I do NOT own Batman.
Thanks to ZabuzasGirl, highlander384, l, Hermione02, Jasmine Scarthing, sarahslushie711, and kindleflame5 for your reviews and highlander348 and kindleflame5 for your PMs. :)
"Wow, you look like hell."
I groaned, barely lifting my head from my desk to acknowledge Jessica's comment.
"Gee, thanks pal," I moaned, my head dropping onto my arms again.
I'd been up until 3 am waiting for Bruce to come back, only to have to wake up three hours later for work. I was running on coffee and adrenaline and I was fading fast. Bruce had been able to sleep in for the day, so I'd had to drive myself.
"What were you up to last night, Miss Del? Hot date with carnival guy again?" Jessica wiggled her eyebrows. I refused to waste energy on rolling my eyes.
"He hasn't called me for a few days," I mumbled back.
I hadn't seen Christian since our date and was secretly wondering if I should call him. I'd had fun and it was the first guy I'd been out with for a while—since college I think—but I wasn't sure I really wanted another date. Everything with Batman and Bruce was starting up and I needed to stay focused if I wanted to help.
"Did you hear about this Batman guy?" Jessica asked me excitedly, unknowingly following my brainwaves. "He's all anyone can talk about. Apparently, he went down to the docks where Carmine Falcone gets his drug shipments and kicked his butt! Falcone's in police custody right now!" I smiled and shook my head.
I had not only heard about it—the entire city had thanks to the Gotham Press and GCN—but I'd been there when Batman had apprehended Falcone. Even though I hadn't been in on the action, it was cool to see it up close. Bruce's ninja training had been beneficial I guess.
But, what was next? Now that Falcone was in custody, what would Bruce do now? Was he done with this crazy scheme of his? I doubted it. Once something caught Bruce's interest, there was no stopping him.
"… are you even listening to me?" I shook myself out of my reverie in time to see Jessica cocking her head at me with her hands on her hips.
"No," I said simply, not bothering to lie. I could tell I was in for a reaming when the intern from the day Bruce came back exited the elevator and brushed past us towards the boardroom.
"Wait a minute! You can't go in there!" Jessica said, the two of us leaping up to stop him. He turned towards us with a haughty look.
"If you don't mind, I am apart of Wayne Military Tech and I have a right to go in there when I please." My sleepless night that had tested my patience all morning had finally made me crack and I was pissed.
"Is your name above the door?" I snapped.
"Excuse me?" he asked.
"I'm taking that as a no. When you have your name above the door, you can walk in unannounced as much as you want. But you're just an intern, so you can sit down and wait, or I can have security escort you out. Choice is up to you," I barked. He looked flabbergasted, but took a seat next to our desks as Jessica phoned the board room. Earle allowed him to enter and he shut the door behind him.
"What the hell?" Jessica rounded on me, "You could get fired for that!"
"Anywhere's better than here," I shot back, sitting down. Jessica walked away and I turned to my computer when I heard voices coming from her phone.
"Sir, we have a situation."
It was coming from the board room. Earl must not have hung up when Jess called him. I scanned the area to see if the coast was clear and gently picked up the receiver to listen in.
"All right," Earle said.
"The coast guard picked up one of our cargo ships last night. Heavily damaged, all crew missing, probably dead. The ship was carrying a prototype weapon. It's a Microwave Emitter." I froze.
I remembered Fox telling me about a special weapon Wayne Military had commissioned that evaporated water supply and could wreak havoc for the enemy. It was—as expected—pulled from production for being too unstable. 'So why was it on a cargo ship?'
"It's designed for desert warfare, but it… It looks like somebody…um… turned it on."
"Oh my god," I mouthed, careful to stay silent. If the ship was in the middle of the ocean…
"It uses focused microwaves to vaporize the enemy's water supply. The damage to the ship was catastrophic. The weapon itself is…" Here the intern trailed off and my horror skyrocketed.
"…missing?" Earle finished.
"Yeah," he answered. I groaned silently. How did a multi-billion dollar company lose a very harmful and dangerous weapon and have no clue what happened to it?
"Speak of this to no one, understand? All it would warrant is panic and that wouldn't look good for the division, would it Mr. Oakley?" Earle said finally.
"No sir," The intern, Oakley, said. I quickly hung up the phone and jumped into my seat just as he burst through the door and brushed past me without a second glance. Jessica returned just as he shoved by her and she made a face at his back. Then, she noticed me and became alarmed.
"Del? Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," she asked.
No doubt my face matched the pale white of my blouse as the dismay of the situation hit me.
A weapon was missing with our name on it after being taken from our custody and no one would know anything because Earle didn't want the damn division to look bad.
"You know, I really don't feel that great and I think I need to go home early," I said faintly and quietly so Earle didn't hear me. I gathered my stuff and bolted for the door.
Bruce needed to hear this. And fast.
As I entered the parking garage my phone rang, causing me to almost drop my purse in fright. Telling myself to calm down, I looked at the caller I.D.
Christian Mays
"Hello?" I answered.
"Hey Delaney, sorry I haven't called you but work's been crazy busy and trying to start a new branch is a major pain in my butt. But that's no excuse. What I really wanted to call you about is I was wondering if you'd be my date to dinner tonight? Some Wayne Enterprises people were going to be there but I wouldn't know anybody and… I really wanted to see you again." He finished sweetly and shyly, making me melt.
Wait… a dinner party? That meant Earle would be there. And the top execs of every division. Maybe even potential share buyers. If I could get the insight on who would be buying…
When Bruce was declared dead, his will was read to Alfred, Rachel and I. Alfred was left with the majority—manor, cars, majority shares to Wayne Enterprises, etc. But Rachel and I earned a 5% cut of the Wayne Fortune each, equaling quite a large amount of money. It was mind boggling and we both were unsure if we should take it or invest it. Because I was 17, it was left in a trust for me until I was 21. After my 21st birthday, I'd kept it to accumulate interest, hoping to fall back on it if I needed it. I'd used some of it to pay off loans, but the amount was still significant. Significant enough to buy shares in the company!
That was it! I could still make sure Earle didn't let the company plummet by buying enough shares to stay in the game. Bruce may not have wanted to interfere, but no one told me I couldn't.
"I would love to. What time?" I replied.
"Alfred? Alfred, I'm home." I called, entering the kitchen.
"You're home early Miss Delaney. Are you feeling alright?" Alfred asked, looking concerned.
"Just tired. Where's Bruce?" I asked.
"Still in bed, my dear. I was about to go wake him up myself." I followed him up to Bruce's room, sitting in the chair by his bed as Alfred approached the window.
Bruce was snoring softly, the covers pulled up to his chest. His right arm held a purple bruise from one of his fights the night before, splotchy and looking very painful.
As I reached out to touch it, Alfred tore back the curtains and the sunlight streamed in. Bruce cringed, squinting and pulling the covers over his head.
"Bat's are nocturnal," he moaned sleepily. I chuckled.
"Bats may be, but even for billionaire playboys, 3 o'clock is pushing it," Alfred replied, placing the tray on the bedside table.
"Price of leading a double life I fear," I added, yawning.
"Your theatrics made an impression," Alfred handed Bruce the paper. He seemed eager, throwing the sheets off of him and sitting up.
"Theatricality and deception are powerful weapons, Alfred. This is a good start." I moved to sit next to him on the bed and read over his shoulder. Alfred glanced at the bruise forming on Bruce's arm and frowned.
"If those are the first of many injuries to come, it would be wise to find a suitable excuse. Polo, for instance."
"I'm not taking polo, Alfred," Bruce said, a disgusted look on his face. I snickered.
"Strange injuries, a nonexistent social life, these things beg the question as to what exactly does Bruce Wayne do with his time and his money." Bruce had guzzled something green, slimy, and in a glass as I continued to peruse the newspaper.
"What does someone like me do?" Bruce asked, standing.
"Drive sports cars, date movie stars, buy things that are not for sale. Who knows Master Wayne? You start pretending to have fun; you might have a little by accident." In the middle of this, Bruce had dropped to the floor and began a regiment of pushups I'd seen him do every morning since he'd gotten back. I folded my legs under me and watched him for a moment, setting the newspaper aside.
"What are you planning to do about the company?" I asked, my mind on the dinner and my plan to buy shares. He finished his pushups and stood again.
"What do you mean?" he asked, grabbing a towel from his bathroom and wiping the sweat from his face.
"I mean, the company goes public in two days and I was wondering if you were planning something. You know, blind sighting Earle and taking the company over?"
"Lane, it's complicated," he said simply.
"How? You're Bruce Wayne, you can do anything you want."
"I'm not looking to interfere, Laney. I'm just there to get the things I need for Batman and keep my cover."
"But you can make a real difference, Bruce! Not just as Batman, but as Bruce Wayne. You can follow in your father's footsteps, helping those who need it. Funding for schools, rebuilding the monorail, building hospitals, etcetera. With Earle, it's just military and weapons galore. The city is rotting, but as long as his coffee's hot and his pocket's lined he doesn't look twice."
"I'm doing what I can now, Lane," he interrupted, "Anything more could compromise my cover and put you, Alfred, Rachel, even Lucius in danger." He walked into his bathroom and shut the door, officially ending the discussion. I stayed sitting on the bed, long after the sound of the shower started up. I shook my head and left the room, purposely leaving the article about the recent budget shortfall of Gotham schools open where I was sitting.
I was frustrated beyond belief. What good was it doing to have this entire fortune just sitting there and not want to help Gotham in a different way? I thought again about his parents and all the good they did for that boy's home, St. Swithins I believe. Was it still receiving the benefits Thomas and Martha had set aside for them?
I reached my room and closed the door, grabbing my computer and googling 'St. Swithins Home for Boys'. I located a Wikipedia page that described its founding in 1980, the year I was born, and continued support from the Wayne Family from the very beginning until their deaths three years later. There was nothing on their donators or financial status anywhere. I decided to abandon that lead and move onto Thomas and Martha's philanthropy itself.
The Wayne Foundation was linked to hundreds of non-profits and small business ventures all over the city. Most of the free health clinics around the city were set up by the Thomas Wayne sector of the foundation and many of the arts scholarships and companies like Family Finders Inc. are funded by Martha's part. I called Jessica when I still couldn't find the complete list of recipients.
"You want me to do what?" she asked, baffled.
"Please Jess, it's a bit urgent. I need you to go down to The Foundation's floor and ask them for the list. It's for Bruce," I lied. She agreed, reluctantly, and I hung up, satisfied. If this whole 'takeover shares' thing backfired on me, I still had an ace up my sleeve.
A/N: Here's the next chapter. I'm sorry to have to say this, but I'm going to be away from this story for a while longer now that school's started up again. Between AP classes, drama stuff, and other things I'm involved with it's hard to really devote time to this story. But I'm saying I REFUSE to leave Delaney and Bruce hanging. I'm planning on making this a trilogy to go along with the movies. Plus, I have other stories for Man of Steel (Henry Cavill is PERFECTION!), National Treasure, and Time Traveler's Wife that have been floating through my head. I can't say enough what it means that you all have stuck with me. I'm promising that I will finish this story! I swear! Much love ~Brooke