it is, this added to it would not have helped it.
Thx!
AMM
