I'm Already in

The death of my brother was devastating, but still easier to cope with than the disappearance of my parents. At least I knew he had left me against his will, and he hoped to have provided for me after he was gone. My parents abandoned me. My brother was forced away. Perhaps, had I been a more passionate person, I would have decided to hate Henri and Renee the rest of my life. But I'm too practical for that. Only those with a lot of friends can afford to make any into enemies. I did not have that luxury.

So, I would not hate them. I would be civil to them. But a part of me was determined to show them that I didn't need them. I didn't need their charity to survive. Even if most of the money I had was from my brother, from them, it didn't matter to me. I personally would not fall for their tricks and descriptions of wealth I might have, if I should do everything they told me without question. But perhaps that's why they didn't try to get me in the first place: I always questioned what people told me to do. Alex was much more obedient than I am.

Lisa was quite upset by Alex's death, naturally. I had never understood how she'd seen him as a constant in her life, much as I had. But she had never resented it. I suppose she had planned always to marry him, if he'd have her, and for that reason she'd never sought anyone else. Something broke apart within her when he died. She took it much harder than I did.

Before his death, Lisa was unconcerned with any social status. She was content to be poor her whole life. When he died, she gave up on that. She couldn't be happy in poverty, if she was stuck with someone she couldn't love. She thought, if she had to be with someone she could never love as she had my brother, she could at least be rich. And that became her goal. She sought out the wealthy and powerful, and charmed them. In the four years since he died, she's managed to be invited places with Bruce Wayne, the highest of all aspirations. He's the most eligible bachelor on the planet, I believe. And I think she has a chance at him. How strange.

Lisa and I were certainly the most affected by Alex's death. Eddie, one of his few friends I knew, was quite upset. He and Janet invited me over about once a month, to prevent me from drowning in loneliness, I guess. Renee had been at her home in Mongolia when Alex died. She came back, somewhat to my surprise. She stayed in Gotham after that, most of the time. She would return to her husband a few times a year, but never for very long. A month, at most. Usually just a few weeks.

One afternoon, after he'd been gone a year, she came to see me. I hadn't seen her since the funeral. She'd lost some of her previous luster, seeming rather tired.

"Hi, Jenny," she said quietly when I opened the door.

"Renee. What brings you here?" I asked.

She sighed. "Can't I come visit my only sister from time to time?"

I shrugged. "I suppose you can. But you can't expect her to be waiting," I added.

"I did not. But I'm going to be living in Gotham off and on for a few years. I thought I'd let you know, so I could stop by sometimes."

"Trouble with Henri?" I asked.

She shook her head vehemently. "No! I'm working for him."

"Is he coming, too?"

"No, sadly, no. He won't come until we've made things ready." I declined to ask what things. "But, anyway, I'll be nearby, if you need me."

"How will I find you?" I asked, frowning.

She looked surprised by this. "Well, you can call me." She pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it, then handed it to me. "Here. I'll be in touch," she said slowly, then turned to go.

"Thank you," I said.

She paused, then looked back at me. "Remember, we'll help you if you need it. Don't let your pride keep you from happiness, Jenny."

With that, she left. I frowned after her. Even she should know that my pride never outweighed my common sense. If I needed it, I would go to her. To borrow money, perhaps. But not to work. I didn't think I'd ever do that.

The weeks passed. My little job at the diner seemed to occupy very little of my time. I asked for more time, but most of the staff was doing so. I applied for many other jobs. Finally, Eddie gave me one. Lisa worked there, too. She had ever since she'd discovered that he and Alex were friends. Now, she stayed there because Eddie paid uncommonly well, even then. Before I was there to give him a discount on "protection."

So, I worked most of my time. Still, money was tight. I tried not to spend any of Alex's money. I was trying to get by on my own, partially. Mainly, I wanted to keep it for a rainy day. It earned more interest if left untouched than if I spent some of it, I figured. And I decided I could last for some time without needing it.

Until one day, when I was at Eddie's diner. I was talking to Lisa at the time, discussing various gossip from the tabloids, wondering if it were true.

"You don't think she'd really do that, do you?" she asked.

"Honey, I wouldn't put anything past these people," I replied with a smile.

She shook her head at me. "Just because they're rich doesn't mean they have no moral fiber at all."

"Well, I guess we'll find out when you get married," I said with a cheeky grin.

"You're terrible, Jenny."

Suddenly, Eddie came up. "Time to close up, ladies," he said.

I looked around. There were still a few people there, and we hadn't even had our dinner rush yet. "Why?" I asked.

Eddie frowned at me. "I've got to meet with some guys. Who don't like company," he added significantly.

"What?" Lisa asked, confused.

"Come on," I told her, dragging her to the kitchen. She didn't question anything while we cleaned up and prepared to go. How Eddie got the other customers to leave, I don't know. But they were gone before we finished.

"Well, I'll see you two in the morning. Or we may open up again in a few hours. I'll call you," he said.

Shrugging, we left. "What was that all about?" Lisa demanded as soon as we were out of earshot.

"He's going to be bargaining for protection," I said matter-of-factly.

She frowned. "Like, paying off people? Why? Does he do something bad?" she breathed.

I laughed. "No, that's what he needs protection for. If you do illegal stuff for them, they let it slide."

"That's upsetting," she said.

"Yeah. But we get the afternoon off," I responded.

She grinned, then we went our separate ways for a while. I went home, to calculate how many meals I needed to eat at the diner this week. I had set number I could have, but I worked at two diners, so I could jump between them. Both were heavily discounted, which was very helpful. I called the other one, not owned by Eddie, to ask if they needed anyone now. Surprisingly, one of the girls had called in sick, so I went to work.

I finished my shift, and prepared to go home. I didn't expect Eddie would call me back, but I was ready if he did. I just finished cleaning up when my boss came in. Karen was a brusque woman who kind of scared me.

"Hi, Karen. I was just leaving," I began.

"I know. I need to talk to you."

"About what?" I asked fearfully.

She sighed. "I'm very sorry, Jenny. You work hard and all. But I'm going to have to let you go."

"What? Why?" I demanded.

"Protection," she sneered. "It's getting so you can't afford to be properly staffed anymore. I'm sorry," she added, patting my shoulder. "I'm sure you'll be okay. You always were a clever one. These girls have scarcely the wit to get here, so I can't turn them away. I can help you get a new job, if you need it," she added.

I sighed heavily. "I may. I'll be in touch," I said, then left.

I got home at last, and flopped on the couch. "Bloody hell," I grumbled. "What else could go wrong?" I should have knocked on wood, I think.

The phone rang. "Hello?" I said.

"Hi, Jenny. It's Eddie." There was a pause. "I'm sorry. But I'm going to have to cut your salary. I know it will be hard. You can have your meals for free, during your shift," he added softly.

I felt relieved that he hadn't fired me. "Cut by how much?" I asked. He told me. I sighed. "Okay. When should I come in tomorrow? Five? Okay." I hung up. This was quite devastating, I thought. It seemed unreal. I spent the next hour or so going through my finances, trying to see how I could survive this.

I decided to go for a walk to clear my head. I was walking along, minding my own business, when I heard a scream. Living so close to the Narrows, I usually ignored screams. But it came from the alleyway I was passing. I paused to peer in. A woman was being assaulted, I guess, by a man. I walked quietly up behind him, for he was distracted trying to keep her quiet. I took a deep breath, and looked around. There was a brick conveniently lying on the ground nearby. I picked it up and hit him over the head. He dropped. The woman thanked me haltingly.

"Do you know who that is?" she asked suddenly.

"No," I replied, surprised.

She held up a wanted sign. "Victor Zsasz. He's got quite a nice reward from the police, and from…" she paused. "Less savory people."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"It's what I do. I was trying to capture him. Since you helped, I'll split the reward with you. But we'll have to shop around first, and see who will offer the most."

"Okay," I said, feeling a little dazed. How odd. "Are you a bounty hunter?"

"Something like that. It's a good field to be in, especially now that the police are trying a bit harder. Since the wealthy are funding them."

We bound the man with some rope she had in her purse. Clearly, she'd come prepared. Then, we went to the nearest pay phone and she started making calls. She called the police first, asking how much the reward was. She managed to hang up on that without saying she had him. Then, she called Falcone himself to find out how much he would take him off her hands for. She admitted to possessing the criminal in question. She wrote down what he'd said, then smiled. "He's always the cheapest. But I try anyway. Could be a traitor I've caught, anyway."

"Who else do you call?"

"Just one more. Ra's al Ghul," she said happily, enjoying the exotic name.

I stared at her. "What does he want them for?"

"Oh, I don't know. But he likes to get the criminals off the street, I guess."

"Ah. Does he pay well?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes he'll only match the police reward, though."

She ignored me and called Henri. I tried to hide my shock. "No thanks, then. I'll get better money from the police. Oh, by the way, I've got an assistant. You treat her well, won't you?" she said.

I blinked. I didn't know this would be my new life. I hardly wanted to get involved with the criminal underworld. But she'd relayed the same message to the other calls, I recalled suddenly. I had been watching to make sure our captive didn't wake.

"I didn't know I was being volunteered to keep doing this," I said slowly.

She laughed. "Oh, don't worry, it's not hard. Just keep this close at hand," she added, handing me pepper spray. "And you might want a knife. Or, if you prefer, a brick," she added, smiling.

"I guess I could give this a try," I said dubiously.

"I'm sure you need the money," she replied.

"I'm sure I do," I responded.