A/N: Read, review, and enjoy.

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Chapter Seven

Fortuna, Previous Night

Today was not a good day.

Maroni decided this as he brought his cigarette up to his mouth for another puff. He blew the smoke out through his nose and looked back down at the newspaper he had laid out before him. He wasn't really interested in what the paper had to say but it gave him something to look at while he let himself unwind.

In the past two weeks, three of his drug runners had been caught for possession and distribution of an illegal substance. Normally, he wouldn't have a problem with this, but the cops had more than just circumstantial evidence this time around. The one that was arrested this morning already had a warrant out for his arrest for domestic abuse. Luckily, he had been able to sever any ties that had connected the runners to his name. It was still frustrating. Not only was he losing money but he was losing his product as well.

Maroni bit back a frown. He knew that it was the damn bat that was still causing him so much trouble. Batman being hunted by the police was both a blessing and a curse for the mobster, more so a blessing. The Bat kept competition down, but he also lost men because of the cape crusader. He shivered as he remembered his encounter with the hero turned criminal last year. Maroni had a feeling he had been very lucky with the outcome of that meeting... in more ways than one. Absently, he rubbed at his legs...he still remembered the pain from being thrown from that fire escape.

Distantly, he realized that his boys were watching him carefully. A raised eyebrow and both Max and Tony turned their attention away from their boss and towards any new person entering Fortuna. This was his place. His getaway. Maroni bit back a sigh and he took a sip from the scotch that had been resting next to his wrist.

Out of the corner of his eye, Maroni saw Tony stand abruptly. He was blocking the passage of someone, but the mob boss wasn't able to make out who. He hoped like hell he wasn't going to have to put up with some cop or fed.

When Tony finally shifted enough for Maroni to get a glimpse of who was trying to gain his attention. He nearly groaned out loud. This was definitely not his day.

"Let him through."

Tony hesitated a moment before he followed his leader's order. Both of Maroni's bodyguards had seen this man before and knew he wasn't good news.

Tahri sent Tony a patronizing smile before he focused his sights on the aging mob boss.

"Mr. Maroni, I'm so glad you can see me."

Maroni clenched his jaw at the other man's imperious tone, "Would I turn you away?"

Tahri's smile didn't waver, "A smart man like you?...We have business to discuss."

The older man waved his hand towards the seat in front of him, "By all means."

Out of the corner of his eye, Maroni saw his boys shift uncomfortably. He couldn't blame them, even he felt strained under the heavy tension that plied the air.

"My...boss, needs another shipment."

Maroni raised an eyebrow, "Another shipment? What the hell is he doing with this stuff?"

"That is really none of your concern, Mr. Maroni." Tahri's smiled had disappeared and his eyes had turned dead.

Maroni suppressed a shiver at that look. It just wasn't human, "That's all he needs just another shipment? It'll cost him?"

"He wants to quadruple the shipment. Cost isn't an issue." Tahri iterated almost mechanically, "Half of that shipment needs to go to the Mayor's home."

"To the Mayor's place?" The old mob boss couldn't keep the shocked expression off his face, "You're insane!...You and your boss."

All of this came out louder than either man expected. Tahri stilled as he felt the rest of the bar's patrons train their eyes on the two. Realizing that one of Maroni's goons was getting ready to drag him from the booth, he raised his hands in show of peace.

"Keep your voice down. Garcia will be expecting the shipment. You'll have nothing to worry about, just make sure that the shipment gets to Garcia." Tahri's eyes glinted with threat and Maroni found himself grinding his teeth once again.

"Oh yeah? And how do I know that this isn't a trap. Garcia could have cops standing by to arrest my boys the moment they show up." There was no mistaking the anger that was swarming through Maroni. There were too many risks.

The insipid smile that had plagued Tahri's face before was back with a vengeance, "Let's just say that Gotham's mayor is not as squeaky clean as you might think…You have three days. Tell the wife I say hello."

Maroni didn't have a chance to reply as Tahri slipped from the booth and headed out the door. His hand wrapped around his glass and he threw back the rest of his scotch…he needed the slow burn traveling down his throat. What the hell had he gotten himself into? The mayor's home? Fuck.

He was nearly of the mind to go after the other man but thought better of it. Instead, he kept his eyes trained on the door. He was glad he did when he noticed a woman leaving the bar almost frantically. He wouldn't have paid her any mind but the way she was rushing to get out of Fortuna's caught his attention. Tahri had only left a few minutes ago, could she possibly know him? A frown swept over the old mobster's face as he called Tony over to his side.

"Yeah, boss."

Maroni turned his silver eyes onto the man next him and gestured absently towards the door, "The woman who just left…find out who she is?"

"Boss?"

Maroni held back agrowl, "Just do it."

The Bunker

Deep breath.

Bruce clenched his teeth as he wrapped an ice pack around his thigh and taped it in place. He got away lucky tonight. He had no real cuts or gashes, just a mass of bruising on his thigh and right side. He wasn't even sure how he got the bruising on his side. He held in a groan as he leaned back in his chair and propped his leg up. Alfred wasn't going to be pleased. He was supposed to be doing the walk-through on the newly rebuilt manor tomorrow.

Well…today, Bruce amended as he caught sight of the time. It was just past five. He knew that his guardian couldn't wait to get back to the manor and away from the havoc of the city. All Bruce wanted to do though was sleep for the rest of the day and not travel out to the Palisades. A sudden blinking from the computer screen was his first clue that his wish wasn't going to come true. The young billionaire heaved a sigh before he used his uninjured leg to push himself and the chair over to his computer.

A few keystrokes later and Bruce found himself viewing the photos he had taken earlier on that night. The majority of Maroni's drug runner's would head down to the warehouse district and then disappear into either an old factory or warehouse. Usually a few of Maroni's goons were inside, but what was frustrating was that there was never any illegal activity going on…other than words being exchanged, sometimes even a slip of paper. No money and no drugs. Batman had been lucky to catch two of Maroni's thugs dealing on a corner, but even he knew that the charges wouldn't stick.

There was one man though, Louis Ricci. As far as Bruce could tell, the man had been running drugs for Maroni for years. He had his own route and his own little posse of bodyguards. Bruce was sure that Ricci was Maroni's weak link in his distribution business. He just needed to figure out how exactly to exploit this weakness.

Bruce found himself pausing as another picture flew up onto the screen. Special Agent Lynette Peters.

A miniscule scowl passed over his face. He had hated seeing her come out of that bar. It had been a shocked to his system when it shouldn't have been. He had already suspected that she wasn't an FBI agent. She could be just about anyone, including a criminal. He knew this and yet…

Bruce shook his head and continued to scowl to himself. Alfred was right; he was starting to like her. He continued to stare at the screen – at Audrey – with his hand hovering over the keyboard. He almost couldn't make himself go to the next photo. He didn't have to though when the noise of the Bunker's lift reached his ears. Alfred was here.

He listened to his guardian's familiar footsteps before he drew his gaze away from the screen. Bruce honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to smile or wince at the straight-faced stare he was receiving from the older man.

"You know sometimes I think you do this on purpose." Alfred began while he took in his charge's injuries.

Bruce hesitated before he replied. Unsure if he wanted to know what his butler was talking about, "What do I do on purpose?"

Alfred raised an admonishing eyebrow while he pulled his glasses from his pocket, "Injure yourself in ways that get you out of doing things that need to be done."

"When have I ever done that?" Bruce question slightly offended.

"Let's see. Two months ago, three bullets impacted your body armor which left you with an array of bruises on your chest. You had a hard time breathing properly for nearly four days." Alfred murmured as he took a closer look at the bruising on Bruce's leg.

The younger man was suddenly glad the shirt he was wearing hid the bruises on his side, "So, I got hurt. That didn't get me out of anything."

"It got you out of attending a meeting with your lawyer and Mrs. Liebewitz's annual birthday ball." Alfred countered without even looking up.

"I did eventually meet with my lawyer – which by the way, was a waste of time – and can you really blame me for missing one ball." Bruce argued. To be honest, he had completely forgotten about Mrs. Liebewitz's ball at the time. Not that he minded, Mrs. Liebewitz was a shrill woman and frankly just made him plain uneasy.

"You've missed three and that's just this year." Alfred said as he stood up straight, "A charity ball for the homeless, the opening of Gotham's new modern art museum and a private charity ball for Gotham's educational system. Stab wound, concussion, and two broken ribs."

Bruce stared at the older man knowing he had lost this argument, "Sometimes you scare me, Alfred."

Alfred smirked, "You could do with a little fear. I'll reschedule the manor's walk-through for next week."

"Thank you."

Alfred nodded his welcome and turned his attention towards the computer that had been holding his charge's interest when he walked in, "Are you following Agent Peter's now?"

"No." Bruce drawled dryly as he resisted giving into Alfred's mocking gaze, "I was following Ricci when I spotted her coming out of Fortuna's."

"Ah." Alfred hummed knowingly, "Do you have any idea why she would be there?"

Bruce shook his head, "No."

The older man paused thoughtfully as he studied the photo of the Audrey, "Well, whatever happened there last night obviously shook her. Poor thing looks like she's seen a ghost."

Bruce frowned at his butler's words and turned his eyes to focus on Audrey's face. At first he didn't see it, but then he realized her skin was several shades paler than he remembered and her eyes were wide…empty. He cursed himself, how had he missed that. Maybe it wasn't a ghost she saw, but a monster.

Eastside Hospital

The beeps of the heart monitor resonated through the cold, hollow room and Sal Maroni watched the sleeping woman attached to the series of medical instruments meant to sustain and supervise her progress. Gloria Maroni looked fragile in his eyes and that scared him more than anything else in the world. If there was one thing that he knew it was that Gloria Maroni was not a weak woman. She was strong, vibrant, and knew how to take care of her own without takin' crap from no one, but being his wife instilled some of that strength in her.

"You know if you keep starin' I'm gonna freeze this way." Gloria rasped out quietly as she slowly opened her brown eyes.

"I can't help but stare at a beautiful woman, Ria." Sal leaned forward in his chair to clasp onto her hand and smiled when she gave a slight snort to his reply.

Her hand tightened slightly around his, "You're such a liar, Sally. Always were."

"I'm not lying. You are beautiful."

Gloria rolled her eyes, she must look like hell right now…she had lost most of her hair, and her skin was more of a grey color than her usual ivory. She wouldn't be surprised if her eyes were ringed with red. The radiation treatments were doing a bad dance number on her, "Umhmm, whatever you say dear. What's a matter?"

"What do you mean?" Sal took in his wife's tired complexion, she didn't deserve this.

"What's bothering you, Sally? And don't say nothin' because I know you, I know when something's up."

A streak of guilt swept through Maroni. He wasn't one of the best guys in the world and he'd be the first to admit it, but there were certain lines that he did not cross and he knew that he had recently crossed one. He clenched his jaw as he continued to gaze at her.

Gloria had been getting worse, her cancer had moved towards stage three and the doctors said that there was a good chance that she wouldn't make it. He couldn't lose her not after twenty-eight years together, she knew him better than anyone and vice versa. It's what made them work through all the mob crap and the infidelities that they both had committed on the other. They probably had the most dysfunctional relationship in the universe, but it was theirs and they loved each other.

His brow furrowed and he looked down unable to look Gloria in the face right then, "I think I did something stupid, Ria."

"More stupid than usual?"

"Yeah." Came his quite reply, "More stupid than usual."

"You gonna tell me what you did?" Gloria eyed her husband, his normal cocky-in-control façade was gone and he looked…miserable. It wouldn't be the first time she saw him like this and at times she had been the one to cause that look, but that didn't make it any easier to see.

Maroni paused debating what he should tell her, she was in so much pain he didn't need to be adding to it. "No."

"Why?"

"You don't need to know about it right now."

"Salvatore…" Even when her voice was raspy and quiet, she still managed to sound threatening. It gave Sal hope that everything would be okay.

He still winced at her tone, "I'll tell you eventually, Ria. Just…just not right now."

Gloria gave a sigh of exasperation but let it go, she wasn't up for a battle when all she wanted to do was rest. As she drifted off Sal gave her hand another squeeze before leaning up and brushing a kiss to her scarf covered head, "Get better…please."

He sat with his wife for awhile longer, not ready to go back out into the cities underbelly. Sal was hovered by two of his goons when he did finally leave. There was a shipment of drugs coming in tomorrow and he needed to get some of his boys ready to go, hopefully everything would go down without a hitch.

"Boss?"

Maroni blinked as he was drawing away from his thoughts. He turned his eyes on to Tony and growled, "What?"

"That women from the bar last night…She's a fed, boss." Tony hesitated a second before he produced a large envelope and handed it over to his boss.

The mobster took it without a second glance before he waved a hand at his bodyguard in dismissal. He had nearly forgotten about her.

He didn't open the packet until he was in the privacy of his car. The envelope contained several documents and photos of the woman in question. Blue eyes, light brown hair, unconsciously Maroni acknowledged that she was pretty before he put the photos back and pulled the documents onto his line of sight. FBI. Name…Lynette Peters.

Maroni paused as he stared at the paper in his hand. She had reacted strangely when Tahri had left the night before. Was she one of his little spies or did she know the creep?

A/N: Special thanks to: Monday the 14th, Misplaced Levity, fruityloops87, something541, Siriusly-a-princess, MusicBeeQueen, Skye007lex, SeaGoddess10011, and DrPepperPrincess19 for reviewing. I would also like to thank: Skye007lex, SeaGoddess10011, Paola Hernandez, DrPepperPrincess19, GreenPurpleBlack, and riemayu for adding my story to their favorites list. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

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