11 am in Gotham, and it was a beautiful morning. The air crisp with freshness, and the sun rising to meet it's peak, and Sophina was still sleeping in her bed. Gregory her father waltz into her room while fixing his tie. Sitting beside her on the bed, he gently shakes her. "Blaze, wake up." He use his nickname he had for her. Never even budging, he tries again. "Blaze, its after eleven, time to wake up." He pulls the blanket back and all he sees was a thick bundle of fiery red curls, he laugh to himself. Then the body starts moving under the blanket, and a soft groan escapes.
"What time is it?" She asked in a low voice.
Her father getting up, and walks over to the window and pulls back the curtains. "Late." She groans and turns her back away from him.
"Why did you did that?" The bright sunlight fills the room.
"I want to let you know that I'm giving you the day off today. I'm meeting with DA Parker today to go over the evidence for trial, and I know that would bore you out of your mind." Sophina sat up in the bed rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Law doesn't bore me dad, and you know that." She swings her legs off the bed, and stands while doing a large stretch. "Its getting all of this information to prove that some bastard is guilty or not." He smiles at his daughter.
"So you like law?"
"I do, but Dad honestly, you're leaving a very intimidating legacy. I think you have to be Moses or something to fill your shoes." Oh goodness, he's going to figure that I'm afraid to fail, she thought.
He walks over and plants a kiss on her forehead, "I only raise the bar because I know you're the only one that can fill them, but I have to except that you would not take up a career as an attorney." He heads to towards the door, and before he left he turns around and points at her. "And don't get into any trouble." She drops her mouth in shock.
"Then where's the fun in that?" She yells back. She looks around the room, and wonders what to do first. Taking a yawn she heads to the bathroom to take a shower.
Twenty minutes later she walks out of the bathroom in her underwear, and head wrap in a towel turban style. Going into her bag she pulls out her flare cut jeans, socks, and a three-quarter sleeve green cotton tee. Sitting at the edge of her bed, she puts on her black Timberland boots. Pulling off the towel, she finishes drying her hair with the portable blow dryer her carried. When she was done, she looks on her watch and read off 12:49 and knew it was time for lunch.
"Hello front desk?" She plops down near the night stand.
"Good afternoon, how can I help you Ms. McFadden?"
"I wonder if you could direct me to nice restaurant that serve good lunches." She asked while twirling the phone cord.
'Actually ma'am, there is a wonderful restaurant called Tony's, and its four blocks away. Would you like me to call you a cab"
"No thank you, I'll walk it's a wonderful day, thank you very much."
"No problem ma'am" She hangs up the phone, and grabs her jacket.
Meanwhile in the back of a black Bentley, Bruce Wayne was going over some invoices when Alfred disrupts him.
"Master Bruce, its soon one o'clock, you would like to stop for lunch?" Bruce looks up from his paper work.
"No...just get me to the office." And for a brief second he looks out the window, and a smile spread across his face. "Alfred, pull over."
Sophina was calmly walking down the street, and heading to the restaurant when all of a sudden she felt someone touch her shoulder. Turning around about to tell the person a piece of her mind, she was staring at Bruce Wayne dressed in a well tailored suit. Looking less debonair than last night, but looking handsome just the same. "Bruce," She said in a surprised manner. " you know its dangerous to grab people in public, you could get seriously hurt." She spreads a smile.
"Hello Sophina, and I hope you weren't talking about me getting hurt?" He asked with an amused smirk.
"All I'm saying is that you're lucky I recognized your face before I swung my fist." She looks him up and down. "So what can I do for you Mr. Wayne?"
"I was on my way to the office when I saw you walking down the street."
"So you walk to work?" She bites her lower lip with a questioning gaze.
"No actually I drive myself, but today Alfred is dropping me off." He points behind him, and Sophina looks to see a black Bentley parked at the curb.
"I see modesty is not one of your best qualities." He laughs, but then he recognizes the stares and the pointing of the finger.
"I'll drop you where ever you need to go." He escorts her to the car, and opens the door for her. Inside he closes the door, "Sophina, Alfred...Alfred, Sophina."
"Nice to meet you ma'am." He looks through the rearview mirror.
"Nice to meet you too." She looks to Bruce. "You didn't have to drop me off, I was only three blocks from Tony's."
"You're going to Tony's?"
"No, I'm going to the moon." She bite back sarcastically. "And I'm going there to eat, if you were going to ask that question too." She hears Alfred snickering, and that put a smile on her face.
"Alfred, take Sophina and me to Tony's for lunch." He continues to look at her as he sits back into the car.
"Playing hooky today?"
"Its my company, I don't always have to go."
Arriving at Tony's, Bruce and Sophina was greeted by short well round waiter. "Welcome to Tony's, how can I help you?"
"Table for two" Bruce answered.
The waiter leads the two to a table that close to the back, and as they were seated they were handed menus. "So I guess you're playing hooky today also." He looks up from the menu, and watches Sophina reading hers.
"Actually, I got permission to ditch today." She looks up at him. "I hope I don't see work until the trial starts."
"So who's the defendant?" Being very curious.
"Lawrence Slavan. He is one annoying little man." Taking a drink of water.
"So you know him?" She shot him a look.
"If I was the DA, I'll through him in the darkest cell, and he wouldn't see the light of day." Bruce chuckles, "You think its funny. His been a thorn at my side since his teens."
"How old is he now?"
"34" She answered plainly. "I know I was a toddler when he started a life of crime, but I had to hear his name every time he gets arrested, and he ruined my father and I chess games."
"It seems you have it out for him."
"I do, and now he has a link to one of the biggest international drug cartel."
Bruce leans forward at the intriguing conversation. "What cartel?"
"That's the problem. We don't know which one, Slavan is not speaking, and whoever is running the operation works underground."
"Then how you know all of this?" Sophina sits back with her arms folded.
"I'm good." She said cocky. "I'd found out that Slavan is the mystery man #1 informant, but then he's a silent informant."
"He's not talking."
"Not much as a syllable."
The waiter came and they made their order, and while they were waiting, conversation was striking up again. "So enough about me." She place her elbows on the table, and resting her chin on hands. "Tell me about Batman." Bruce nearly choked on his drink.
"Batman?" He repeated.
"Yeah."
"How you know about Batman?" He straightens his tie.
"Duh Bruce! The world wide web." She laughs. "So can he really fly?"
He laughs, "No"
"You ever met him...like face to face?"
"Not that I haven't." She sat back in her chair in disappointment.
'Then why I'm asking you for, you know nothing about the Dark Knight." If she only knew, he thought. "But I've read that he can run competition with you in the sexiness department, even though no one has seen his face." Her green eyes darted to the television that mounted against the wall, and saw the court house on the screen. "Oh, they're doing a story down town where my dad is." Bruce turns his head.
"They are." Bruce saw a waiter walking pass. "Excuse me, can you turn up the television?" The young guy nods, and in a few moments the volume was turned up.
We're here Downtown at the Gotham Court House where police and ambulance are here checking out the area after New York City's District Attorney Gregory McFadden was shot on the steps of the court house. No one else were hit. DA McFadden was rushed to the emergency room, and no word on his status. This is April Sabre from channel one news.
"I must be crazy, because I thought I just heard that my father got shot at the court house." Bruce looks at her, and didn't know what to say. But then she shot out of her seat, and quickly puts on her jacket. "I have to go to the hospital." Then she stops, "I don't know where the hospital is." She let out a soft sob, and covers her eyes. Bruce stands and went by her side, and when she felt his hand on her shoulder. She removes her hand to reveal unshed tears. "No time for crying, I need to get to the hospital."
"Come on, I'll take you." Heading to the car, his cell starts ringing. "Wayne."
"Hey Mr. Wayne, its Fox. Have you heard the news of McFadden?"
"Actually I'm on my way to the hospital with his daughter." He closes the door behind him as the car drives off. "Meet me there."
"No problem."
Sophina runs through the entrance of the hospital, with Bruce not too far behind and stops at the front desk. "Gregory McFadden!" She blurts out.
"He's still in surgery." The woman answered.
"Sophina!" She look down the hall and sees DA Parker coming towards her.
"How's my father?"
"He's in surgery." Parker answered. Bruce appears right next to Sophina.
"What happened?" He places an arm around her shoulder.
"Come, I'll take you to him." They started to walk. "We were going up the step of the court house talking about strategy for the case, and then he fell."
"You didn't see anybody?"
"No one" They stop in front of the ER. "He's in there."
She walks in front of the door rubbing the sides of her thigh, "You know how long?" Parker shakes his head. She releases a deep sigh. "This day can not get any worse." Then a whole bunch of people especially cops were approaching the three, and Sophina was looking at them oddly.
"I'm Commissioner Jim Gordon, and you must be Sophina McFadden." She nods. At the same moment, people were coming out of the emergency room.
"Family of Gregory McFadden?" The doctor asked. Sophina steps towards him.
"His my father. How is he doing?"
"He's a lucky man, that was a really hard bullet to take out."
"He's alive?"
"Barely. He loss a lot of blood, and he took the shot in the head, and we won't know the damage it caused. The next 24 hrs could determine the better or the worse." He gives her a small smile as he walks pass her. The rush of different emotions were surging through her body, and she couldn't make sense of anything right now. But right now someone made the wrong choice about that matter.
Someone came pass the crowd right up to Sophina, and pushes a tape recorder in her face. "How will the death of DA McFadden affect the trial of Slavan?" Her hearing was clog from the rushing of blood, and her head went hot as she landed a punch right across the jaw of the reporter. Landing on the floor Sophina went on top of him and punches him again. Bruce quickly grabs her from the waist as the police picks up the reporter.
"Get him out of here!" Commissioner Gordon shouted.
Bruce carried Sophina to the nearest stairwell and he places her against the wall. He walks over to the staircase and leans against the railing. Sophina stares at the ceiling as hot tears were now running from her eyes. "What happens if he dies?"
"There's a chance he might not." Bruce sais sternly.
She kicks the wall that she was leaning on, "Damn it!" She starts to pace.
"You've got anyone you can call?"
"My brother is out the country." She stops pacing. "Wait...my dad wasn't even in Gotham City for a full 48 hrs, and he was already gunned down." Bruce looks at her suspiciously.
"You think it was hit?"
"One clean shot Bruce? This is too coincidental." And as something gives her an idea she opens the door to the hallway.
"What are you doing now?"
"Going to find my dad's shooter."