A/N: Not much to say. Just read, review and enjoy you guys. Feedback is always welcome.
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Chapter Three
Wayne Penthouse
Light padding could be heard as Alfred Pennyworth made his way down the hall of the penthouse towards Bruce's room. He honestly couldn't wait for the manor to be finished. The penthouse was nice, but it was modern and cold. It was only another three weeks until the construction crew was finished, then another few weeks for decorating and then he and Master Wayne would be home again. He arrived at the door of Bruce's bedroom in no time and quietly made his way inside. The room had been darkened by the drawn shades, but he could make out the form of his charge sleeping soundly in bed.
"Rise and shine, Master Wayne." Alfred called out as he made his way to draw back the curtains and let the sun's light brighten up the room. He watched to make sure Bruce would indeed get up.
A groan was the only response given as Bruce rolled away from the light and buried his head into his pillow hoping that his butler would go away and he could get some more sleep. Alfred, however, didn't do as his master had hoped and merely rolled his eyes at the younger man's antics.
"I can always comeback with a pitcher of cold water if that's more to your liking, sir." An amused smile rose to his lips when he saw Bruce roll onto his back and glare slightly at him.
"What time is it?" Bruce yawned out before sitting up to take the drink being handed to him.
"Just after ten, sir. You have a meeting with Mr. Fox this afternoon." Alfred replied while giving Bruce a critical once over making sure that there weren't any new or serious injuries that had been neglected, "Uneventful night?"
"No, just small occurrences nothing too serious." Bruce replied before moving to do his pushups, "I still haven't found a lead on that serial killer."
Alfred felt a twinge of relief. While he understood why Bruce did what he did; he still worried about the younger man. Bruce had been swallowed by the darkness in his soul after Rachel and Harvey's deaths. He had hardly slept and continued to push himself as Batman. At one point Alfred was sure that Bruce was trying to get himself killed.
He had beome a little more reckless…more dangerous with every criminal he went after. Even the playboy persona had become colder and more forced. It hadn't been until Bruce had almost been caught by the police that Alfred stopped subtly hinting and bluntly told his charge that he needed to take a break or at the very least slow down with the Batman business for a little while and let himself grieve. He had even hidden the bat suit for a few days to insure that his orders were taken out, neither had been happy with the other that month.
"The last killing was only a few days ago, I doubt that he will strike again so soon." Alfred replied.
"I know, but there's hardly any evidence left by this guy or guys. There has to be something." Bruce grunted out as he pushed himself up.
"You'll figure it out, Master Bruce."
"When? After I let more people die?"
Alfred frowned at his charges bitter words, "In order to let someone die insinuates that you had the opportunity to save them in the first place. You had no such opportunity."
"Then why does it feel like I did, Alfred?" Bruce questioned rolling onto his back to look at the only family he had left.
Alfred smiled gently back, "Because Master Wayne, you're a good man that has chosen to take on a responsibility that would shatter a lesser being... and because you're bloody stubborn."
Bruce gave him a slight smile before moving towards the bathroom. Now that there was a serial killer in Gotham, Alfred could only hope that Batman would capture this monster before one of his victims left their everlasting print on his charge's ever burden conscious. Sighing, he moved about to get things ready for Bruce, part of him wishing that time would turn back to when the younger man was just a little boy and his biggest worry was keeping the gift his father had bought for his mother a secret.
Alfred was surprised a little while later when Bruce appeared in the living room dressed in jeans and a jacket. When Bruce dressed like that it meant one of two things. The first reason was that he was going to go tinker with something. The second reason was that he was going out onto the streets and he wanted to blend in with the rest of the crowd. If he had to guess he was sure Bruce was going out.
"Are you going to go gather more information?" Alfred asked dryly.
Bruce shook his head, "I need to take a step back from this investigation. I thought I would go for a walk and clear my head."
The older man nodded his head, "Don't forget about your meeting. I don't want to receive another angry phone call from a board member because you didn't show up."
Bruce waved his hand in dismissal. He wasn't going to forget, he had been the one to set up the meeting in the first place. After he made sure he had his wallet and phone on him, Bruce headed out the door.
XX
An hour earlier, Audrey had started to take a jog around the city. After meeting with the twins the night before and doing a quick review of the case, Charlie had dropped her off at what was supposed to be her new apartment. It wasn't a bad place. It was big enough for one person and that was all that really mattered.
It had been a little after one when she had finally dozed off, but she woke up around eight feeling antsy. Sleeping in a new place always had her feeling more tense than usual. She had spent the next hour going over files and talking with Reed.
"Reed, can you upload me the files on Stuart? I seem to have left those at the warehouse."Audrey asked as she poured what had to be her third cup of coffee that morning.
There was a brief crackle on the other end as Reed turned blurry eyes towards his computer screen. He had gone to bed not too long ago and wasn't ready to be awake yet, but Charlie had already left for the day, "Yeah hold on."
There was a brief silence as Audrey listen to the clacking of a keyboard and took a sip from her cup. It only took another second before Reed was on the line again, "It's been sent. We never discussed how we're going to go about this mission."
"Well, Charlie's monitoring the police from the legal department and your running logistics. I'm going to have to go to the crime scenes and see if I can find anything the police missed." Audrey paused as she tried to sort everything out in her head, "We'll work on it once we have a better idea of who we're going after."
"Some of those scenes are still taped off, luv. If you get caught you'll be in trouble with the men in blue." Reed murmured as he leaned back in his chair.
Audrey tilted her head back in thought, he had a point, "Reed…do you think you can put together some FBI credentials for me?"
"Don't you already have FBI credentials?" Reed questioned. He was sure she had some from a previous assignment.
"Yeah, but those credentials put me in with the white collar unit. I need something a little grittier." Restlessness was beginning to invade Audrey's body. She put down her cup and moved back over to the case files.
Reed nodded to himself, "How about I pull up your old credentials and do some reconfiguring. You can be from the behavioral unit rather than the white collar crimes…. What are you going to tell the police about being there? The FBI hasn't been invited to investigate this case, yet."
Audrey sighed, "I don't know, I'll come up with something. I always do."
"Such an established liar." Reed teased lightly, "I'm going to catch a few more hours of sleep before starting on your credentials, gorgeous girl. Enjoy you god-awful early morning."
She snickered, "Not all of us need the beauty sleep. See you later Reed."
Audrey was now taking in the cement jungle that was Gotham. The grey colors blended in with the almost black sheen of tinted glass. Other buildings were made of the traditional red brick and the trees that had been planted on the edge of various sidewalks were beginning to turn orange and yellow with the start of the fall weather. Almost distractedly, Audrey recognized that Gotham had an abstract beauty to its exterior. The city didn't seem so corrupt and intimidating during the day. Though cities never did, did they?
Bruce was having similar thoughts as he walked around the city. He had just finished cutting through one of Gotham's many parks and was now letting his feet guide him towards his next destination. It didn't take long for Bruce to find himself planted in a coffee shop down the street from the park. It was a little shop but it seemed to have a decent amount of business…it was quaint, he decided.
The line to the barista was relatively short with only three people ahead of him. Bruce found himself looking curiously at the woman that was standing before him. The light sheen of perspiration on her brow and the clothes she was wearing told him she had just been working out, but she wasn't breathing hard so she hadn't over exerted herself.
It wasn't an out of the ordinary scene but what had caught his interest was how intensely she was studying the newspaper she had in hand. It was from this morning and Bruce could only assume she had grabbed it on her way into the café. He titled his head trying to catch a glimpse of what article she was reading.
"I can't tell if you're trying to read over my shoulder or if you're just looking me over, but either way you've been staring for way too long."
Bruce lifted an eyebrow to mask his surprise at hearing the woman speak. He hadn't seen her so much as glance away from the paper, "It was a little of both actually. I'm sorry if I disturbed you."
Audrey finally looked away from her paper to properly look at Bruce, "Disturbed, isn't the word I would have used."
"And what word would you have used?" Bruce asked. He found himself being drawn into the brunette's guarded sapphire eyes.
"Distracting." Audrey said coolly as she moved closer to the barista, "It's hard to concentrate when you're being stared at."
A smirk came unbidden to Bruce's mouth at her dry reply, "Is it? And here I thought you were distracted by my mere presence."
Audrey turned back around and purposefully gave him a once over before crinkling her nose and saying, "Not much of a presence."
"Enough to capture your attention, it seems." Bruce replied wryly as he realized she didn't know who he was, "So, what were you trying to concentrate on?"
Audrey simply handed the paper to him in answer before retorting, "I think it had more to do with your impolite behavior. Hasn't anyone ever told you that staring is rude?"
"I'm sure someone has, if not you'd be the first. "Bruce shrugged and turned his attention to the article she had been reading.
The paper didn't say anything new about the murder that hadn't been printed previously. He had barely made it to the fourth sentence when the line moved again and he heard the woman in front of him ordering.
"A water, the largest size coffee you have and the newspaper that he's currently in possession of."
Bruce glanced up to see her gesturing at him. Raising an eyebrow, he spoke up, "Make that two coffees."
Audrey gave him a bemused look as he came to stand next to her. He simply gave her a half smile before he handed the paper back to her and slid some money across the counter.
Audrey continued to look at Bruce a little unsurely, "I hope you don't want my number because I'm not going to give it."
"How about your company? We already have the coffee." Bruce stated almost guilefully. He was finding their repartee captivating on a level he hadn't been exposed to in awhile.
Audrey tilted her head in consideration. He was cute and it's not like she would ever see him again. Pursing her lips, she let herself nod, "Sure, why not? And thank you for the drinks."
"No problem."A faint smile passed over Bruce's face at her acceptance.
He followed behind her as she picked up her water and coffee and headed toward one of the small tables in the café. He noticed that she moved differently from most women…held herself differently too. It was distinctive and yet familiar to him, but Bruce couldn't quite put his finger on why. He didn't have any more time to ponder the minor mystery as she took a seat and gave him a questioning look.
"I suppose I should ask for your name." Audrey suggested as she took a sip from her coffee, "So, who are you?"
A mocking glint lit up Bruce's eyes at her question, "No one special."
Audrey raised an eyebrow as she finally noticed that he seemed vaguely amused. At what, she wasn't sure, "Does no one special have a name?"
"I do, but I don't think I should tell you." Bruce murmured softly.
"Why is that?" Audrey asked, her own amusement hidden by intrigue.
"Mostly because I'm enjoying the ambiguity of this conversation and telling you my name would ruin that…well, it be would ruin for me."
Audrey frowned slightly; she was puzzled by his answer. She stopped and gave him another once over, "I would asked why it would ruin the conversation for you but I have the feeling that you won't tell me."
"You're right, I won't." Bruce held back a smirk at the vexed look she was giving him and took a sip from his own coffee.
Audrey pursed her lips and nodded, "Okay, since you won't tell me your name, I won't tell you mine either. It only seems fair."
"I can deal with that." Bruce agreed.
He paused to take her in again before he asked, "So, how long have you been in Gotham?"
Audrey tilted her head curiously, "What makes you think that I haven't lived here all my life?"
"Now, who's being rude? Answering a question with a question?" Bruce drawled, the mocking glint becoming more prominent in his eyes.
She rolled her eyes, "I've been here about a day. Now, how did you know?"
"There were several things that gave it away." Bruce replied vaguely.
"Let me guess, you're not going to tell me what gave me away either."
He merely smiled at her exasperated amusement. A moment passed before he spoke, "If it makes you feel better, you'll figure one of them out within the next few days."
"Only one?" Audrey questioned sarcastically.
Bruce shrugged, "Maybe more."
An unwilling smile made its way across Audrey's face. She felt a tad ridiculous talking with a man who seemed to be taunting her for enjoyment. She supposed she should be angry, but there was something completely comical about this being her first coffee shop experience in Gotham.
Bruce, by this time, decided that it would do good to change the topic, "So why were you so interested in the article you were reading? You're not some kind of killer groupie are you?"
"No." Audrey answered with a derisive snort, "Don't you think I should know any immediate threats since I'm new to Gotham?"
"It's a smart move, but what are the chances of a serial killer going after a person that arrived in town not even a day ago?" Bruce's eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed that a hint of mirth had passed through his companions eyes, "I don't think you have much to worry about."
The chances of the killer going after her were better than Bruce knew. Audrey held back a smirk of her own as she responded, "Maybe not but if a murdering psychopath takes a liking to me, I wouldn't want to be caught unaware."
"No, you wouldn't." Bruce agreed softly.
His mind was ran back over what she had said. Unaware. The word stuck with him and Bruce foundhimself going over the coroner's reports in his head. None of the victims had defensive wounds. He couldn't remember if anything had been abnormal on the toxicology reports but now he felt the need to get back to the bunker and review the files again. He felt as he had just been handed a clue.
Audrey saved him from making an excuse, "Look, I have to get going. I'm meeting up with a friend but it was nice talking with you…whoever you are."
Bruce smirked faintly, "Same here. Maybe we'll see each other around."
"Maybe."Audrey replied as she moved from her seat.
Bruce did as well and watched as she walked away from the café. He suddenly cursed in his head as he realized he would have meet with Lucius in an hour. He had just enough time to get back to the penthouse and change. Reviewing the Artist case files was going to have to wait.
A/N: Special thanks to Nancie for reviewing. I would also like to thank The Bebop, japanesegal12, Evangeline78152, and TrickPhotography for adding this story to their favorites list.
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