Chapter 19
Masked men with AR-15s slung loosely over their shoulders paced the terraces built into the cliff face. Ra's respected and preferred the old ways, but even he wouldn't take a chance with a Lazarus pit.
Bruce sucked his teeth as the sun slowly plodded across the sky. He quietly repositioned himself as best he could - Selina was curled against his side and he didn't want to wake her but his leg was still sore from taking Red Claw's bullet. It felt nice to have her beside him, even if his body would be stiff as hell when he went to stand.
She stirred and groggily opened her eyes.
"Your turn?" she muttered sleepily, pulling the cape tight.
"It's only been two hours," he said lowly, his eyes never leaving the men across the gorge.
"I don't need a lot of sleep," she said, stretching. "Thanks for the blanket."
He didn't say anything. She hid her smile as she dug through her pack.
"Gorp?" she asked, offering him a baggie of trail mix with a high protein content. Alfred. He really did think of everything. Usually he'd refuse, but he knew he'd need energy for the evening and accepted some of the mixture.
"How did you know Ra's would come here?" she asked as she munched on a cashews.
"I make it my business to know," he said around a mouthful of almonds and raisins.
"You know, you could just answer the question without any superior snide bullshit," she said, passing him the bag and pulling out her own set of binoculars. He smirked.
"I have good sources."
"You trust them?"
"I pay too well for them to lie to me."
"Ah, money. Is there anything it can't do?" she joked, rolling onto her side and propping her head up on her hand.
"This place has the requisite geological conditions for a Lazarus pit," he said, changing the subject.
"Oh?"
"Mount Kazbek is a dormant stratovolcano, formed from lava and volcanic ash, and it resides in a geographic area high in tectonic plate activity; all of which are typical features of the pits I've seen in the past. Add the legend about a spring deep within the cave that grants those that bathe in its waters eternal life, and you've got a perfect place for Ra's Al Ghul."
A detective, a geologist, and a mythologist. I'm impressed, handsome. Is there anything you don't know?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.
"How you figured it out." It. His identity. They hadn't spoken of it since the Bat words hung between them. Chewing thoughtfully on an almond, she studied his cowled face, stubble breaking across his chin.
"You mean besides the HGTV-quality bathroom inside a cave, the expensive gadgets, or the butler?" she asked. He didn't answer. "Your teeth."
"My teeth?" he asked, not understanding. Smiling, she began working her right glove off her slender fingers.
"You've played poker, I assume? We all have a tell, something that tips our hand, and lets the other players know what we're holding. When I saw movie star teeth on Bruce Wayne I didn't think much of it," she said, moving close to him, pulling his lower lip down with the pad of her thumb. "But on Batman they're out of place. Why would a man who spends his nights dealing with the very real possibility of getting punched in the face spend so much money on red carpet teeth unless it was expected of him in his daily life?"
"What will you do with this information, Selina?" he asked, his voice quiet. She released his lower lip, her thumb sliding down to rest on his strong chin. Her eyes traced the lines of his mouth, her face was so close to his he could feel her breath on his skin. Remaining perfectly still, he waited and watched.
"When I work, I'm on contract or looking for a payday," she said, her voice dreamlike as she gazed at his mouth. "But sometimes I come across something so unique or rare that I can't bear to part with it. Those are the things I keep for myself. The really special things." Longing echoed in her eyes - she wanted to kiss him. He wanted her to kiss him.
Suddenly, she smiled self-consciously and dropped her hand from his face. Rolling away from him, the distance seemed wider than the gorge they were watching. She pulled her glove back on.
"I wouldn't worry about anyone else figuring it out. I'm going to guess your other adversaries aren't quite as acquainted with your mouth as I am," she joked, popping some more trail mix into her mouth. Whatever moment that had just passed between them was over, but that moment had left him with indisputable proof that she wouldn't tell anyone who he was. He believed her. He believed her in the same way he believed in the righteousness of his cause.
Why don't you get some rest?" she asked.
"I need to focus on how we're going to get into that cave." She rolled onto her belly and looked through her binoculars.
"Why don't you let me think about that?"
"No."
"It's not even noon yet. We've got a long night ahead of us and I need you well-rested. As well-rested as you can be sleeping on this damn rock, anyway."
His back was cramped, he was exhausted from the climb up the mountain, and he hadn't really slept in the past 96 hours. She was right. He rolled onto his side, alleviating some of the pressure on his body and tucked his pack under his head.
"Wake me in two hours." He was asleep before his head hit the backpack.
"You got it, handsome," she whispered, draping his cape over him.
^()^ ^()^ ^()^ ^()^ ^()^ ^()^
The men continued their patrol as she watched through her binoculars. She counted 7 - three by the entrance to the cave, one on the east walkway, one on the west walkway, and one in each of the towers. Given the shift change at dawn, they'd either change again at noon or wait until sundown. If they chose noon, it would indicate a higher number of hired hands than a sundown shift change.
There were several "windows" in the castle-like facade, gaping black openings leading to who-knows-what. Daunting as it was, they'd have the best chance going in through the window at the end of the west walkway as it was closest to their current position. They'd be going in blind. Would the cover of night be enough? There weren't any lights that she could see, but that didn't mean the men in the towers didn't have night vision goggles or infrared sensors.
She sucked on a chocolate nib from the trail mix - the chocolate was dark, rich. This was top shelf foreign chocolate she wouldn't have dreamed of back when she was shoplifting from bodegas to survive. She was probably 16 before she discovered there were other kinds of chocolate besides Hershey's or, if you were really fancy, Dove.
He shifted in his sleep, unconsciously rolling closer to her. She glanced at him, his mouth slack, lips as full and lush as she remembered. If only she'd kissed him. Kissed that perfectly plump lower lip, wrapped her arms around his broad form and buried her face in his corded neck. It hadn't been right. Not here in this cave with death patrolling the terraces of a madman's hideout. Of course, after tonight, she may never have the chance to hold him again. She sighed and turned her eyes back to Ra's men.
^()^ ^()^ ^()^ ^()^ ^()^ ^()^
One hour and fifty nine minutes after he fell asleep, he sat straight up.
"Woah," Selina gasped, shocked. Adrenaline sent her heart into her ribs at 100 miles an hour. He rolled onto his belly and picked up his binoculars.
"That's it," he whispered.
"What?"
"That boulder at the top of the gorge. If we blow it, we'll create enough of a distraction to make our move."
"...I thought you were asleep."
"I was."
"You figured that out in your sleep?" she asked, incredulous. A slight twist of his head told her everything she wanted to know. "Efficient."
"Did I miss anything?" he asked as he watched the guards.
"Nope. I was able to download about half of the information Oracle sent us about the biotoxin," she said, gesturing to the satellite modem. "Remember dialup? This is slower."
"What did she say?"
"Nothing good. From what I can gather, it's as contagious as measles and as deadly as Ebola."
Suddenly, the sound of a gong echoed through the gorge. Selina glanced at the computer in his gauntlet - it was noon. The morning guards were being replaced by fresh guards.
"Fantastic," he grumbled. This mission was becoming more difficult by the minute.
^()^ ^()^ ^()^ ^()^ ^()^ ^()^
They moved at nightfall.
Selina peeled off the parka and took her position. Bruce discarded his parka and moved to fasten his cape. It was strange to see him without the cape. It was also awe-inspiring. He'd made his body into a weapon through nothing but determination and will. And he'd done it all to help a city on the brink of disaster. Though their original goals couldn't be more opposed, she understood what it was to take matters into your own hands and to become more than just a person.
Without thinking, she took the small step across the narrow cave, placed her hands on the sides of his face, and kissed him, quick and light.
"For luck," she said, stepping back. He licked his lips slowly, the lenses in his cowl hiding any clues to what he was thinking.
"I don't believe in luck," he said. Closing the distance between them he placed a hand on the back of her head and pulled her in for a deep kiss.
There was longing in that kiss; longing and sadness and desire and hope. It held everything she'd felt for him when she ran from Gotham more than a year ago. In his arms, his lips pressed to hers, she was amazed she ever left in the first place.
Soon, too soon, it was over.
Stepping back, he was all business again. Silently, they watched the digital timer on Bruce's gauntlet computer count down. When it reached zero, he threw the remote controlled explosive Batarang out the cave entrance.
He navigated it carefully, the infrared targeting dot guiding him. The air was still and the Batarang hit its intended target without issue. Five seconds later, the plastique exploded, sending a large bolder tumbling down close to the east side of the castle. As expected, all the guards abandoned their posts and headed towards the sound of the explosion.
On cue, she fired the zip line into the rock next to their intended entrance point. After checking to see if it was secure, they grabbed the handguards and soundlessly zipped across the gorge.
Once they landed, Batman cut the zip line and they slid into the window-like hole carved directly into the cliff face. He checked the timer - They'd completed the entry in 32 seconds.
Phase one was complete. Now came the hard part - finding Ra's.