Disclaimer: You'd think by now I'd at least own SOMETHING, but alas I do not…only Serenity Anderson and any other secondary characters that come into play in this chapter.
A/N: I'M SORRY! This took forever and a day, I know! Forgive me! But I was having problems making this realistic and hopefully not sounding too made up. I've never been to a police station so I don't actually know the right protocol or anything dealing with this…so I decided to just write the darn thing and hopefully that in the BB timeframe and whatnot we can just pretend :wink wink; that this is how it would happen.
Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and I want to thank all of those who have been patient and stuck by me. So big hugs and lots of love! I'd thank you all individually but has put out a new rule against it so I can't, but if you want me to reply to your reviews (which I absolutely adore!) just let me know in your review and I most certainly will…or just email me…my mailbox is always open!
Well, enough of this…Go read the next chapter and let me know what you think!
As always, Have A Nice Day!
-Three days later-
She had the layout memorized, the camera patterns down, and the patrol cycles figured out. The layout itself had not been difficult to find. She was living with the original Catwoman for crying out loud. Serenity had access to hundreds of floor plans of buildings located all over Gotham City. True some of them were a little outdated, but that was easily rectified. The layout of the police station was almost a given.
Of course actually finding the darn thing without looking suspicious to Selina was another thing all together. Selina was always in the apartment. Just exactly what was she supposed to say that wouldn't arouse suspicion? Oh, I just wanted to look over the floor plans for the police stations because it's a homework assignment… Yeah, like she'd buy that for a second.
No, getting the layout had been a lot harder that just going through Selina's seemingly infinite amount of files and just taking it. Selina couldn't know she was learning this one. Her opportunity had come quite suddenly when Selina went to wash their laundry in the washing machines in the basement of their apartment complex. Usually Serenity took it upon herself to do the laundry for them but for some reason over the past three days Selina had been in a surprisingly good mood.
Serenity didn't question why lady luck was suddenly helping her out but took the advantage. While Selina was away she had quickly located the floor layout that she needed in the file cabinet and took it. There was more than one level she would have to learn and she would need a little while to actually memorize it. There couldn't be any mistakes on this job.
She had spent the rest of her night planning and plotting and memorizing. Of course she had taken the time to quickly do halfhearted attempts at her homework for her classes, but she knew that her focus wasn't on it. It was her senior year anyway and she knew that nobody was really still working too hard- so the thought was brushed to the side and pretty much forgotten.
For the following days she had researched the police headquarters and nothing but the police headquarters. Selina had washed the clothes again and Serenity just accepted it with a smile…it had given her the perfect chance to replace the missing files. She felt guilty for not trying to find out about Selina's little change in mood but she was too focused on her task at hand and wouldn't be deterred by anything.
She shook herself of her previous thoughts as she smoothed out the material over her arms and quickly fluffed her newly colored hair (spray in a can was heaven sent). Before doing anything further she quickly did a mental check. Contacts – check, different hair color – check, sluttish airhead clothes – check,fake ID – check, routes in and out of the building – check, gloves – check and believable cover story – check. She was ready to go perform her heart out.
Straightening up, Serenity put her game face on and headed out. She was not going to give herself any time to rethink her course of actions. She was doing this, and today.
She vaguely noted the blatant stares she was receiving and gave herself credit that she picked a good outfit. It was some top that covered everything that needed to be covered and that's pretty much it. Along with scantily covering top was a pair of tight jeans and a jacket. She needed to be everything that she normally was not. While she usually was the one to observe, today she had to be the one who was observed. She had to be the focus and she was going to be by taking a page out of Selina's book – hiding in plain site. She was going to pull this off right in front of them.
Serenity let out a slow breath as she absently adjusted the bag that was hanging from her shoulder, rhythmically bumping her hip with her measured steps. Seemingly seconds later she arrived outside the Gotham City Police Department, the GCPD, headquarters. Serenity couldn't help but keep running everything over in her head, over, and over, and over. Her plan was a little shakier than she would have liked to admit, but it was now or never and now was always better than never.
She had spent the past three days going over where each camera was located in which part of the headquarters. She knew for a fact that there was only one camera located in the commissioner's office, and as it would turn out she was in there most of the time anyway. Geeze, how old was that woman anyhow?
The suspense was going to kill her and she hadn't even gone inside yet.
She let out one last deep breath before pulling the doors open with flare and strutting in like she owned the place, nose high in the air. It was show time and damn it she wasn't going to blow this.
She immediately noticed the officer that was attending the front desk. Somebody was surely smiling down on her and lady luck was going to help her out for a little while longer; it was a boy that had graduated from her school, a couple of years older than her...but she remembered him An unknown like her…well not completely. He was just an unknown to the "populars". Kind of like how she was, a guy who pretty much faded into the background of everybody's thoughts because he didn't stand out or fight for attention like others.
She didn't falter and kept her trek to the desk where he was currently stationed. He noticed her right away and his posture instantly improved. She took note of how a look came over his features that could be called recognition- but not quite. He was looking at her like he knew her, but didn't.
"Good day Miss, how can I help you?" At least he was back to being professional although he was still looking at her funny.
Let's see how good her acting skills were today.
"Hi, I need some help," she said and was surprised by how much icier she made it sound coming out of her mouth than she had in her head.
"Alright," he seemed to battle with himself for a moment before making a decision, "I'm sorry, but do you go to Gotham City High School?"
A sneer came over her face and she pointed her nose a little higher into the air. She vaguely wondered if she'd have a crick in her neck later on but pushed the thought aside, now wasn't the time.
"Like I'd be caught dead at a," she exhaled sharply producing a sharp noise in the back of her throat, "public school," she finish with barely concealed disgust making sure to curl her lip just so.
"Oh," he said, slightly shocked at her venom. Maybe he had been wrong, but she did look kind of like that girl that had gone to his old school. But he knew for a fact she wasn't a rich snotty bitch like this girl in front of him was. From what he could remember the one from school had been quiet, nice…or at least nicer than her. But than again he couldn't really remember her that well. It had been a couple years.
"I'm sorry," he apologized once more and she felt a brief pang of guilt before he seemed to snap back into work mode.
"What was it that you were saying?" he questioned and she had her line ready.
"I," she made a huffing noise before doing some air quotes, "lost," she rolled her eyes, "my cell phone. Now, I would, so, buy another one but this one was my favorite-"
"What did it look like?" he questioned more than a little aggravated of the thought of dealing with a rich brat but trying not to let it show in his face.
"Hello! Royal purple, oh and it says 'Princess' on the back. I was going to put 'Queen' on it, but, like, queens are old and I'm so not old-" She rambled on.
"I get it," he broke into her tirade mid sentence deeply determined not to let her annoy him anymore. He didn't know how long he was going to be able to put up with her.
"Alright," he tried again, attempting to get a hand on his emotions, "wait here for a moment, I'm going to check the box."
She opened her mouth to argue with him or stop him or something, but he was already moving away from her. Crap, box? She had to think fast, and she meant FAST.
He shifted over to another side of the desk and began rummaging around, his face half hidden. She saw the top of his face scrunch up slightly as he dug before returning to her moments later.
"I don't see it, about how long ago did you loose it?" he questioned tilting his head to the side slightly staring into her falsely tinted eyes.
"Two and a half weeks ago," she said and prayed that it didn't come out as hasty as she thought it sounded.
"Well, we have another storage where we put things that have been here for a longer period of time and have yet to be claimed…I could check that for you," he offered resting his hands lightly on the countertop.
Okay, changing gears.
Serenity put on her charming grin and placed her hand delicately on top of one of his, "That would be really nice-"
"LET'S GO!" a loud voice thundered and a rush of police officers came through the headquarters.
"MOVE OUT!" another shouted and policemen and woman alike began pulling on their holsters and throwing on their jackets before rushing out the headquarter doors after their coworkers.
"I NEED ALL CAPABLE BODIES NOW!" a powerful voice commanded and Serenity couldn't believe it when she saw Commissioner Barbara Gordon come striding through the room. Bodies were swarming around her like working bees surrounding the queen in a hive. How fitting.
Her eyes locked on Serenity's for a fleeting moment before they moved to the officer that had gone to her high school that was helping her. Gordon pointed at him, not missing one step in her stride,
"You, stay here and run the front, Grant, Jen, and Shawn are in the back," And she left without another word.
It had all happened so quickly that Serenity blinked to make sure it happened at all. One minute the station had been filled with cops milling around and sitting at their desks now there was practically nobody in site. Today was her lucky day.
Now there were only three policemen left. There was the one in front of her, and Grant, Jen and Shawn that were in the back. Okay, so that meant that one was by the radio, one watching the monitors of the cameras in the station and the last one was pretty much dealing with what was happening in the station, a floater. Good. That left just the bare minimal amount of people around, this was a once in a lifetime chance for her.
Thank goodness for Gotham City and it's depressingly high crime rates!
Serenity put on a confused look as she refocused on the guy in front of her. What was his name anyway? Her eyes flickered to his nametag, Mitch. Right. Mitch caught her confused expression and was quick to explain.
"We were suppose to have a tip off about a heist that was going to take place today by that blob lady, uh, Inque? And I guess we got it," he answered her shrugging casually. Serenity guessed he wasn't too heartbroken that he couldn't go with the others in trying to capture Inque. Well, at least now she knew that Terry would be kept busy for a bit.
She almost felt like bursting out in song.
"Anyway, I can get somebody to check downstairs for you if you would wait right here," he said as he turned to find one of the other three that was around. Serenity acted quickly.
"Could I use the bathroom while I'm waiting, I wouldn't go normally but I have to go," she requested and then added more to herself but still loud enough so he could hear, "and I might as well touch up my makeup, these things always take forever."
He blinked before shrugging his shoulders, seeing no real problem with it. What was the worst this princess could do anyway?
"Sure," he assured her, glad that she would at least be out of his hair for a little while.
"Hey, Jen? I need you up front," he called out and moments later an older woman with black hair pulled into a low bun came walking out, frustration in her step. Obviously this one minded being kept in a pen when trouble was brewing. Serenity liked her immediately…of course though Serenity would now have to be a little bit more cautious around her.
"Can you watch the front while I check something downstairs?" Mitch asked his counterpart as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder. The woman's eyes traveled to Serenity, scanning her from top to bottom rather blatantly before returning to Mitch unimpressed.
"Sure," she said shortly before walking over and taking his position behind the counter.
Mitch turned to Serenity extending his arm out in an 'after-you' gesture before realizing that she didn't know where to go.
"I'll show you to the bathrooms," he said before turning and leading the way into the back.
Serenity fought to keep her face neutral as she passed by a bunch of interrogation rooms and a few empty offices. She knew that the one extra cop was in front now; the loose cop was with her right now, that just left the one by the radio, and the one watching the monitors of the cameras in the station.
The guy with the radio should be two more doors down on the left, and the one with the monitors should be all the way down the hall on the right. They continued walking until Mitch stopped in front of the door that clearly represented the restroom.
"Here you go, take all the time you need," he tried to joke but she could tell he was just trying to make her comfortable. She just couldn't wait to get cracking at the commissioners office, getting the file number, getting the files and getting the hell out of there.
"Thanks," she said with a casual smile before opening the door and shutting it without a second glance.
Once inside she took a quick survey of the room and noted that there weren't, in fact, any cameras in the bathroom like she had originally thought there would be and she gave a sigh of relief.
Relief quickly turned into adrenaline.
Serenity quickly spotted the stall with the vent above it and noted it was the third one from the left. Moving quickly she entered the stall and locked the door behind her. Shedding her jacket and shoes, Serenity quickly tightened the strap to her bag until it lay taut against the skin of her back leaving no room for it to bump around while she was moving.
She got up onto the back of the toilet before stopping, almost forgetting about a few things. Serenity quickly pulled the hair tie off of her wrist and tied all her falsely colored hair up away from her face so she would be able to see clearly without a problem. Next she removed her two long black gloves from her bag. Slipping them on was routine for her and she flexed her fingers slightly, extracting and retracting the claws to make sure everything was in working order.
Perfect, she was set.
Bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet, Serenity hoisted herself up into the air by balancing her weight using her arms on the tops of the walls of the stall. She picked her legs up and put both legs on the other side of the top of one of the walls, sitting, and balancing on the insignificant surface.
After making sure she had her balance she extracted her claws and picked open the vent, slipping in without hesitation.
Silently she crept through the vent, her newly purchased socks being smeared a dark gray. She proceeded to move through the vent until it wet up, left or right. Commissioner's office was up, so up she was going to go.
Swallowing soundlessly, Serenity shifted gears and began going straight up. These vents were the best for sneaking around it, Serenity mused to herself. They were large enough where they allowed her to move fluidly, yet small enough where if she stretched herself out width wise, she would be able to keep herself from plummeting straight down.
Perfect vents.
Now it was just the whole going straight up thing that she had to worry about.
She knew that she didn't have a lot of time to kill and felt a grunt form in her throat. She had gone up vertical vents before, she was bound to sooner or later considering the places she hit, it was just that today it seemed to be taking even longer than normal.
After the longest minute and a half of her life she finally hit the top of the vent.
Finally, she thought to herself. She knew better than to talk or even mutter in a vent, it was just common knowledge.
Serenity squinted slightly in the darkness of the shaft before moving quickly to the right. The office was to the right. She slowed when she realized that the grate coming up should be Gordon's office. Serenity paused at the grate opening scanning the room and catching site of the camera. Without taking her gaze from the camera she pulled the scrambler device from her bag.
A little birthday gift from one Edward Nigma…
A naughty grin lit up Serenity's face… Selina's friends were the coolest.
It was a creation from dear old Uncle Eddie just for her. He heard through Uncle Harvey, (she knew it hadn't been Two-face because he wasn't such a gossip as Harvey was) that she had been doing some new…after hour activities. To show his enthusiasm he had somehow (she didn't even bother to question stuff like this anymore) created this scrambler device. He told her that when she activated it, it would, like its name, scramble all feedback that was in a 500-foot radius, (he had the video cameras particularly in mind). So far the device had worked when she tested it out at the museum, so why not here?
She turned it on and watched like a hawk for the blinking red light on the camera to fade, almost instantaneously it did. Without hesitation she popped open the grate and after one more check to make sure the room was clear she dropped down to the floor. Her socks and the carpet muffled the already trained silent landing into nothingness.
She was on the computer in seconds. Her head tilted to the side as she bypassed the encryption for the desktop, this one was the toughest one she had to deal with yet. But that was understandable considering that it was the commissioner's private computer.
Serenity gave an internal shout of glee when she gained access to the desktop and all it's features. She opened the database and entered the information that dealt with her mother and brothers death.
6412A
Bingo.
Serenity quickly memorized it, but just for insurance purposes quickly jolted it down on a piece of paper from her bag before stuffing it back inside. She attempted to open one of the personal files but was asked for a password. She wouldn't waste time on this today. She quickly exited everything before logging off once more and practically diving into the open shaft and replacing the hood.
Quicker than before Serenity made her way back through the vent the way she came and back down to where she started. It was always quicker leaving than going. Once you knew where you where and how you got there getting back was the easy part…at least for her it was.
She quickly got back to the level where she started and kept going down. Now she had to drop to the next level down. She pulled down the material of her left glove to her wrist. Her eyes flicked to her wristwatch and she exhaled when she realized that she was going on six minutes already and she had to hurry up and find what she wanted quickly.
Picking up her pace, she reached the ground floor and began her trek for the file room. Second grate on the right.
She squirmed and bit her tongue when she felt a sharp something bang her elbow. Probably a screw or something, but she had no time to check it out now. She quickly, without slowing down, wiped at her elbow and was relived when it came away clean. But than again it was dark, her gloves were dark, and if she were bleeding she probably wouldn't see it in here anyway.
One grate.
The bang on her elbow was forgotten and she pushed aside the small twinge of pain. She sped up even further, at least as much as she physically could while being crammed into an air vent and trying to stay silent at the same time. She crinkled her forehead when she saw something ahead, she assumed was the vent, and bit her lip in anticipation.
She vaguely noted the taste of blood in her mouth as she came to the hood of the vent and peered into the darkness of the room. No red light, her scrambler was still in effect and nobody was present…perfect.
She popped the hood and was inside before she could even exhale. She barely had time before she had landed on the balls of her feet and was pulling the flashlight from her bag. Her eyes flew from one cabinet label to another trying to find 6412A.
1000's – No!
2000's – No!
3000's – No damn it!
4000's – Come on!
5000's – SHIT!
6000's – FINALLY!
Relief flooding through her Serenity pulled open the door skimming the file names and numbers. She bit her lip harder and squinted her eyes in deep concentration as her nimble fingers flicked through the numerous files.
6412A
Jackpot!
She almost got down on her knees and raised her fists in victory.
No time though…not yet.
Her eyes scanned her file, noting everything that was hand written notes and what was typed. She would have loved to take this back home with her to read over more carefully but she couldn't. Her eyes lingered on a glossy photo of her with her mother and brother that was paper clipped to the report- she flipped to the next section roughly. She refused to cry, especially now when she was so close!
She blinked her eyes to readjust her contacts.
After a few seconds of nothing but the sounds of pages turning Serenity felt a disgusting feeling begin to pool in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't find a single name. Nothing. She inhaled sharply and felt a small icy touch of panic begin to creep up her spine before she saw it. She almost missed it actually and was glad she had taken the extra second to recheck that paragraph.
There, all four names were listed along with where they ended up. Serenity consumed each word on that standard typed letter like it was the only thing that existed. Bachelor number one was in prison and currently still there…Okay, she wouldn't be able to anything about HIM.
Moving on…
Bachelor number two was…
-Serenity felt herself grit her teeth and the beginning of frustration begin to take over-
…in prison.
Serenity almost threw the report across the room when she saw that Number three was deceased, and had been for three years. She gripped the pages beneath her gloved fingers tighter and looked almost desperately at the last name. Please, she begged silently to whoever was listening, don't take this away from me!
Somebody was listening to her. Bachelor number four was alive and not in prison. Her eyes moved rapidly across the page. Apparently he had been let go on a technicality. He was free.
At this realization something squished through Serenity's stomach that she just assumed was relief…or at least she told herself it was relief…she wouldn't let it be anything less.
Serenity's eyes narrowed as she quickly copied down his most current address from the little yellow post-it that was attached to the typed file. Her eyes flicked to the date that the address was attained and was pleased to see that the post-it was from only about two years ago. That was current enough for her. She could always work from here on her own.
She had what she needed.
Her lip curled as she took a good long look at the picture of the last man. He wasn't the most attractive being she had ever seen, but she had also seen worse. Dark hair and light eyes with a scar resting on his cheek. Why did all the men in her life have to be (or were) tall, dark and handsome? Terry, Mister Wayne…this jackass…well, correction: this dirt bag wasn't handsome in any sense. Not to her.
She lightly traced a claw over the scar on his cheek and she couldn't help the small hiss escape between her clenched teeth and curled lips. He would get his; she had no doubt about that.
Almost as if somebody had flipped a switch Serenity was out of her trance. She had to get the hell back to the bathroom. NOW. Quickly she shoved all the materials back into the folder and into the file cabinet, closing it with a small click. She flicked off her flashlight, putting it into her bag once more before sprinting over and vaulting onto the file cabinet directly under the vent. The hood was replaced and she was climbing back up to the main floor within seconds. She paused mid climb, dimly aware of the fact that this probably wasn't the best place to do this, and pulled out Uncle Eddie's scramble (with one hand) and quickly turned it off- resetting all of the feedback to the cameras. Once off she shoved the device back into her bag and continued on her way.
It took her a little longer to go up vertically, but she figured it was okay considering she only had to go up one floor and the vent to the bathroom would be the first one she'd come into contact with. She grunted silently to herself for what seemed like the hundredth time before she came upon the bathroom opening.
She slipped out and back onto the divider between the stalls, quietly- almost mechanically reattaching the hood to the vent. Once satisfied she jumped down to the floor, ignoring her white socks that were barely identifiable now due to all the grease from the vents. She slipped her shoes on over her socks, hiding her little journey.
She slipped off her gloves, making sure the claws were retracted and put them away in her bag, (which she loosened so that it hung gently against her hips once more). She glanced down at her arms and noted that she was smeared with black. No time to clean it though, Serenity simply put back on her jacket and zipped it to just under her bust line. Done.
Slowing her breathing to try and calm down her erratic heartbeat, her eyes shifted to her watch: nine minutes and forty-five seconds and counting. Good, she had to leave, NOW. She gave herself a quick once over before exiting the stall and washing her hands at the sink. She checked her face for any smudges and found only small specks, which she easily washed away. She reapplied some lip-gloss and eye shadow- simply to do so- before a couple more deep breaths and exited the room.
She clenched her hands to keep them from trembling and walked back into the main room. She felt something building in her stomach and fought to keep it restrained. Both Mitch and Jen were waiting in front and talking, well, it was more like Mitch was talking and Jen was putting up with him. Serenity guessed she was still a little testy at being left behind.
Oh well, now she just had to get the hell out of here!
"Nice to see you're still alive," Mitch joked upon seeing her. Probably just thankful he had somebody else a little bit more cheery to talk to…but then he remembered whom he was talking to. He noticed that she appeared a little flushed and her hair was pulled up and away from her face. The flush to her cheeks and the slightly pale complexion suited her in an odd way that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
He was about to question why she appeared so flushed before he stopped himself. The last time a girl, (a hooker name Misty) had come into the station and used the bathroom only to come out flushed was because she had been bulimic. When he had questioned her about it she had simply raised and eyebrow in a condescending manner until he realized what she was trying to get across. Then he had felt like the biggest idiot at the station. He would learn from his past mistake and keep his mouth shut this time around.
Serenity, still feeling her adrenaline high, didn't exactly notice the flicker of emotions that crossed his face. Her thoughts were focused solely on one thing…
She had to stay in character, she couldn't falter now.
"Looking this good doesn't just happen in seconds," she said with an arrogant grin on her lips, her nose once again angled in the air. She would be surprised if she didn't wake up with a crick in her neck tomorrow!
Mitch gave her a tight-lipped smile before explaining how he couldn't find a cell phone that had matched her description and she if she wanted she could fill out some paperwork. This way if it was found in the future they would be able to contact her. The whole time he spoke to her Serenity couldn't ignore the burning sensation at her hip where she knew the slip of paper with her intended information was resting. She was giddy and nauseous at the same time.
She blinked when she became aware that Mitch had stopped talking and was waiting for her reply. Crap, what had he said?
Right…filling out papers for the phone…right…okay…um…
"Fine," she relented taking the paper from him and scrawling down the fake name and number that was on the fake ID in her bag, "I'm giving you my other cell phone number, but it probably wont work within a couple months because I might get a new phone by then."
Jen looked up at Serenity suspiciously, "why are you here then looking for your old one?"
Serenity turned to her with raised eyebrows and a bored expression on her face, but before she could reply with a scathing retort Mitch beat her to it.
"Because the one she lost is her favorite," he stressed as he turned to Serenity and winked at her, "right?"
Serenity grinned before turning back to the pouting officer, "right," she agreed.
"Alright, we'll let you know if we hear anything," Mitch continued looking over the name and number she gave him before putting it somewhere under the desk. He straightened up and looked at her one more time.
"I'm sorry we couldn't help you," he said apologetically.
Serenity gave him a genuine, yet mysterious, smile before turning around and making her way back out the front doors. Before she vanished completely her voice floated back to where he was standing,
"You helped me more than you know."