Chapter Two
See, it takes me forever to update things! I'm so fracking sorry for not updating this for three(?) months. I'll try to get better at updating, I promise. I mean, if I do that, can you promise to still read these and review them?
Ugh, anyway, this is a long chapter (more than one scene, four of them if I'm not mistaken) to make up for the lack of chapters. I hope you can forgive me! Onwards! To great story writing! Well, I'm okay at writing I guess. I need to stop so, I'm just going to put the disclaimer in and shut up.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Batman franchise or anything associated with this story that is not mine. The characters and back stories belong to DC, not me. The only character that I own are my OCs, Chace and multiple other people, and the plot(s) involving them.
Being alone once she woke up always made Chace feel lonely. She'd gotten used to it by now though.
The afternoon definitely wasn't as cold as the night before, but Chace still had a bit of a hard time getting warm. She didn't have a hard time getting food though; never had a hard time with that. She wondered if Garrett was the one that left the food, but quickly disregarded the thought. He'd never get up just to give her food; so who was it? Mister J might have done it but he left before she could say goodbye; she hoped she'd see him again, she wanted at least one goodbye hug. Just one; wanted to know what that felt like.
She hoped it was as nice as people always said they were.
She heard the front door being unlocked and opened, hoping that Garrett would actually let her go somewhere today. It was so boring, being locked up in an apartment; no friends, only yourself, movies and books. She didn't read them as much as she let on - she liked to seem smart, like the people in the movies... she was more of a movie watcher - but she still read. Her eyes lifted from the ground as she watched Garrett walk into the kitchen. He was looking at her disapprovingly, she didn't know why; the fact that she was sitting on the counter?
She shrugged at him, continuing to eat her sandwich. "How was your night?" That was it, that's how they would start their conversations; no hello, no are you fine - well, maybe are you fine - just a how was your night. She never knew why he did that; she'd loved to know, but never asked. She didn't think he'd give a straight answer; never did.
She swallowed her mouthful, watching her feet. At least the answers were always short and sweet; never need too much thought. "Cold." Chace replied with a slight accusing tone, she moved her feet and wiggled her toes; she felt bored. And excited. She really needed to get out of the apartment.
There was silence for a minute before she thought she heard a mutter of "Shit, forgot about that..." but didn't think about it. She was just happy to eat her salad sandwich; a summer kind of meal. She wondered why it was so cold during the night that it felt like winter instead of summer, maybe that's why Garrett forgot. She couldn't blame him for not knowing that it was going to rain, she wasn't that bad.
Sighing through her nose, she watched Garrett open a beer; Corona, his favourite. Chace never understood the love for beer; for whiskey at least. She had a shot glass of Jack Daniel's before and almost puked; Vincent said that you don't drink it for the taste. She really didn't understand that - doesn't everyone eat and drink things for the taste? She did, why didn't they? The girl could remember asking Vincent about that and he just laughed at her, said that she'd understand when she was older.
She hated that phrase; understand when she's older.
It felt like everything that Garrett or Vincent or Johnny - or anyone else that she knew - would say that, she wished that growing up didn't take so long. For a brief second she wondered if Mister J took long to grow up, he certainly didn't look grown up. She couldn't think of many people who dress up like a clown and are grown up. Maybe that's why clowns are so funny; they're grown up children. The thought made Chace smirk.
Deciding that she wanted to talk about last night, she pushed herself from the counter and walked over to Garrett. Her feet hurt when she landed (maybe she'd think before sitting on the counter again) but she tried to ignore it and sat herself down beside Garrett. "I helped the man who came last night." Taking her last bite of her sandwich, she turned to look at Garrett.
She noticed him tense and give her an odd look. "... What?"
Chace just returned his odd look. Wasn't he the one who told her to look after any man who happened upon this apartment? "The man... the one that came here last night, I helped him." She continued, stating her sentence as if it was the most obvious thing in the world - which it was, to her anyway.
His eyebrows furrowed and he gave her a more worried look; confused too. She wondered if Mister J wasn't even allowed to come into her. "A man wasn't supposed to come to you last night." Well, that solves it.
She gave him a blank look. "Oh." Who did she help then? - the police? Last she heard, police didn't dress up like clowns.
The man - black man, nice suit, probably not a man of simple tastes, like his boss. Chace wondered if people mixed him and the main man up a lot - turned his body towards the girl - white girl, small, looked homeless, didn't even look washed; looked like there was dirt all over her face. She had showers, just not often enough, which she told Garrett often but he still hasn't bought shampoo and conditioner yet. "Who was he?" Chace frowned at his alarmed face. Mister J was just a clown, plus he wasn't even nice enough to tell her his real name, despite her efforts.
A shiver ran through her when she remembered those efforts. "I don't know."
"Chace." His voice had a warning in it, she never liked when he did that. She's probably in trouble now - but she didn't lie.
Letting out a pained sigh, she pouted up at him. Chace wondered why Garrett thought that she lied to him. She was a bad liar. "I don't know, he wouldn't tell me his name, okay?" Chace wasn't entirely sure if Garrett believed her - though she was never good at lying, only... truthing - she probably wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise though, she wasn't that kind of person - hoping that he would believe her.
Garrett had his whole body turned towards her. "Did he say anything, anything about who he was?" Well gosh, was Mister J that bad of a man?
Furrowing her eyebrows, she told him the only bit of information that she had got out of her... friend. Maybe - if she tried harder - she'd get more out of her friend next time. "He called himself J. Mister J." A sense of determination went through her, like a wave, and she told herself that she would get more information about Mister J. Maybe they could play that game that people played... that questions game.
Twenty questions? No, no, that was a guessing game. Maybe she should guess his life story, that'd be fun. Oh, the things she had planned to say, and do, when she met Mister J again. She didn't think that she ever met a man like him; a one of a kind. Wondering if she was a one of a kind too, Chace took the time to actually look at Garrett's facial expressions.
He did not look impressed. "... What did he look like?"
Purple; Mister J looked purple. And like a happy devil, not a teddy bear. She wondered if Mister J liked being hugged, she hoped he did. Then he'd be her new teddy bear. Maybe she'd call him Teddy when she saw him next. She didn't think he'd like that name.
Finding her voice, she bit her bottom lip, looking up at him. Hesitant. Mister J didn't like that about her, but he wasn't here now, so she wouldn't have to worry about that. Yet. "Like a clown." She scrunched up her nose. "A kinda scary clown..." The look that he was (still) giving her did not look happy; looked the opposite; looked angry. Or annoyed. Or worried. She couldn't decide; never been good with emotions.
It looked like he was having an inner argument with himself, which she was too. Not with him, with herself. Garrett looked like he was going to poop in his pants when she said that someone came to the apartment last night. She wondered if Mister J got himself into trouble - well, she knew he was in trouble already; he had a bullet in his side, but she wondered who he was in trouble with. Maybe Garrett was there, or not. Maybe, just maybe. She wondered what happened to that one guy... what was his name? She could only remember Salt.
Maybe his girlfriend's name was Pepper.
She almost giggled at the thought. Almost. Instead, Garrett had gotten up, which frightened her, and threw away his bottle of beer. Garrett would never throw away his bottle of beer without... a reason. A good reason. Worried, Chace followed him like a tail, trying to not let him out of her sight. She was about to call out to him when he spun around to look at her.
The speed of his speed sent her flying back; not because of his spin, because he startled her. His eyes were frantic, even his voice was frantic. Chace wondered if his thought process was frantic to. "Get down to the car." Not as frantic as she had initially thought, but still frantic. Maybe he had cleared his mind a bit.
She gave him a sceptical look. "Wha-"
Garrett didn't have any time for Chace's shit. "Now." His no-shit-taking tone made Chace feel scared and hurried along with him, leaving the apartment. At least she got her wish that she had when she woke up; to leave this apartment.
The girl gave a frustrated sigh, still hot on his tail. "Okay, okay!"
They rushed down the stairs; Chace jumping down two steps at a time, Garrett jumping down three steps at a time. She wondered how he could do that. If she even tried to do that, she'd slip and crack open her skull. Or something along those lines. Maybe. She'd never been exactly graceful; or ladylike. Though she'd never had any woman influences in her life, other than the time that she saw a woman with Garrett. She didn't think that would count.
Reaching the car, she moved to get into the front but Garrett shoved her to the back. He quickly got into the car before she could hit him, so she settled for glaring at the back of his head and slowly getting into the car, not quickly. She got a glare back, but she didn't care. At least she had gotten revenge.
The car ride was boring, nothing fun happened. The only thing that really did happen was Garrett's conversation with his boss. All she heard was, "Gambol?" Then she zoned out for the rest of the conversation. Thinking back to last night, she wondered if she actually would see Mister J again. She hoped that she would; that'd be awesome. She loved Garrett, she really did. The fact that they - sometimes - didn't get along, didn't really affect her. She loved Garrett. But he was boring; really boring. They did the same thing everyday; almost everyday. Some days they'd do something fun, but that'd be an odd day.
Turning to look at him, Chace watched as his facial expressions changed. She didn't know why they changed, they just did. She wondered why. She wondered if she should ask, but decided against it. Some things are better left alone, like Garrett. She wished to hug him one day; a kiss on the cheek too. He really didn't understand, she was sure that he didn't. She'd hit him if she got the chance though, just for fun.
Considering the fact that the windows were tinted, Chace couldn't really see everything - not clearly, anyway. Just everything with a dark... shadow added to it. It looked weird. She wondered how Garrett could drive with it.
A strong hand to her arm brought her back to reality, his voice did too. "Chace, c'mon." She wasn't moving fast enough for him; had to jog to keep up with him. By the time she got to the top - she thought it was the top; honestly, she had no idea where she was - Chace felt light-headed. She hadn't done anything like that in years, her breaths came out in huffs. Garrett looked just fine though. She glared at him.
Chace watched as he fixed his tie, his suit and everything. It looked like he was trying to impress his boss; not that she could blame him. Seeing it still made her smile though, maybe she could tease him about it.
They reached a door, a big door. It looked like there were a few locks on it; better security than she's ever had. She took her anger out on glaring at the door... then glaring at the man behind the door; Garrett's boss... What was the name he said? Gamble? Gambol? She never met him a lot, not as much as she met Garrett. The last time she could remember seeing his face, was when she was a child; heard his voice a lot though. Gambol smiled at her though. "Chace. Good to see you." She felt like she was his business partner, which she didn't like.
She was a child, not a business partner.
Unsure of what to say, Chace just said the first thing that came to mind. "Hi." Not brilliant, but not horrible. She could've done worse.
Gambol cleared his throat, clasping his hands together. If he was trying to be intimidating, it was working. "Why don't you tell me what happened." He spoke slowly. She'd heard that before; sounded like a question then. Sounds like a demand now.
Her eyebrows furrowed and she began to pout. Garrett wondered if that was her signature face; seemed like it. "Garrett told you what happened." She replied, chancing a glance at Garrett. His body language told her that she wasn't doing this right. Well... great.
Chace got an eyebrow raise. She could hear his teeth grinding together. "I want to hear it from you." Why was he being so intimidating? "Now." Her eyes widened.
Her mind drew a blank; she panicked. She tried to hurry up her mind. "A guy came into the apartment last night." She quickly got out her answer.
Gambol's eyes narrowed. "Who was he." Another demand.
Her breathing quickened. She hadn't noticed him coming closer until just now; she had a headache. "I don't know, he-"
"Don't give me excuses." He growled.
A muffled whimper; didn't want to seem weak in front of Gambol. Not a lot of people did. "I don't know," She whined, just like the way she had said earlier, to Garrett. "he just said to call him Mister J." Why wouldn't anyone believe her with that?
He sighed. "Did he give you anything?"
Thinking back to the night before, the only thing that Mister J had given her was his name. He didn't like when she asked him things; not at all. "No?" It looked like he did not like the question, so she quickly righted her wrong. "No." She spoke, with a more confident tone.
"Good." He nodded, beginning to get up.
She felt so confused; what was going on? "Good? What's so good about-"
They didn't even listen to her. Just talked among each other; seemingly. "Keep 'er by yo' side - and my side - always, understood?" He spoke to Garrett, sternly. She wondered why he took her when she was young.
Garrett began to grin. "Ye'."
Worried, Chace looked to Garrett. "Where are we-" She began, frantically.
Garrett just glared at her. "Shh!"
She decided to try again. "What are we-"
"Shhh!" His glare got more intense.
"Are we-" Third time's a charm.
The man growled lowly. "Chace." Apparently third time's not a charm...
"What?" Chace frowned at him.
"Be quiet." He hissed.
She huffed. "Why?"
The grip on her shoulder got more sore; she whimpered. "Because I said so."
She pouted at him, trying to get his hand away from her shoulder. "Okay fine." Chace ground out, still struggling to get away from this room.
They moved through a door into another room; looked like an office. Gambol sat down in a big chair - she noticed that even when he was sitting, he was taller than her - with Garrett and two - that she counted - other guys. She couldn't imagine there being three more huge guys fitting in here; she wondered what they were doing in here. Then a door, not the one they came in through, opened and a woman walked in; a beautiful woman.
She had shoulder-length red hair, heavy makeup (? Looked heavy from far away; she got closer and it didn't look like makeup), very pale skin. She was tall too. She looked like a pure and utter seducer person... those people? What were they called? Seductress-es? Something like that...
The fact that Chace couldn't see the woman anymore - Garrett decided this was someone she wasn't allowed to see, or was Chace the one that the woman couldn't see? - which annoyed her. "Good afternoon." Her voice was just as smooth as the way she looked. Chace wished that she could see the woman.
There was a scoff. "Skip the pleasantries." That wasn't Gambol... was it? Chace couldn't tell.
"Gladly." The woman chuckled.
A beat. Chace peeked past the edge of Garrett's pants and she could see her; the woman. "Whatchu doin' with Gambol's money?" Definitely not Gambol this time; still wasn't sure exactly who it was though.
The woman raised an eyebrow, amused. Chace wondered if she knew Mister J; no one smiled as much as he does... she didn't think anyone else smiled that much. "What money?" She asked, laughter could be heard in her voice.
Gambol narrowed his eyes. "The money that you borrowed." Okay, that was Gambol. She was getting better... not really.
The woman tilted her head, slightly annoyed. Chace missed it though. "I borrowed no money, Gambol. I have long since returned it."
"Bullshit." Gambol growled.
The room felt like it dropped a few degrees. "Was it not your grandmother that was in the Narrows?" Chace even shivered; no more joking in the woman's voice. "She would've ripped you apart when she saw you, then she'd rip hers-"
He interrupted her, not liking where that conversation was going. "I want my money." He said, simply. He sounded like a child - like her - when they don't get their way. Chace wondered what the woman was going to say.
The woman scoffed. "I want the world, but I've lived knowing that the world is hard to get, Gambol."
"How about I rip yo' pretty li'l head off, what'll you think then?" Gambol clenched his fists.
A smirk graced the woman's features. "There's only one man who could do that, Gambol; he works for me. Remember?"
Chace could hear Gambol grit his teeth. "I fuckin' remember, you dumb bitch, he ain't free." She frowned, not liking where this was going. She hoped that neither of them were going to get hurt. She liked the woman, and Gambol... he was the one that was keeping her alive.
"Neither was my medicine, it's quite priceless actually." The woman pointed out.
Gambol looked like a rabid dog, ready to pounce at the slightest movement. A shiver ran up Chace's spine. "Bull-fucking-shit."
"Do I need to remind you?" The woman tilted her head.
Gambol even bared his teeth. "No."
The redhead sighed, disinterested. "Then there's nothing more to discuss." The woman moved to get up.
Gambol slammed his fist against the table. Chace jumped. "Bitch, you either gimme my money or you'll fuckin' regret it!" He bellowed. Chace clutched at Garrett's pants; Garrett grabbed her hand. Chace wanted to sigh in relief and succumb to the comfort that he was giving her - he never gave her comfort.
The redhead chuckled. How was she so calm? "No, Gambol, the only person here that will be regretting anything is you." She put one foot out, but then stopped, as if remembering something. "Actually, there is one thing to discuss, just a little present from a... friend." Her fingers went between her boobs - Chace blushed - and she pulled out a crumpled sheet. She grinned at Gambol; mischievous; sultry.
A range of emotions were visible on Gambol's face; with Chace only being able to name one - they moved too fast. Anger. Pure and utter anger. "The fuck did you get this?!" Gambol threw the sheet over his shoulder and landed it on the ground; peeking at it, Chace tried to make out what it said. It was a crumpled up piece of paper with red (blood?) writing on it. Chace made it out as, "I want my half!" with lots of "HA! HA! HA!"s around it. There was something underneath it all, but Chace could barely make it out.
J... Joe... Joseph? Joe... Kurr... Joe Kurr? She began to think Joe Kurr fastly in her head. Joekurr, Jokurr, Joker... Joker? The Joker? Was that Mister J? Her head began to hurt, so she stopped thinking about it.
The woman chuckled, shaking her head. "From a friend." For the first time, the woman made eye contact with Chace, which sent a shiver up Chace's spine. Not a shiver of fear; of excitement. The woman even winked. "Toodles." Her fingers curled into the palm of her hand, like a wave. Chace realised that the woman was waving at her.
She wondered if she should have said toodles as well.
Kissing someone else is fun; kissing someone else with the someone else being - half - naked is a lot more fun; being the person that is sitting beside two people kissing - one of them being half-naked - well... it's not fun. At all. Especially when they decided to ask all of their friends over, then it's just... disgusting. She wondered how these people lived like this. Shuddering, she looked up to her companion - though she never liked to call him that - and his companion. Chace, then and there, promised herself to never become... one of those. She just wasn't that type of girl.
She was the kind of girl who would stick around for hours and hours just to ask though. It was something that she loved about herself. Not that anyone would pay attention to her, let alone answer her question. It's just nice to have that quality when you need it, like now. Except he seemed preoccupied. With spit. And boobs, maybe some ass too. Chace wondered if she'd ever look like that woman - tanned, curvy, beautiful (not as beautiful as the red-headed woman, but beautiful nonetheless).
They were pushing against her, she wanted to push back. She wouldn't; she didn't want her tongue to get torn out of her mouth. Chace couldn't even tell if it would be the woman or Garrett that would tear her tongue out. She hoped it would be the woman, then she could beat her bloody. "Garrett?" She hoped he could hear how irritated she was, just by hearing her voice. He always seemed to think that she could.
Maybe, for once, he could return the favour.
They continued on with their... could she even call that kissing anymore? All she heard was a groan, sounded annoyed, then him turning towards her. "'m busy, Chace." Apparently, the woman found it funny, she even started kissing along his neck.
Chace wanted to puke, but she didn't. Garrett was the opposite, he was smiling. He'd even made a noise. The woman turned to look at Chace with half lidded eyes. Had the woman not been - practically - naked, Chace would've liked her. Her lips were full, she looked foreign; indian maybe. "He really is, honey." The woman bit her lip and began to move her kissing from Garrett's neck to his face.
Chace had to applaud herself for not puking - again; puking seemed to be the one thing on her mind now - and not punching the woman in the face. That bitch wasn't in this conversation, Chace and Garrett were. Not this woman - ugh, why can't she just punch her? All Chace wanted to do was ask a question, with a one word answer. Maybe. She wouldn't know; not unti she could actually ask the question.
Huffing, she pawed at Garrett's arm. She hoped that Garrett would just give her one second of his time; just one, then she'd go. "What did he want half of?" Her voice sounded more whine-y than it was supposed to be, but at least she wasn't pleading. The brunette didn't want to plead with Garrett, she just wanted his attention. And his hugs.
If she ever got a hug from Garrett, she'd die happy.
There was a growl. "Busy." He grumbled, the woman's giggles could be heard - again. It's a miracle that Chace didn't pull the woman's hair out.
It took everything she had to not hit Garrett and that stupid woman; her laugh was... Chace couldn't even think of words to describe that laugh other than stupid. It was a stupid laugh. Making a sound of disapproval, Chace stomped away from Garrett - and that... that... whore - and made her way around the apartment. If that's what you could call it. It seemed like a house, it was so big! She'd only seen houses this big in movies, even then it didn't look as... expensive as this apartment.
Biting her lip to hide a smile, anger at Garrett forgotten, she ventured into the apartment; curiousity taking over. Each room looked bigger than the last; pool room, bedroom, lounge, another bedroom, offices - that's what it looked like anyway - another pool room - much, much, much bigger than the last, she could see - another office - probably the one she was in earlier.
A smell dragged her away from her exploring, even though it felt like she'd not even seen half of the apartment yet. She wanted to see it all; needed to see it all. Each room was exquisite; expensive looking wood, big comfy-looking chairs, huge televisions, the lot. She found the smell a lot more appealing now though; so did her tummy. Hearing her tummy rumble, Chace decided it would be best to follow the smell. It smelled like something she'd never smelled before. She wondered what it was.
Moving over towards the wall, she placed a hand along the wall, feeling it as she walked. The smell led to a kitchen (where else would it lead? The bathroom?) with the door almost closed. Taking a peek, Chace noticed a large black man - who she recognised as Gambol - and a much smaller, not small though, black woman. She didn't know who she was. They were both smiling; joking with each other. She wondered if Garrett ever saw his boss like this. Licking her lips, Chace took a step forwards, carefully - she didn't want to let them know she was here yet.
Though she'd never been graceful.
The door creaked and both of their heads turned in her direction, alarmed. At first the woman looked scared, but her face instantly softened once she saw it was only a little girl. Chace couldn't think the same about Gambol though. "Gambol?" Her voice was small; didn't think that Gambol wanted her here.
He did not look pleased, neither did the older woman. Chace noticed just how older the woman looked; a lot older. Although, the woman's displeasure looked like it was being directed at Gambol, not her. Hm. "What." He demanded, making the older woman look even more displeased. Maybe the woman was... she's too old to be his uh, friend. Maybe she's a relative.
Figuring that she could maybe get the answer out of Gambol, rather than Garrett. She moved further into the kitchen, not too much. Chace would like to have - at least - a chance of getting out not hurt. "What did he want half of?" She gnawed at her lip and didn't think about the fact that if she bit too hard, she'd draw blood. She never liked to think about that.
That question had confused him, Chace could tell. His eyebrows furrowed; even looked annoyed. "What?" There was more of a question added this time but it still sounded like a demand (was everything a demand with him?), so she quickly got on with explaining.
"Mis-" She decided not to use that name; not in front of Gambol, at least. What did Gambol call him? Something starting with J, she'd only heard him mutter it. J... Joe... Joke... Joker? The Joker? Yeah, yeah, that sounded good. "The Joker. What did he want half of?"
That triggered his thinking mind; seemed like it did. She figured that she had caught him off guard, so she busied herself with getting acquainted with the older woman. Not talking; just taking in her appearance. She was only a bit taller than Chace, it seemed; maybe three or four inches. Five, if the woman (and/or Chace) was lucky. Her hair was definitely greying, it looked frail; fragile. Not like Chace's hair; thick; short; choppy. Chace never did like her short hair. She wondered why they did cut her hair. It felt like everyone already knew that she was a girl but Chace didn't like to talk about it, being a boy was such hard work. Only it wasn't, she never gets to see the outside world anyway.
If they did think she was a boy, she'd like to keep it like that; not make them suspicious.
It seemed as though Gambol had finished thinking; she wondered what he thought about. "He wanted half o' th' money, you foo'." His voice brought Chace out of her thoughts; he got a slap to the shoulder too. Seemed like a small one.
The older woman was frowning at him, unimpressed. She was even pointing her index finger at him. "That ain't how I raised ya, young man." She pointed out, sternly. Chace briefly wished that she would've met this woman sooner, but immediately shoved the thought out of her head. Instead, she tilted her head at the two of them. They had a glaring match; she suddenly felt awkward, like as if she was interrupting something; which she was.
The height difference between the two of them looked funny; strange. Gambol actually looked scared of the little woman; Chace had to bite back a smile. Seemingly defeated, Gambol sighed and left the room. He probably wasn't defeated; just not bothered. Chace didn't blame him, she would have done the same. Her face instantly softened as she turned to Chace. "Sorry about him, sweetie." The older woman smiled at her and Chace would've felt bad if she didn't smile back, so she did smile back at her. "And th' rest of 'em, they're all... they had bad mothers."
Chace would've scoffed if she felt the older woman was rude, but she wasn't; not to her. She felt like saying "At least they had mothers" but Chace thought of that as rude, so she kept it to herself. She settled for, "It's okay." She gave the older woman a shy smile and the woman chuckled. It made her smile even wider, there was just... a homely vibe from this older woman. She was jealous of all her children; she wanted to be her child. Thinking back to the reason she had walked in here, Chace looked around the kitchen. "What's that smell?" It smelled absolutely delicious, she wished that smells could be eaten too.
At first, the woman was nonchalant. "Oh, nothing really... just some cookies." The woman gave her a knowing smile.
Her eyebrows furrowed and she didn't know why the older woman gave her a knowing smile. "Cookies?" What are cookies? She hoped they tasted nice, they definitely smelled nice. Never like anything she's ever smelled before.
The older woman chuckled. "Yes, o' course. Though I ain't never met a child that ain't happy to see some cookies, sweetie." She teased, a bit on confusion in her voice. Her voice was so warm, Chace just... Chace couldn't believe it. She couldn't remember the last time she'd met someone like this, she couldn't even remember her own mother being like this.
Chace smiled sheepishly, looking down to the ground. "I... I've never had a cookie before."
That shocked the woman; completely shocked her. Her mouth opened and closed, unsure of what to say. Chace suddenly felt guilty, until the woman found her words. "You never... don't worry, we'll fix it right away." The woman hurried to the stove or cooker... Chace could never tell which was which.
Walking to the chair in front of one of the counters, Chace plopped herself down, happily waiting for her cookies. She wondered if Garrett ever had a cookie before. If he did, then she'd call him a traitor. Why didn't she get one of his cookies before?
The older woman had stood over by the stove - or cooker - for too long, Chace decided. Curious, Chace tried to look over the woman's shoulder. "What are cookies?" She asked, failing to see over the woman's shoulder because she was blocking her view; the absolute cheek of her. The woman even gave her a cheeky smile.
Shaking her head, the older woman placed both of her hands on Chace's cheeks. She was so warm; Chace wanted to bury herself in the woman's warmth. "Oh sweetie, I was wonderin' why you looked so glum." She looked glum? That was being sad, wasn't it? "You're hungry, ain't ya?" The woman asked, bringing her hands away from Chace's face; which upset her. She didn't want the woman to move away from her.
Before she could answer vocally, her tummy answered for her. "Maybe a little..." She admitted.
Chuckling, the woman turned to her. "Oh, don't be shy, sweetie. C'mere, it's real nice." It looked like the cookies were done, but Chace couldn't tell.
Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, trying to make out what cookies were. "Are-" She hesitated and bit her lip. "are they nice?" She asked, curious. Chace still had to look up at the woman; like she did with everyone, despite how small this woman was. She wanted a cookie, right now.
The older woman grinned down at her, a mischievous look in her eyes. Chace decided that she really, really, really liked this woman. She was definitely better than Garrett, that's for sure. "Mhm, they betta be. They're my cookies, I ain't th' cookie queen fo' nothin'." The older woman looked like she was trying to get the cookies to cool down.
Chace giggled, standing on her toes to get a better look - and smell - of the cookies. "They sure smell nice." The girl commented, wanting to reach for one and just devour it.
She nodded her head, agreeing with Chace. The woman cleared her throat. "So, what's your name, sweetie?" She asked, trying to set up another conversation. The woman took one of the cookies and began eating it, licking her lips.
Chace greedily took one, happy that she could taste this delicious goodness. "I'm Chace." She decided to say, before she took her first bite. It was... there's no words for it. Chace sighed in relief and smiled up at the woman, who was chucking at her. Why, oh, why had she never been given cookies before? If Garrett was here, she would've hit him. And told him to buy her a hundred cookies.
The woman nodded down at her, finishing her own cookie and taking another one. Chace finished hers closely after the woman's and quickly took another one; she was sure that there'd be none left after she was finished with them. "Nice t' meet you, Chace. I'm Ruth, the head mamma 'round here." Ruth; nice name for a nice face. It was good to have a name now; calling her an old woman - or woman - would be extremely rude.
Looking up at Ruth, curious. "Are there other mammas around here?" Maybe one of them was her mamma.
Ruth looked down at her, giving her a strange look. "No sweetie, just the one." She rubbed the little girl's shoulder, hoping to offer some comfort.
She sighed, disappointed. Maybe she'd meet her real mamma later, she wished she could. "Oh." She wondered if mamma and mother meant the same thing; probably did. She'd give an educated guess. "Does that mean you're my mamma?" She asked, hopeful.
Smiling, Ruth rubbed her thumb against Chace's cheek again. "Of course sweetie, I'll be your mamma." Chace laughed breathlessly, she couldn't remember a time when she was so... happy. Maybe last night, with Mister J, but that was different. This... this is different. She was about to hug her, but she decided that she wanted to ask first.
"Is Mister J my papa?"
Judging by the look Ruth was giving her, that was the wrong question to ask.
The cookies were nice; better than nice. Chace had never tasted anything like it before, her mouth watered when she ate the first cookie; couldn't resist the second. Or third. Or fourth. Or fifth. Not even the thirteenth. She stopped at thirteen - not because she wanted to - because Ruth told her to.
The girl would give out to the older woman but she liked that older woman too much, she wondered if it was too quick to be so... friendly with her.
Chace dispelled the thought as she felt her eyelids falling without her permission, she'd think about it later; or tomorrow; or later - much, much later. She looked up at her companion, the one that probably hated her because he had to babysit her. His job in the mob, the fucking mob, was to babysit some little girl. Some little girl who his boss probably didn't care about, he didn't think Gambol cared.
"Hey Garrett?" Her small voice called out, even she could hear the tired in her voice. Maybe the thirteen cookies had been too much. Just a little too much.
The man looked up from his cards, damn good ones too, and gave her an annoyed look. "What?" It came out more forceful than he wanted it to be, but he didn't care. He was winning a card game now; didn't need some snotty kid ruining it.
Her head rested against his shoulder, she was even frowning. Chace felt too tired to even think. "Where am I sleeping?" Her arms wanted to hug him, but she told herself not to embarrass him in front of his friends. He had an image to uphold; badass image... whatever badass meant. Where did she hear that before?
He shrugged her off his shoulder. "In a bed." He responded, curtly. The other men looked nervous; she wondered what they were playing.
She gave a breathy laugh; tried to not show the hurt of him brushing her off. "I knew that, silly." Her small hand grasped his, trying to pull him in her direction. She really wanted to sleep, she'd sleep in her own shit if she had to. Except she wouldn't, her life had too much luxuries for that - not as much as Gambol had, but still... a lot more than most people in this city had.
Garrett sighed through his nose and gave the other men a look; scared her too. Making sure to secure an arm on his, Chace gave an innocent look to his annoyed one. He grit his teeth as he pulled - dragged - her along with him. He could see that she wanted to be carried; didn't say it though. Would probably deny it if asked, not that he cared. He didn't - he just didn't like the fact that this little - idiot - girl would follow him around like a headless chicken.
She really was pathetic.
Chace wondered what Garrett was thinking; if he was annoyed. She hoped he wasn't; maybe then he'd pay attention to her. They walked down a long hallway - which she didn't like - and Garrett opened a door - which she did like. "This 's yo' room fo' now." He muttered, yanking his arm out of her grip. Again, she had to hide her look of hurt from him. She hoped that she actually was hiding it; not pretending; not lying.
"Will you sleep with me?" Her question shocked her; she had no doubt that it shocked him too. He even didn't answer for a while.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "No."
Pouting, she moved closer to him, trying to get a hug in. "C'mon, please?" He wouldn't let her hug him.
"No." He wanted to hit her. Didn't see know that he had a game to get back to?
Chace gave - what sounded like - a muffled whimper, pawing at his arm. "Please?" Her eyes looking up at him, pleading. She missed when that person would sleep in beside her when she was little. Ironic, isn't it? Chace wanted to grow up faster, but she also wanted to go back in time. Funny. It's probably just life. The wanting of things to change, yet the wanting of things to not change always clashed together.
Garrett began to get annoyed, he even growled. She had to suppress a shiver. "No, now stop." He pushed her towards her bed.
The girl huffed, slouching her shoulders; defeated. "Fine..." An idea popped into her head. "What would you do if I escaped?"
Garrett actually grinned at that. "You ain't escapin'." He even chuckled.
Her eyebrows furrowed, annoyed. "I might." She wondered where this sudden liveliness was coming from, maybe from the cookies and the sugar rush. Or she just wanted to leave. Probably both.
He raised an eyebrow. "No you mightn't."
"But I would." She whined.
The man scoffed. He scoffed. Chace wanted to beat him. "No, you can't."
Her stomp almost surprised him, more amusing than surprising though. "I could beat you in a fight!" Chace wanted to hug him and cry; tell him how sorry she was. She didn't like fighting with him. He could just make her so mad sometimes.
Garrett laughed through his nose, a full grin on his lips. "I'd like to see y' try." Like when he said stuff like that.
Angry at his grin, Chace gave him the meanest face that she could muster. "Alright so, c'mon, right now." She stood as tall as she could, which wasn't really tall, and stomped her foot. "Hit me as hard as you can." She slapped her hands against her chest. Had she been less annoyed, she would've laughed at herself, she looked absolutely ridiculous. This man was nearly twice her size. He could punch her and send her flying into a wall!
Chace would never admit it, but she was an idiot sometimes. Only sometimes.
Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Garrett turned his back to her, heading back to his card game. If any of those guys looked or stole his cards while her was out doing... this, he might just... "Good night, Chace."
The girl pouted angrily at him; her hands itched. She hoped that they would practice her fighting tomorrow. "I will beat you in a fight." She muttered, sounding like a stubborn child. Which she was. He'd prefer not to say that though, he didn't want to give everything away to her.
He chuckled at her, chuckled; absolute cheek of him. "I said good night." His voice sounded joking almost, like he was mocking her. Which he was, anyone could tell. Chace wanted to punch in right in his face, maybe break some of his teeth. She'd show him; the rest of them too. Her anger bubbled inside her; triggered some angry tears. She had to hold back an annoyed shout - she hated when the angry tears came. She was angry, not upset. Furiously wiping the tears away before they could even make an appearance, Chace huffed. Angrily, at first. Then the real tears came.
She created fists and sniffled, her voice a whisper, cracking from the crying that she had done.
"I promise."
Her promise was a lot darker than she had meant it to be.
"I'm bored."
"Nice t' meet you, bored."
She tugged at his shirt. "Garrett."
The man pushed her away, with his hand on her face. "I'm busy." Chace huffed, he was always busy now, hmm? Well, she knew where she lied with her friends. She could just look for a new one, friends are always replaceable. Sending Garrett one last fleeting look, Chace frowned and took off looking for her new friend.
He, by chance, seemed to be sitting right beside Garrett. They both had the same expression on their face; unamused. "Hey, Vincent?" Chace tugged at his jacket.
The corner of his mouth twitched. "Victor." He corrected.
Chace beamed at him, even though he wasn't even looking in her direction. At least they were getting somewhere with this conversation. "Victor, right... Uh, can-"
"I'm busy." He interrupted her.
She wanted to groan. And kill the man who was taking away all of her friends; she just wanted to kill him! How was she supposed to have fun?
Sighing through her nose, Chace tugged on his jacket even harder. "Aw, c'mon. Please?" She tried the technique that she had tried with Mister J. It worked for him.
"No." Didn't work for Vincent though.
She huffed – again – and went off looking for a new friend – again.
"Johnny?" This one looked a lot nicer, he wasn't as dark as Vincent and Garrett but he wasn't as light as her either. I think people call them Hispanic, but Chace has never been one for remembering things; especially stereotypes.
He gave her a look. "Name's Joe."
Her eyebrows furrowed and her nose scrunched up; she'd never been one to hide her emotion - especially not her confusion. Silly little idiot. "Really? Johnny sounds better. Do-"
He interrupted her - everyone seems to be doing that lately. Maybe she's just not intimidating enough? Maybe she should say that Mister J is her friend, that'd really change their opinion of her. "I'm busy." She (mentally) kicked herself for expecting any different.
"Why is everyone busy?" She crossed her arms and leaned her head over to lie on his shoulder. He didn't really appreciate it.
He sighed through his nose and Chace was actually feeling hopeful now. "Do you want to watch TV?" Hey, that's something new... not that he'd be playing with her (she didn't think that he would) but this was a start.
Her head (thankfully) lifted from his shoulder and tilted; Joe mused the idea of Chace being a dog; a puppy. She'd never be any different - he didn't think that she'd be any different. "TV?" Little bitch actually looked confused. Didn't Garrett teach her stuff? "What's TV?" Evidently not.
Maybe it was just those fighting lessons that he said he gave her. "Television." He stated the obvious - he never liked to, but he supposed the situation called for it. If he were a better man, he'd call himself a hypocrite. But he wasn't, so he didn't think about it.
"I only watch movies and read books..."
"Well, you're watching TV."
Deciding that she didn't want to argue, Chace gave the man a grateful look (at least one of the men was her friend) and sat down on the couch – which made a noise when she sat down. "Okay." She wondered what TV was...
"- And we are doing everything in our power to stop this madness." She thought that she just missed the start of whatever this was and only saw the woman for just a second. Her eyes looked like a cats and she looked like one of those people from that movie... what was it? One Missed Call? That movie gave her nightmares; she shivered remembering them but told herself to focus on the television. "Over to you, Mister Dent." Asian; Chace was sure that was what the woman was. Mister Dent was much different though.
He suspiciously looked a lot like the typical American man - blonde hair, blue eyes. She didn't envy his girlfriend, which was all that mattered to Chace; that and what he was about to say.
He spoke, a lot less serious than that woman was. "Thank you, Miss Gold. First of all, I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming here today; I am sure that not all of you voted for me," He paused; the audience took it as a joke. They laughed, he smiled... Chace wondered if TV was always like this - fake. "but that doesn't change that this city - this once great city - is my first priority. Both the good and the evil. With the matter at hand, I realise that the Mob are still out there. They're bribing us, killing us, taking our own..." He paused – again. Chace bit her lip, wondering if he had lost one of his own. Certainly seemed like it.
She wondered if Mister J ever lost anyone, but immediately shook the thought away. She didn't think that he'd like the fact that she thought of him so much. "But that's about to change. I will not stand by to see this corruption go on any longer. It is my job - it is my duty - to bring the hope back to the people; to stop this corruption." He had a way with words, she'd give him that.
"Mister Dent, Mister Dent!" Everyone seemed to call to him at once.
His finger pointed out the lucky reporter. "Yes?"
"How will you go about stopping this corruption?"
He began to grin again, Chace tilted her head; she wondered if that was part of his charm. "The old fashioned way," He stated, happy. Almost smugly. "I have full faith in our Gotham Police Department, they will prevail; we will not let their lawyers defend their corrupt actions, nor their bank accounts, nor their own friends, wives, children... No, no... and we will k-k-k-k-" Mister Dent's voice became choppy... then high pitched, like he was being rewinded; which he was. "K-k-k-kiiiiiilll- them." Her eyebrows furrowed, horrified. He was going to kill their families? That didn't make any sense... was she Gambol's child? Is he going to kill her?
The questions were leaving just as quickly as they were coming; panic was setting in. Her breathing was uneven, extremely uneven. She didn't want Mister Dent to come and find her. "We- wiiiill- kiiil-l-l-l-ll- them." She wanted to live. She couldn't believe it. It turned normal, not jerky, again for just a second, then it hit her. This wasn't Mister Dent talking. Chace felt like slapping herself; she always questioned her intelligence when this happened... who was it? "Alright, we're going to have to c-c-c-corruption- you. I- I- I- am- c-c-c-c-corrup-up-up-up-tion. Co-co-co-co-cor-corrupt you-ou-ou-ou-ou." It was getting really, really choppy now. Whoever this was, didn't have the best editing skills. "Meeting adjounred." Mister Dent's voice became normal again, which calmed her down some more.
Frowning deeply, she turned to the men that were sitting at the table. "What's going on?" They seemed to be awestruck too, so she just turned back to the TV.
"I- am- c-corrupt. I- am- you. I- am- c-corrupt-t-t-t- and- I- will- ki-l-l-ll- you." Then a voice - that voice - spoke lowly, almost like a growl; still sounded amused though. She wondered how he could do that.
"I be-lieve in Har-vey Den-t too."
Sooo, whatcha think? Good? Bad? Totally indifferent towards this chapter? I love reviews, so keep them coming!
Also, no Joker in this chapter which is... not okay, I guess. I don't know, I mean, lots of Joker stories have chapters with a lack of Joker. Buuutttt, I introduced a woman instead! Yay, lots of new characters! I feel like any Batman fan will know who that woman is... Oh! I also changed the cover (might take a while to actually show it, but oh well!). What do you guys think of it?
So, uh, peace my lovelies! Until next time!
