I own no part of the Batman franchise and make no money off this fiction! Poo.
The day had been slow and long and Molly was more than ready to leave school as Drama Club practice wrapped that evening. She'd been carrying the tension of Rob's death and her fights with Bruce all day and balancing those with the charade of being Bruce's mistress was especially difficult. She hated lying to her students, most of all. She knew most of them didn't care that she had already supposedly lied about not dating him, but there were a few, like Tony, who had looked at her with sad eyes and it hurt her. She'd worked so hard to gain their trust and now, because of some thugs, she was forced to betray it. There wasn't any time to feel sorry for herself, though. She'd been busy all day and Drama Club had been no different. It was with a relieved smile that she called that night's rehearsal to a close. As Molly helped one of the students coil the extension cords, she heard a noise behind her and turned her head.
"Tony!" she exclaimed, surprised. "You missed rehearsal. Did you introduce yourself to Mr. Spitz? He's our new co-sponsor," she explained, patting the other student on the back and watching him roll the sound board away.
Tony scuffed a shoe against the floor and shook his head. "I don't know if I can keep coming to Drama Club, Miss Weil," he murmured. Molly detected some nervousness and leaned against one of the auditorium chairs, ignoring the closing bustle behind her.
"Oh, Tony, we really need your help. It's okay that you missed tonight, you know. I understand you have a new job, and-"
The boy's head snapped up at her words and he stared at her, wide-eyed. "I don't have a new job," he denied miserably. Molly looked at him carefully, then smiled.
"I'm sorry," she said smoothly. "I guess I was thinking of someone else. Selene was just telling me about something the other night, but I guess it wasn't you. I've been getting confused easily lately," she laughed.
Tony seemed to look at her accusingly and he turned away. "I guess I would get confused too, if I was telling so many lies."
"Tony!" Molly said sharply. "That was uncalled for. Is this about Mr. Wayne? Are you upset, too?"
When he didn't say anything, she sighed and put a hand on his stiff shoulder. "I'm sorry I lied about it, Tony. But he's a very important man and I didn't want to-"
"What? Tarnish his reputation or some shit? You're amazing, Miss Weil," he said earnestly. "You're like, ten times as cool as he is."
Molly watched him quietly as his face grew red. "That's very sweet of you, Tony, but it's not how the rest of the world sees things. Now, why were you really asking me about him the other night? I know there's something going at home, Tony. I know you're unhappy. Please, is there anything I can do to help?"
Tony's eyes widened again and he shook his head. "No, Miss Weil. Why? I'm fine- my family, we're cool." His eyes hardened in a way Molly hadn't seen before and she chastened herself mentally for pushing the issue. "No offense, Miss Weil, but we really don't need your help. I- I can take care of my own family," he finished in a rush and the gun was pulled from beneath his coat before Molly realized what was happening.
"Tony!" she hissed, glancing over her shoulder. "Put that away!"
"I can't do that, Miss Weil. I'm really sorry, but I can't do that-"
"Tony," she said softly. "Please don't do this here, at least. Why don't I let you walk me out into the hall. We can talk out there, away from the other kids. Is that okay? Doesn't that sound better?"
Molly's heart hovered somewhere in the vicinity of her throat as she waited for his reply and when he finally nodded uncertainly and gestured at her with the gun to start walking, she felt sweat break out on her brow. It wasn't the first time in her life she'd been held at gunpoint, and not even the first time a student had done it. But this was Tony, a boy she'd known for a couple of years now, and she was fond of him. He was a good kid at heart, not a killer. It was more than scary to have him pointing a gun at her like he meant every word he said. It's those damned gangs, she thought. They got to him so he would do anything to belong, to stay in their graces. If I could, I wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in every gang leader in the city, she thought viciously. It was with a start that she realized she meant it and she stopped abruptly outside the auditorium doors so that Tony bumped into her.
The gun went off.
Molly, at first frozen by her thoughts and then by the impact of the bullet in her side, doubled over and heard Tony swearing behind her.
"Shit! Holy shit!" he screamed. "I didn't mean to, Miss Weil! Shit, oh my God, shit, shit!"
There were shouts of alarm drifting out to them from the auditorium and Molly barely registered when another gun was suddenly pressed against her head.
"Is this her?" a new, guttural voice asked.
Tony blubbered a response and Molly heard another gunshot- it wasn't aimed at her, though, and a moment later she heard the thud of a body and suddenly couldn't hear Tony anymore.
Too petrified, too furious to say anything for the tears of pain and rage welling in her eyes, Molly grit her teeth and choked down the sobs threatening to spill. Tony! she screamed in her mind. Don't kill him! He's just a little boy! He's just a little- her thoughts went black as the butt of a gun came up against her skull and effectively knocked her out.
Bruce tapped his fingers against the balcony rail and stared out over the darkened city, brooding. There were footfalls behind him and he whipped about, Molly's name on his lips, only to see Alfred bearing another drink.
"No word yet, Master Bruce. If I may ask, why haven't you tried calling her?"
"She's angry with me. She said she would be late tonight. I have to show her I trust her."
"Sir, brooding out here like some Byronic hero won't do either of you any good-" Alfred was interrupted by the telephone and he turned, startled. Bruce immediately rushed past him and snatched at the phone himself, rather than let Alfred answer it as was customary.
Alfred watched from the doorway as Bruce's face paled and his lips drew themselves into a thin line.
"What do you mean, you heard gunshots? Why weren't you waiting for her inside?" Bruce railed. There was a pause and then he practically shouted into the phone. "Who gives a damn about the car? You were hired to protect her, not let her get shot and kidnapped! Fuck!" he snarled into the phone, slamming it back into its cradle.
Alfred moved back into the penthouse and set the drink down. "What do you need me to do, Master Bruce?"
Bruce looked up from his thoughts, almost startled to see Alfred standing there. "I- uh- Molly's been kidnapped, possibly shot, by some gang members. She was taken right from that damned Drama Club of hers. The police have been called, but…shit," he finished harshly, covering his face with both hands. Alfred stood by and waited for him to speak, knowing that Bruce would work things out his own way. He had utter faith in the boy he'd raised. When Bruce lowered his hands, his mouth was still tight but color had returned to his cheeks.
"Better hold dinner," he murmured. "I'm suiting up."
"Ah," said Alfred. "Shall I make any phone calls for you?"
"No, the police have been notified. I'm not sure how long it will take me to find her, but if these men are as sloppy as shooting in the school while other people are still around, I shouldn't have too much trouble." He paused in his path to his room and looked back at Alfred. "Thank you, Alfred."
"Always my pleasure, Master Bruce. No stop wasting time and go save Miss Molly. I'm rather fond of her."
Bruce smiled briefly. "So am I, Alfred."
Molly woke to a damp rag patting her face and blinked several times before her vision cleared from the blur of a black out. The right side of her torso felt like it was on fire and there was a dull ache in her head. She tried to twist in her seat, to get comfortable, but found she couldn't move. She was tied to the chair she was sitting on. She had been abducted. Her eyes widened at the realization and she immediately turned her head to take in her surroundings only to have the dull thud blossom into a roaring pain and her vision blurred again.
"She's awake," called a voice.
"Good," answered another voice. "Give her the aspirin. She will need it. I do not understand why these Americans enjoy shooting their guns so much! It is such a waste of time and money, when a well placed verbal threat will do the job equally well."
The man wiping her face grasped her jaw and shoved two pills into her mouth before he lifted a glass of water and forced her to swallow. She nearly choked, but the man's hand stroked her neck, urging her to swallow as one might do for a dog. The thought made her smile weakly and some of the water spilled from her mouth. The man swore softly in another language and she focused on his face. Russian again. Shit.
So it was a Russian gang? Why? That made no sense. There was the occasional Russian exchange student in Gotham, but certainly not a large influx of immigrants. With a flash of understand, Molly suddenly understood that this was what Bruce knew more about than he'd let on. She found herself wishing they had had that dinner date the previous evening after all. Then maybe she would have had some answers and been on her guard when Tony…Tony.
"Tony?" she mumbled, questioning. The word was off her lips before she caught herself and the man in front of her stood back, surprised.
"What was that?" called the other man.
"She asked about the boy," her caretaker replied.
"So she is coherent," the other man murmured. He must be the boss, she registered. The man walked around into her line of sight and she saw he was tall and large and not very attractive, though he was dressed well and exuded a sick charisma. His body blocked out everything else in the space, he was so big and she barely glimpsed what looked like a closet or warehouse door behind him before the single bulb over her chair illuminated only their three figures. She didn't recognize anything about where she was, except to hazard a guess that it was near the river, somehow. But the large man…there was something frighteningly familiar about him. He shoved the other man out of the way and towered over her.
"Why are you so concerned about the boy, eh? He is nothing to you. You should be asking us if we are going to let you out alive, dorogaya," the large man rumbled at her.
The endearment hit her in the gut like a fist and she blanched. "You…" she breathed, sick to her stomach.
The man narrowed his eyes and stared at her hard. "Do you think you know me, little one?"
She bit the inside of her lip, drawing blood. The pain grounded her, reminded her of why she was there. "No," she choked. "Tony…where is he? You…sick bastards," she finished to cover herself.
The man seemed satisfied with her response and chuckled darkly. "He is being taken care of," he replied. "Now, you will answer some questions for us. Anton," he commanded, motioning the caretaker back to her side. "Let us begin."
AN: Did anyone see this coming? Not me! I thought for sure it wouldn't happen for another couple chaps. Oh, well. Yay, drama!
