"Miss Charlotte, Mister Crow is ready for you now."

Charlotte slowly got up from her seat and nodded at the butler in front of her. She stood in front of the door hesitantly, with her hand just on the knob. She felt her heart racing, pouncing within her.

"Miss Charlotte, are you alright?" the butler asked her with concern in his eyes.

"Ye.. yes. I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed right now." She gave him a small smile and forced herself to turn the knob. She dragged her feet along the cold wooden floor into Felix's study. Ironically, it was the same study that she jumped out of a window from. It has only been a few days since she left, but everything somehow felt so different. Everything around her seems foreign, and even the maids and guards were looking at her differently.

Charlie slightly jumped when she heard the door close behind her. Felix was in front of her, though his back was facing her. His eyes were piercing through the newly fixed window. Charlie's heart rate quickly sped up, and she swore that she was going to through up right then and there.

"Hello, Charlotte." Felix's voice boomed throughout the whole study, but it wasn't loud or intimidating. Instead, it was rather calm and steady. There wasn't a hint of anger or suspicion, much to Charlie's relief. "I hope that the former apprentice of the Dark Knight, and the mysterious hooded figure didn't cause you much harm."

Charlie tried to open her mouth to reply, but couldn't find her voice. She struggled to form any sounds whenever she was around Felix. He was not only a monster to Gotham, but he was her personal monster.

Felix finally turned to face Charlie. His hair was graying, and his eyes were dark and cold. Being the wealthy business man he is, he dawned a tailor made suit, complete with a tie. His hands were behind his back, and he stood tall and proud. His stance added to his authority, and contrasted with Charlie's. Her eyes were focused on the floor, and her arms were crossed, as if she was trying to shield herself.

"How exactly is it that a mere young girl, like yourself, was able to escape one of Gotham's valuable boy scout, and it's merciless hero?" His thin lips curled into a smirk that made Charlie's stomach churn with disgust. "I am well aware of your ability to cause trouble with some.. business partners. But, are you really that capable to escape with nothing but a black eye?" He reached out a finger and lightly touched Charlie's "black eye". She bit her lip and kept her eyes glued on the floor. As Dick applied the makeup to her eye, he informed her that the black eye wasn't easy to smudge, and was also water proof. The only way to completely wash it off was rubbing alcohol.

"Tell me, Charlotte," Felix said as he removed his finger under her eye and used it to lift up her chin, "what happened that night?"

Charlie reluctantly looked at him in the eyes. "They took me as hostage. What else is there to say?" she snarled.

Felix frowned and his eyes deepened with annoyance. "My dear Charlotte, you have been gone for nearly four days. As the only living kin you have left, I am just concerned for your well being."

Charlie bit down on her bottom lip. Yes, he was her only living kin. But that's only because he was the one that killed her mother.

"I have some guards claiming that you were the one that attacked them. I have another one that just recovered in the infirmary that said you shot him." Felix walked around Charlie, like a lion taunting it's prey. "Is this true?"

Charlie bit down harder on her lip and continued to look straight ahead. "They told me too," she lied. "They said that if I didn't do it, then they would kill me on the spot." Her spine shivered as she felt Felix's glare in the back of her head. "I.. I was so scared, Felix. I was so helpless, and I didn't know what to do."

"How did you escape?"

"They let me go."

"Now why on Earth would they just let you go?" Felix asked. He walked around her again, observing her, checking to see if she had any injuries. "It seems as if they treated you with quite some hospitality. Ah, besides that ugly mark around your eye, one would think that you weren't even their hostage."

Charlie cleared her mind of any fears, doubts, and worries. Felix was like a mad animal. He was able to smell fear and preyed on it. In order to convince him, and relieve him from any suspicions he may have, Charlie had to shield herself from any emotions. Her eyes became as cold as his, and her posture straightened. She looked right through him, and didn't allow him the chance of sensing any fear. "They didn't believe in taking unnecessary casualties. Nightwing didn't want any blood on his hands, and the Red Hood didn't think that I was worth it. To them, I was just insurance. But when they realized that I was useless, they allowed me my freedom. Of course, they didn't let me go without a simple message," she said in a monotone voice. She raised her finger to point at her black eye, the supposedly "message" that she was referring to. "I'd be more than happy to tell you what shit hole they are hiding in, but they blindfolded me the whole time."

Felix stared at her for what seemed like hours. His eyes looking down at her, and his lips drawing a thin line. Finally, he broke the silence. "I see."

Charlie shifted her weight onto one foot, and folded her arms once again. "Is that all? Because if you excuse me, I would like to spend the next couple of hours soaked in a warm tub."

The smirk on Felix's face returned, and he nodded his head. "Of course, Charlotte."

Charlie nodded and quickly spun on her heels to walk out. As she was about to walk through the door, she heard Felix's voice crawl down her spine.

"Oh, and sweetheart. Welcome home."

"You're the ward to the billionaire Bruce Wayne, and yet you can't spare me a decent phone?" Charlie glared down at the flip phone in her hand.

"It's prepaid, freckles," Jason snorted as he took a sip of beer. "Just be grateful that we didn't get you two cups and a string."

"The phone is only for contacting us," Dick reasoned. "I already programmed our numbers into the phone. Call us if you have any information, clues, or if you're in any sort of trouble."

Charlie sighed and placed the phone on the table.

"Alright, now let's get back to business," Jason said. The three of them were currently sitting in a booth in Crow's club. As far as he was concerned, she was "back at work". "Any news on Crow?"

"Give me a break. I've only been there for two days," Charlie bickered. "I'm not Sherlock Holmes, Jaybird"

Jason rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you've been there for two days, and you didn't learn crap. So that means that you wasted two days. The shipment is going to be made in less than two weeks."

"Wow, that is brand new information," Charlie sarcastically remarked. "And here I thought that we had all of the time in the world, Jaybird."

Jason felt his grip on his bottle tighten. How could Dick possibly even think that he had the slightest affection for this girl? She was nothing but rude, sarcastic, and full of sass. He would deny all the facts that for the past two days, he couldn't get her out of his head. If he told Dick, he would tease him about how he was worried about the girl. But to Jason, he was just worried about the mission. Charlie was just an important asset, and that's all she was going to be to him. Or at least, that's what he keeps telling himself.

"Listen here freckles, you were the one that volunteered for this little stint. I knew that you weren't going to be able to handle this, but you just ha-"

"What Jason is trying to politely say," Dick interrupted, trying to avoid a war between the masked hood and the feisty minx, "is that any information you can get from Crow is incredibly useful right now. Like Jason said, the shipment is in less than two weeks."

Charlie lowered her glare on Jason. If Dick wasn't here playing referee, then they would had probably teared each other's throats out by now." She shifted in her seat and looked around to see if there were any eavesdroppers. As usual, everyone in the club was too drunk or high to be aware of the outside world. "Felix and I didn't exactly have a warm reunion, alright? The first day I got back, I.. I just needed some time to get settled in. I tried to pry around the next day, to see if the guards or maids knew anything. But they're either as clueless as a doorknob, or are too stubborn to give anything up."

"And you couldn't just go to the big guy himself?" Jason snorted. He took another sip from his beer, knowing that it would take a whole lot more for him to be intoxicated.

"Aren't you just full of bright ideas tonight," Charlie scoffed. "Hey, maybe after this whole thing is done you can go cure the common cold."

"Look Ms. Sass, all I'm saying is that the most logical thing to do is talk to Crow himself," Jason rebuked.

Charlie bit her lip to keep herself from bursting out. She hated to admit it, but Jason was right. The only thing stopping her from questioning Felix was her fear of Felix himself. She took a deep breath to calm herself and allowed her eyes to wander to her drink. "You're right," she mumbled. "We're under a time limit, and everyday I'm cowardly avoiding Crow is another day that we could have used."

Dick reached out an placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, we still have some time. Don't beat yourself up too much over it."

Charlie flinched at the touch of his hand. The last time a man touched her in the club, it wasn't reassuring or gentle. Still, she felt a warmth overcome her from Dick's words. No one was as kind to her as he is. No one was able to comfort her and reassure her like him. She felt a connection with the young man, something that she never had with anyone before. If she was any other girl that dreamed of a Prince Charming, she would say that she felt a romantic connection with him. A fairy tail attraction where the poor mistreated girl is rescued by the Prince Charming with the gentle words, and alluring smile. But Charlie was never one for fairy tails. The connection she had with Dick was more of a sibling one. He was like the older brother that protected her and cared for her. Growing up with the so called "family" she has, she was never able to form any sort of family connections with anyone. She couldn't even form a mother-daughter relationship with her own mother.

Charlie gently pressed her hand onto Dick's and gave him a thankful smile. She hasn't known him for long, but she can already tell that Dick was almost like a brother to everyone he meets.

"Now that everything is somewhat settled," Dick said as he got up, "I think I'll leave it to you guys for a while."

"Wait, what?" Charlie questioned.

"I got some stuff to take care of in Blüdhaven. Nothing serious, just something that is gonna need a few days to deal with. I'll be back in time to help you guys with the shipment, but until then I'm only a phone call away." Dick pulled out his wallet and threw a few dollar bills on the table. "Besides, this is Jason's case and now it's yours."

Charlie frowned a bit, but she understood. Gotham is the home to the Dark Knight, and Blüdhaven is the home to his protégé. She walked over to Dick and gave him a hug. "Just a phone call away, promise?" she whispered into his shoulder.

"Promise," Dick said as they pulled away. He faced Jason and gave him a simple nod, which Jason returned. "Anyways, you got Helmet Head here."

Jason rolled his eyes and muttered something before taking another sip from his drink.

"Just try not to claw each other's eyes out while I'm gone," Dick teased. He gave Charlie one more reassuring smile before turning around and disappearing into the crowd of dancing bodies.

Charlie sighed and returned to her seat across from Jason. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, or really disliked him. She still remembered their little drinking game, and how he comforted her before she left. But she also couldn't forget the amount of times where they screamed at each other, and how much they clash sometimes. The two of them were both bold personalities; hot headed people ready to explode.

"Well freckles, looks like it's just you and me now," Jason sneered. Just like Charlie, he wasn't a huge fan over the fact that Dick just suddenly decided to leave. Especially since he wasn't over how he teased him, and claimed that he had some sort of "care" for her. She was just an important asset to the mission. An asset that can't seem to do her job. "Just because Dick isn't around, doesn't mean that the mission is going to get easier. You have to step up your game with Crow, or all of this would be for nothing."

They haven't been alone for even five minutes, and already one of them is picking another fight. Charlie bit her lip, trying to restrain herself from lashing out on him. But as hard as she tried, even a hot head like her knew that it was impossible. "If it wasn't for me, then you would be a dog chasing it's own tail! I said it before that you're right, and that I'll try to get some stuff from Felix. So why don't you just cool it?"

Jason clutched his grip on the now empty bottle harder. "Because, like I said earlier, we are running out of time. And now we are one man down, so excuse me if I'm trying to finish the mission I have been working on for the past couple of weeks. You are just one factor that wasn't taken into account."

Charlie's mouth dropped, as her face scrunched into disgust. A factor?! "Oh you have got to be kidding me," she sneered. "I am not a factor, or an asset, or whatever you keep calling me. I am a partner in this shit, whether you would like to admit it or not. Fine, you've been tracking down Felix like a lost puppy for weeks now, but while you've been playing super spy, I was literally living with the enemy. I'm more experienced with the dude, and I know a lot more about him than you and Dick combined. I might not know anything about the shipment yet, but at least I have a better chance of finding out than you. If anyone has a more important role in this, it's defiantly not the one sitting here with a penis between his legs."

Jason's eyebrows involuntarily raised because of her last sentence. Sometimes he is amused by her sass and wit, sometimes he is annoyed, and sometimes he's just simply dumbfounded. But still, he didn't appreciate the not so subtle statement that she was more important in this than anyone else. "You had your fun Freckles, but living off of the thrill this long had made the wires in your head all screwed up. I'm not the one that's playing super spy here, alright? I've been to parts of the world that you don't even know exists, fighting shit that I don't even believe exists. Fine, you know how to knock out a few guards, and shoot a damn gun. But I've been personally trained by the fucking Batman himself, and you have witnessed first hand the collection of guns I own. They're not just for show, Freckles. And okay, you lived with Crow for almost your whole life, and you got a fucking sick history with the dude. I get it, and I'm not saying that it's not worth a thing, because it's worth everything. Not just in the mission, but just in who you are. You were in some tough shit, and you are surviving it, and fighting through it. But don't think for a second that you're the biggest role in all of this. This is my mission, my target, and my thing to end. You want to be called a partner in this shit, like it's a glorified honor? Fine, congratulations, you're a freaking partner in a mission to take down your own step-father."

Charlie opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't form any words. Maybe Jason was right, maybe she was just pretending to have a bigger part than she really has. This was his mission since the beginning, of course he didn't want to hear someone else basically saying that he wasn't good enough to lead it. She hasn't known Jason long, but she defiantly knows that he is not the kind of person to easily listen to criticisms, or hearing that they're not good enough.

Jason also felt the tensions rise in their small little booth. He sighed, knowing that he might have taken it a step too far once again. Without Dick here, everything just got a whole lot harder, and the pressure got heavier. Right now, it was just the two of them. The last thing that he needed was for the mission to fail because one of them accidentally got their feelings hurt.

"Look, if I'm going to babysit you again, we might as well try to tolerate each other. And nothing says forced toleration like a good round of alcohol." Jason sighed. He waved his hand up the waitress to signal another round of drinks.

"You're just saying that because you don't have to pay for it", Charlie snorted. No matter how much he irritated her sometimes, the only thing she needs to be focusing on is taking down Felix. And it would be a lot easier without the tension always coming between the two.

"Not my fault that your relationship with Crow means that you get drinks on the house," Jason shrugged. He gladly accepted the new bottles of beer that was handed to him by the waitress, and held one out to Charlie. "Enjoy it while it still lasts."

Charlie smirked at him, and grabbed the drink. "Oh yeah, one of the perks of being the prostitute daughter to a bastard crime lord."

Jason returned the smirk and held his bottle up. "That's the spirit."

Charlie clicked her bottle against his, before proceeding to chug it. She relished the slight burn as the beer made it's way down her throat. At least there's one thing that her and Jason can agree one: free alcohol is the best kind of alcohol.

"Slow down, freckles. You don't want be in a place like this wasted."

Charlie snorted as she slammed the drink down on the table. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Trust me, Jaybird, this is not the place that I would even want to be in sober."

"I'm just saying," Jason frowned, "don't get yourself into some unnecessary shit."

Charlie leaned forward so that she was only a few inches away from Jason. "And here I thought that the brave Red Hood would be here to protect me."

Jason slightly glared at her, and carefully backed away a bit. "What happened to all of that talk about you being able to take care of yourself?"

Charlie's smirk widened as she slightly tilted her head. "Oh don't worry, I can still kick some ass even if I'm wasted. But does that mean that you won't even try?"

Jason rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what was going on. This was Charlie's way of figuring out if she can trust him one hundred percent. It was so that she can know that if anything went wrong with Crow, that he'll keep his promise of getting her out of there again. He looked off to the side, watching the drunken bodies dance to the music. Even if he had already seen her cry, and seen her crack, he knows that she would still try to keep face. She would still try to keep up this image that she is unbreakable, and doesn't need anyone besides her. Jason is too familiar with this image himself.

After a few seconds of silence, Charlie leaned back in her seat defeated. She crossed her arms and frowned. Was that a no, he wouldn't even try? Is the mission really all he cares about? Was she honestly just an accidental asset? Did he not care for her even the slightest bit? Was she a fool for thinking that just because they shared a few moments, he would actually care? Did she want him to care?

"If anything goes south, for whatever reason, I will be there." Charlie's eyes widened as her thoughts were interrupted. She quickly looked up at Jason, who was still facing the crowd. "And then trust me, you won't be the one worrying about getting hurt."

Charlie smiled to herself, and took another sip from her bottle. Yeah, she got her answer.