Chapter 16: Out After Dark

I stood there, rooted to the spot; the phone slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor. "Sarah!" Evan shouted, he grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me around to face him, "Sarah! What's happened?!"

"I…I…I have to go!" I shouted, pulling myself from his grasp, I pulled my coat off of the hook I had placed it on when I came to work that morning.

"What're you doing?" Stevie asked, with what sounded like genuine concern.

"Sarah, what the hell is going on!?" Shouted Deborah as I threw my coat over my shoulders and raced to the door.

"Bye guys!" I shouted as the door shut behind me. I took off down the street in a dead sprint, I could still make it in time if I ran. Overhead the full moon shone behind thick, black clouds casting an eerie glow over the city; the flickering streetlamps tried in vain to light the city below. From every corner and alleyway the shadier denizens of Gotham emerged from their lairs; some wore black leather, but thankfully, none wore costumes. At least not yet.

Cherry Street I thought as I passed the dimly illuminated street sign.

As I raced down the street I became increasingly aware that I was in danger; every kid in Gotham is taught never to stay out past 10:00, a curfew most parents set for their kids. Every year kids broke this rule, and every year dozens of kids were hospitalized or even killed just because they were out too late, and in the wrong place at the wrong time. Dogs barked loudly in the distance, followed by shouts and the sound of shattering glass. Somewhere in Gotham the city police were preparing for the graveyard shift, knowing full well that a few of their cohorts were probably bought off, but going to work anyway. The night was still young.

Murphy Boulevard. I was close.

Several people on the opposite street stared at me as I ran, some had their hands deep in their pockets. In fact, I was so busy focusing my attention on them, that I didn't see the group of thugs on the sidewalk in front of me. I crashed into one of them with a huff, and fell over onto my back. The group of three turned and looked at me as if I had insulted them. The man I had hit took a step forward to glare at me. "Watch where you're going, lady!" He shouted, pointing his finger at me accusingly. Had I not been so scared I would have fired a retort right back at him, "sorry!" I quickly stammered running past him, "Hey, get back here!" One of them called as I raced away. "Oh no…" I groaned as they chased me.

Stark Street, I turned left, less than a block to go now. I could see the blue building down the street, I hoped and prayed that Aiden was okay. I could hear the goons behind me shouting at me as I ran, almost there. Just as they were about to catch up to me I burst through the front door, "Aiden!" I shouted. That was when the first guy grabbed me by the hair and pulled me against him; "I'll teach you what it means to disrespect me." He growled, I screamed as loud as I could, it was my only defense. The door to the back room crashed open and a gravelly male voice shouted "what the hell's going on out here!?"

We froze. The two guys standing on either side of me looked like they were going to soil their pants. I probably did too. If you looked at this man from his right he would have looked perfectly normal, even handsome, but I had full view of the left side of his face, which was a scarred, mangled mess. It didn't take a seasoned Gothamite to realize who this guy was.

The terrifying big shot rogue pointed the gun he had been holding at the three dumbstruck thugs. The man behind me gasped and immediately let me go, I dropped to the floor like a ragdoll. He raised his hands over his head in surrender "hey man, I-I didn't know she was with you!" He reached into his pocket and tossed a silver object into the air. His coin, I thought. The coin landed in the palm of his hand, after staring at it for a moment he looked up at the group and fired the gun, they shut their eyes in terror. The bullet shattered the window directly next to the lead crook, taking a sliver of his ear with it. It took him a minute to realize that he wasn't about to die.

"Now, get outta my face." Snarled Two-Face; the three thugs ran out the door tripping over themselves like children who had been spanked. It would have been funny if I hadn't been so terrified. The sense of relief I should have felt at being rid of them was immediately replaced by an ever greater dread. I looked up at the man standing before me, took a deep breath and stood up. "Thank you…sir." I said, not knowing whether to call him by his proper name or by the name everyone in Gotham knew by heart.

I looked him up and down, he was even more terrifying than I had imagined. I could see why he'd called. His suit –black with a white collar on one side and white with a black collar on the other- was in awful shape; nearly all of the seams were torn and the collar had been entirely ripped off on one side. It looked expensive too. Judging by the sheen it gave off it was a silk suit. Yep, it's definitely a silk suit, I thought, and with that pattern, certainly custom tailored. "Your ensemble has certainly seen better days." I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. "I assume that's why you called?"

He gave a simple answer, "yes."

…

A very short while later we had finished our "consultation". His order was very simple really; he wanted a suit. It was just an ordinary suit really, aside from its color scheme, which was odd to say the least. I didn't have a tape measure, but luckily he had come prepared and already knew what his measurements were. Finally, Two-Face and the two men that had accompanied him left, with the instructions to meet him at the docks in a week, as well as a warning about what would happen to us if I were to spill the beans.

As the door shut behind them I looked around frantically. "Aiden!" I shouted, I didn't get a response. I burst into the back room, "Aiden!" The room was a mess; the floor was littered with pots, jars and other supplies you would expect to find in a bakery. They were probably knocked over in that scuffle I heard. I thought, my eyes darting back and forth. I heard something shuffling to my left, I turned and my eyes landed on the freezer door. I rushed toward it and heaved the heavy metal door open, the light landed on a thin, shivering figure curled up in a ball in the corner. "Aiden?" I asked, my voice shaking. He slowly lifted his head, in the faint light I could see that his left eye was blackening and his lip was cut. He sighed with relief, "Sarah, it's you."

I rushed to his side, "are you okay?"

He struggled to sit upright, "I'll be okay" he grunted "my leg really hurts though."

"Can you stand?"

He took a deep breath and struggled to his feet, he almost immediately crumpled to the ground. He snarled under his breath and looked up at me, "not without help," he winced. I leant him my shoulder and we hobbled out of the freezer, I set him down on one of the counters. "Sarah" he said, giving me a hard look "you know who that was, right?"

I nodded breathlessly, "yeah, that was Harvey Dent, Two-Face."

"Something tells me he wasn't here for a cake?"

Just as I was about to answer him sirens rang from not too far away. Aiden scoffed, "about time!" I proceeded to the front of the room and reached the door just as the black and white cars pulled up in front of the bakery. I walked outside and immediately met with an all too familiar person. "Well, well" said the officer, walking up to me, "we just keep running into each other, don't we Sarah?"

"Hi Officer Reagan" I said sheepishly.

She put a hand on my back and guided me towards the bakery. "So, what happened this time?"

Microbiology Major: DING, DING, DING! You were right! Actually though, I actually had a couple of separate chapters written up in which there were different villains but they each had the same ending.

Everybody: Really sorry I haven't updated in a while...apologies like this are becoming a regular thing with me and I'm sorry about that. My life is kind of messy right now, I wont give you the details. Writing is a GREAT outlet and I highly recommend it, along with singing, playing an instrument and loads of other outlets, but usually when I'm angry or upset my muse directs me to write something slightly darker than this, as much fun as this is to write. Anyway, sorry about dumping that whole spiel on you, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter anyway!