Hello everyone! I have another exciting chapter for you. I hope everyone had a nice New Year's Day.
Twilight Warrior 627: Thank you. I'm trying to tell as realistic a story within the confines of the comic genre and the world Dan set up with his characters, so the 'bad guys' are not one key mustache twirling villains. They have true motivations and perhaps sympathetic ones that create such alter-egos.
In regards to the working relationship between the Fly Boy and Bat is far more geared towards earlier interpretations than say Miller's Dark Knight series or the obvious conflict in the upcoming Batman vs. Superman movie.
Fanfic-Reader-88: They didn't have the handicaps that the police did in investigating what happened: a number of the members of the force are on the Mob payroll and when they invoked right to remain silent, they don't have to talk to the police. It's a major roadblock for them if no one says anything.
Their days are numbered with all the forces lining against them with the new wildcard in the mix of two other individuals.
Challenge King: Thank you and hope you enjoy this chapter too.
Xemtlenc: It's a juggle having Rex in the mix where there clearly isn't him as a puppet because Robbie would be visibly speaking both parts. Sam/Beck together is the function of them being their respective characters more so than them consciously me making them couple.
If you haven't gotten a chance, I wrote a late Christmas story called "A Story of Christmas Future".
Rating: T Violence, Language
Chapter 12: Revenge is a Dish Best Served with Spices
Gotham General Hospital
Gotham, NJ
The elevator door opened to the ICU and Jade practically jogged in her high-heels with Freddie a few steps behind her. She had driven through the streets like a madwoman while being half-in/half-out of her bat-suit with Freddie having to steady the wheel a few times. He had offered to drive, but she didn't want to waste the time to switch. It was a moot gesture as once they reached the hospital, she had to find a corner in the underground parking garage to finish changing without being spotted.
They were halfway down the hallway when Jade met up with Tori pacing about the hallway in front of the room. The millionaire asked with a breathless tone, "How is he?"
Tori looked with a worried gaze and began, "He's awake, but…"
Jade stomach sank, fearing and imagining the worst. "But what?"
"Ah… he's talking… and so is Rex."
The millionaire's dread switched to amused confusion like a switch then uttered, "What do you mean 'Rex is talking'?"
Tori nodded her head to the side and motioned with a hand. "Yeah, Robbie will talk then Rex will say something. They'll have a conversation with each other and me… without Rex being there."
Freddie softly brought up, "Who's Rex?"
The ladies looked to Freddie with slightly startled expressions, forgetting that he was standing with them. They turned embarrassed expressions to one another than Jade answered, "Rex is ah… he's a puppet."
The reporter squinted behind his glasses and asked, "A puppet?"
Jade clarified with a struggling face as if it was an awkward topic to speak about, "A well-crafted puppet, the ones that ventriloquists use. He was very good at it in high school, too good. He would carry Rex around and act like he was a real person. It got to the point where it was second nature to treat Rex like he was a real person, but after high school, Rex appeared less and less until he disappeared by the time Robbie went to law school. We just didn't bring it up, just happy that he had moved on from having to use Rex as a crutch."
"Did he have an undiagnosed mental disorder?"
The onetime frenemies looked back to each other, then Tori answered, "We never considered it being to that point. We thought he was just taking his act a little too far to emotionally protect himself."
Jade bashfully smiled, something that he was pleasantly surprised in seeing, and answered, "We tried to get Rex away from him in our junior year so that he could make a clean break and hopefully adjust, but… it didn't work out." She threw a look at Tori, still showing that she hadn't forgotten that it was her doing in the first place that gave them then snatched the opportunity away for Robbie to have a clean break with the puppet.
The millionaire focused back on Freddie and continued, "We thought he had finally managed to put that away with law school and finally getting with Cat, but…" She turned a worrying gaze to Tori, who reflected it in her eyes.
Freddie forced a smile and attempted to assure the ladies, "If he functioned for years as Rex as a crutch, maybe this isn't such a bad thing? What happened to him must be traumatic, so it triggered 'Rex' to come back out as a way to cope with what happened. I'm certainly no doctor, but I'm guessing once he's healed up, Rex will just submerge back into his subconscious again."
The ladies exchanged glances, hoping that would be the case. Tori offered, "Let's hope so, but he's never talked without Rex, but this… it's just… unnerving."
"Then where is the actually puppet? Perhaps giving him the puppet might help? At least make it a bit less creepy?"
Jade passed a look to Tori then guessed, "I assume it's in storage somewhere in his apartment. I assume Cat would know. Has she been called?"
"Her phone keeps going to voicemail, but I called the office and they said they'd let her know."
"I'll give them a call to make sure she knows."
She was about to reach for her phone when a voice called out from behind her and Freddie, "So Mister Shapiro is awake?"
Freddie instantly recognized the voice with apprehension as the three turned to spot a very lovely brunette with fair skin and bright smile in a smart lady's business suit. Freddie paused as his eyes met his coworker and uttered, "Carly? What are you doing here?"
The lovely reporter laughed and stated as if her explanation was obvious, "Didn't Howard tell you? Superman just starts flying around Gotham, saving the day and he's involved with the rescuing of Gotham's D.A. and you don't think I wouldn't be here to report on him?" She nodded along, smiling almost goofily at him, "I report on Superman."
Freddie frowned and gave her a cold stare, something she couldn't remember ever seeing from him. She slightly recoiled as he answered with a barely patient voice, "He didn't save anything. Mister Shapiro has severe burns on his right side and he's going to need skin grafts for his face. He was too little, too late."
Jade turned a sympathetic look to her temporary partner-in-crime-fighting, the guilt getting to him a bit more than her. Tori looked on curious to his reaction, seeing the similar reaction the red and blue hero gave when he was waiting at the hospital.
Carly regained her composure with a short laugh then raised a hand and dismissively remarked, "Oh Freddie, this is no time for your jealousy of Superman."
Freddie snapped, catching his fellow reporter off guard, "What in the Hell do I have to be jealous about a man who can outrun a bullet or more powerful than a locomotive, but couldn't do any more than anyone else. He was the last one to show up after the Bat and all things the Joker did all the work. If you want to give him any credit in the paper then it is a damn lie and you should be ashamed of it as a journalist."
Carly looked back stunned by the ferocity, lulled over the time that she had worked with him that into thinking he was so mild manner that she questioned whether or not he had a spine at all, and his direct attack on her journalistic integrity. She was about to snap back, intending to put him back into his place as how she saw him as nothing but a junior partner at best, but Jade stepped into the conversation before thing got too heated, "Mister Benson is handling the reporting of this case and Superman. He's quite capable of doing that on his own."
Carly took a good look at Jade for the first time and realized the woman's identity. "Miss West?"
Jade turned a predatory grin towards Carly and answered, "Yes, I'm Miss West… the owner of your paper."
The fellow brunette tightened her smile, keeping an outward appearance of being cool and collective while Jade threw her weight around. She was used to politicians and other figures using subtle threats to get her off a story, so she wasn't intimidated in the least. She answered with a sweet tone, "Freddie is a capable reporter, but he's not had the experience in dealing with such groundbreaking stories."
Jade put on a disarming smile that had served her well in business negotiations. "Yes, you've been getting famous off the Superman's exploits as of late, but right now we don't need a tabloid reporter getting involved in this situation where my dear friend was kidnapped and nearly murdered."
Carly looked back startled at the blatant insult that questioned her writing ability. "Excuse me ma'am, but I'm not some tabloid reporter. I cover serious issues and when Superman is involved, it is a serious news story and furthermore, you can't just tell me what I can and can't investigate."
"Actually I can tell you what to do when you're doing it on my dime because I'm your boss's boss and if you interfere with Mister Benson's investigation because of your obvious puppy love for that flying circus performer, I'm going to have you fired. After I make sure that I put every one of those pieces of trash under the prison for what they've done to my friend, I will make it one of my life goals to make sure that the only job you'll get is a high school journalist teacher."
Carly looked back stunned at the overt spiking of her story. She deeply frowned at the millionaire and Freddie looked on astonished at the vitriol that spewed out of the pale dark brunette's mouth.
Jade muttered as she turned away and made her way to Robbie's room, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to check on my friend."
Carly shook her head and gazed to Freddie, mildly astonished with the reaction she received from Jade. "Woah, Freddie…"
"What?"
The brunette reporter cocked an eyebrow and answered, "What do you mean by 'what'? Did you not just see how she reacted?"
Freddie verbally turned it around on her as he answered, "Her friend was kidnapped with the intent on being murdered and he was severally injured, so she's going to be a little short with people. You should save any kind of judgment you have of her."
Carly bristled, unused to the supposedly mild manner reporter being so combative. Instead of being confrontational, she decided with the more subtle approach and asked, "I see you've gotten friendly with her."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You were here to do a fluff piece on her and when I get here, she threatens to have me fired over you. What have you two been doing?"
He answered in a clipped tone, "We've been investigating the death of Steven Carson—a mobster that robbed the police benefit—but then it turned into figuring out who kidnapped and attempted to murder of Mister Shapiro."
Carly flinched at the name, recalling how she had a short relationship with the young man when she was in high school, but broke it off when she found out that he was seeing someone behind her back. She push down those unpleasant memories down and studied him for a few moments, wondering if he was telling the truth. He never struck her as the type that was ever good with women, so the idea that he could have made such a romantic impression with the woman to garner such protection was ludicrous. She figured that he perhaps found something out about her in his original purpose for going to Gotham and was able to use it to his advantage. The idea that he could pressure someone in such a manner with possible dirt seemed absurd, but his reaction to her since her arrival would have fallen into that same category if she hadn't witnessed it.
However, just for journalistic obligation—and to counter Jade from throwing her weight around—she would have to do her own investigation to find out that leverage after she finished her story on Superman.
In the meantime, she politely asked her writing partner, "So you think the Mob of Gotham is connected to it all?"
"Yes, and we're trying to prove it."
"You don't think that's a little dangerous doing that with Jade West tied to your hip?"
Carly's condescending manner was getting on his nerves to the point where he no longer had any patience for it, so he sharply countered, "How is it any more dangerous than you getting into trouble and depending on Superman to bail you out of it? You've gotten reckless ever since he showed up."
The brunette jaw's dropped, no longer able to hide her shock at his unexpected behavior. "What has gotten into you? You've always been so… mild manner, but this…"
Freddie returned with a stern look and answered, "Mild manner or not, I'm a reporter and I report the truth. You write that about Superman and I'll write the truth."
Carly's nostrils flared and felt incensed by his reaction to her. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed out, "Fine. I'm going to see if I can get an update on Mister Shapiro's condition."
"Don't harass the staff."
"Don't tell me how to do my job!" she shouted back with clear stress in her voice that he had gotten under her skin.
Freddie wasn't sure what caused him to further break 'character' of the mild manner reporter and shouted, "You've been doing that to me for months."
Carly threw a glare over her shoulder then headed to the nurse reception desk.
Freddie slowly let a breath, glaring at Carly retreating form.
Tori had quietly watched the exchange, feeling kind of uncomfortable watching the writing partners look like they were having a domestic disagreement. However uncomfortable she felt in watching them, she felt equally curious in watching Jade being so protective of someone she had just met was astonishing, not to say that she hadn't got better over the years. She wondered if something was developing between the pair and though she might have felt a twinge of jealous that Jade could have beaten her to making such an impression on the handsome young reporter, she was glad her friend had the opportunity for true companionship.
The reporter glanced to Tori with a slightly embarrassed smile as he realized that she had witnessed the exchange.
Tori returned with a supportive smile and asked, "Do you want to grab a soda or something while we wait?"
The millionaire quietly slipped into the room, hoping not to disturb him in case he was asleep, but the caution wasn't necessary as the bed was empty. She frantically looked around, feeling a rush of panic that something had happened to him inside the hospital room. "Robbie? Robbie?"
"Jade?" he called out as he exited the bathroom to the room.
Jade looked to her friend and stopped at seeing the burnt side of his face.
Robbie quietly remarked with mild distaste, "Hey Jade."
The next moment later Robbie smiled and laughed out in Rex's voice, "Hey Wicked Witch, you look fantastic. You really make a woman's business suit hot." He slightly leaned over to his left and took a lingering gaze while Jade initially kept quiet, startled nearly beyond belief at hearing the voice of the puppet that Robbie carried throughout high school to the point of not naturally reacting to his sexual comment.
Rex chuckled, "Whoa, tough crowd."
The millionaire uttered, "Rex?"
Robbie nodded his head, but the voice that spoke was Rex, "Oh yeah, it's me."
Jade awkwardly laughed, still unsure how to react, "It's been a long time."
"Yeah, too long. Oh Robbie here has been keeping me in a drawer for the last couple of years. I've missed a lot. You're running a family's company, Tori's a movie star, Robbie here went to law school and is the D.A.—I wonder if he can fix my tickets—and he's going to marry Cat." He dropped his voice to a sarcastic tone, "Do you think I was invited to the wedding? I could find me a hot bride's maid or something."
Robbie raised the pitch of his voice and answered incredulously, "Hey, I needed to go to college and law school and I couldn't carry you around anymore."
The lawyer reasserted Rex's voice as he answered, "So you just ditched me? You could have at least given me to someone or sold me to someone. Chizz, you could have given me to Tori or Jade. It would have been better than being stuck in a drawer—wait a tick, how am I here? I'm stuck in a drawer."
Jade licked her lips, wondering if she should try to point out the obvious that Rex wasn't a puppet or separated person, but with the sheer trauma Robbie had been through, she didn't want to upset him further with confronting that.
The questioned seemed to put Robbie in a daze, unable to come up with a reasonable explanation.
Jade tentatively answered, "I… I don't know."
Rex interrupted Robbie's thinking and commented to Jade, "We got pretty messed up didn't we?"
The secret vigilante cleared her throat and awkwardly answered, "Yes you are. Why aren't you bandaged up?"
Robbie snapped, "Why? You don't want to see this scarred face? Even Cat doesn't want to see me."
Jade glared and snapped, not willing to put up with him irrationally lashing out, "I don't want you to get an infection. They're concerned about it as they are about every severe burned victim. As for Cat, the girl has been worried sick about you that she was falling apart."
"Then why isn't she here? Tori told me that she was at West Tower saying she was looking for something that could help me."
Jade rolled her eyes and half-heartedly mocked, "Figures. I told the whole research division to do whatever they can to find to help you. You have third degree burns on your face. I'm surprised that you have enough muscle structure to be able to talk. So you're going to get pissed that she's out trying to do something productive to help you instead of sitting here falling to pieces? She was doing that when she got here and found out what happened to you."
Robbie was about to answer, but Jade snarled out a warning, "Think very hard about your next words; I can always slap the good side of your face."
Rex stepped back in with a mocking laugh, "She's right Robbie. You need to calm down fool."
The lawyer grimaced and crossed his arms over his chest as he was being double teamed by Jade and the voice in his own head.
Jade sighed, not liking bringing out the side of her that was most prominent during high school.
Robbie asked in a tired voice, "When can I go?"
The secret vigilante looked incredulously at him and demanded, "Go? Robbie you need treatment—"
"Treatment? Look at me?! I'm something out of a freak show and the woman that did this to me is out there!"
Robbie's voice shifted to Rex and dismissed his rant, "Oh will you calm down fool?!"
The attorney listened to his alter ego and remained quiet for a few seconds before Rex started again, "Look, we'll deal with the gank that did this to us, but right now we're staying put. You really want to go out looking like this? I'm not going to pick up any ladies looking like this."
Jade couldn't believe she was saying this, but she had to agree with the missing puppet, "Rex is right. West Medical has had advancements in reconstructive surgery and skin grafts from all the research conducted after the War and we're going to do everything we can to help you recover. André's there right now keeping them on the ball."
Robbie bitterly questioned, "You mean try to look normal?"
The millionaire countered with a snarky tone, "Isn't that the point of recovering? For you to be healed?"
The D.A. frowned the best he could manage with have burnt lips.
Rex laughed, "She's got you there Robbie."
Jade sighed with very little patience, "Would you please get a bandage on you now before you get an infection?"
Robbie relented and walked over to the L-table to pick up the face bandage that he pulled off his face when he first woke up.
Jade walked over and made him have a seat before helping him reapply the bandage. She muttered, "We'll have to get this changed after we talk."
"Yeah, yeah…"
Jade curtly answered, "Don't get cranky on me Robbie."
Robbie remained silent as she finished taping the back of his head then had a seat next to him on the bed. He looked to his old friend and asked, "Okay, what have you've been doing since I got here?"
"Freddie and I have been trying to tie Mrs. Lee to your kidnappers other than we know they worked for her and they used her truck."
"What have they had to say?"
Jade sighed and glanced to her right before reluctantly answering, "They're dead. All of them were killed when the Joker and the Bat were trying to rescue you."
Robbie frowned with the good and visible side of his mouth. "Yes… I heard it was them and Superman that had to try to rescue me while the cops sat on their hands… a mob clown and two vigilantes… what does that say about our system? How damn corrupt it is."
Jade nervously rung her hands and avoided eye contact with him. "I don't… I don't know, but… I know… they tried, they really did and Superman flew here as—"
"I know, I know…"
"No Robbie, don't brush it off. Superman tried to get you here as fast as he could and he stayed for a while before he… he had to go to try to figure out how to prove it was Lee behind the kidnapping."
"I'm not blaming him or them. We shouldn't need people like him or the Bat. The cops should be doing their damn jobs of getting legally obtained evidence so my office can prosecute instead of them looking the other way or just getting their palms greased by mob money. They're just as responsible for what happened to me as Lee and her goons."
A worried expression crossed Jade's face, seeing how he was working himself up with his frustrations with the system he was trying to reform from within and what it had already cost him. It was extra motivation to try to take down the mob as quickly as possible simply for Robbie's mental wellbeing. If she was going to do that, she decided to focus on the matter at hand and asked, "And you will. You'll clear out the bad cops, but right now we need to get Lee. Did you hear anything from your kidnappers that could directly tie her into it?"
Robbie took a few calming breaths then answered, "Yeah, I overheard them speaking Lee's name while they were on the phone—it had to be a phone as I didn't hear anything back while being blindfolded."
Jade smiled, feeling a real sense of hope. "Good. We know it was her truck, her people, traced phone calls to her place and your testimony that they were talking to her, we have her."
Robbie shook his head. "It's hearsay what I heard. Just because I heard them mention her name doesn't mean they were actually talking to her. I could come up with any number of reasons to say she was being set up by rivals and that someone else paid off her employees as a defense lawyer. It's doubt."
"But is it reasonable with that much circumstantial evidence."
The D.A. thought for a moment, but before he could reply, he answered in Rex's voice, "Yeah, but what good is his word when people start hearing me."
Jade frowned on Robbie and Rex's points. However, she didn't think it was a hopeless situation and pointed out, "Then simply don't talk to anyone unless it's in private with the rest of us."
Rex replied, "Oh, that will work."
Robbie picked up without missing a step, "And do you know if she was actually at the restaurant of the time I was kidnapped?"
"Yes, we do know she was at the restaurant. Freddie and I talked to Lee and she confirmed she was there the entire time. We have the phone records and your testimony, and we got her."
Robbie nodded his head and answered with an upbeat tone, "That might be something… they legitimately work for her though and she could say that they were just talking about legitimate business. If we can get one person to say she received the calls… then I know we could get her."
"We have someone that was at the restaurant and knows that Mrs. Lee was the one answering their calls."
Robbie's visible eye widened in shock, the news of a definite break in tying Mrs. Lee to his kidnapping a bit hard for him to believe. He stuttered, "Yo—you, you tracked him down?"
"Ah… yeah. We figured that Lee would try to silence him, so we staked out the restaurant. We spotted Kwakoo leaving and we followed him on the hunch that he was the one going to do it…"
The D.A.'s voice dropped to worry and asked, "What did you do?"
Jade paused, clearly unable to tell him the truth, so she had to come up with a plausible explanation in a snap. "We… I called Superman to let him know what was happening. He stopped Kwakoo, but the guy wasn't grateful for his life being saved. He actually said he'd rather die than betray Mrs. Lee even if she wants to kill him."
Robbie raised his visible and still intact eyebrow. "You have Superman on speed dial?"
The lovely millionaire bashfully smile, caught in her potential hole in her explanation, however, she recovered, "He did wait around a bit with us when we were waiting for news on you and he knew I was going to find a way to get Mrs. Lee, so he gave me a way to contact him in case I did get into some trouble. He tried to talk me out of it for my safety, but… you know how stubborn I am."
The curly haired lawyer nodded his head to the side, definitely agreeing with that sentiment. "You are stubborn…"
Jade slightly squinted, unsure if that was an agreement or a sly insult.
Robbie nervously laughed, instinctively remembering how fearful he could be of her in high school.
Jade instantly recognize and it wasn't a feeling that he should be experiencing after what happened to him. She quickly tried to ease that tension by forcing a good natured laugh, "Yes I am… but we still have the problem of this witness. He's the possible lynchpin in nailing her."
Robbie nodded and starting thinking on how they could still turn this to their advantage. "I'll hold him as a material witness and he can sit in jail or I'll just have him charged as part of the criminal conspiracy."
"Sounds like a plan, but he might take the fall for her."
"He might, but I'm going to hold on to him until I can figure out how to get her… I need a phone. I need to call my office and the detectives working my case."
Jade smiled at hearing that Robbie was eager to focus on something productive than wallowing in self-pity. He was the one with the law degree and hopefully with the pieces she had, he could put them together to a real case against Lee.
A few minutes later, Jade stepped out of the hospital room and spotted Freddie patiently waiting for her return. She spied the absence of his journalistic partner. Freddie asked with baited breath, "How is he?"
"Surprisingly lucid and eager to have Lee prosecuted… He wants to leave."
Freddie incredulously laughed, "Leave? Does he not realize what happened to him?"
"He does, but he doesn't like hospitals. When we were in high school, he needed surgery to remove a toy car from his intestines… it wasn't a pleasant experience."
Tori snorted out, "Yeah… not a very pleasant experience at all with blood mysteriously disappearing."
Freddie squinted, passing gazes between the two and asked for clarification, "A toy… car? Missing blood?"
Jade shook her head and answered, "It's not important. It was an immature time for me."
The reporter let it go, but he couldn't help but be curious about the story. He might just try to pry it out of one of them before he returned to Metropolis.
"Anyway, he's focusing on trying to get Lee. I told him how we tracked down Cheng and… how we got in touch with Superman to save him, but he doesn't want to cooperate. He's going to get him on a material witness warrant. We'll have to swear to an affidavit of our conversation with Lee."
"I know the boss would probably be upset becoming part of the story that way, but… it's only my job."
Jade raised an eyebrow and half smirked. There was no way in the world that she would let him lose his job. She darted her eyes between the pair and continued, "While we wait for some of his staff to show up, we're going to borrow someone's laptop and let Robbie show us how to fill out an affidavit to send off to a judge for a warrant."
Tori pointed out a possible problem in her idea, "Is someone going to let you just borrow a laptop?"
"I donate how much money to this hospital?"
The actress sarcastically smiled and answered, "Good point…"
The three headed for the nurse's station and Jade flashed an 'innocent' smile towards the head nurse on duty.
About half an hour later, one of Robbie's ADAs showed up to pick up the affidavit to file the warrant with a friendly judge, one that didn't appreciate anyone from taking a shot at a public official. The young lawyer with short sandy hair was happy to see his boss, though a little uncomfortable seeing that half the man's face covered with a bandage.
The three followed the ADAs out and Jade made it a point to him, "Now remember, once you get it signed, make sure Detective Vega is the one to pick him up. Don't trust it with anyone else.
"Yes ma'am," the lawyer dutifully answered, despite her having no authority over him, but he knew of the woman's identity and the power that she could wield.
One of Jade's private security officers walked with him to the elevator and went down with him. Jade glanced to the police officers hanging around, waiting to see if any walked away to conveniently go to the restroom or getting a cup of coffee. She took a step to one of her private security guards and whispered, "Keep an eye on the cops and if they just happen to find an excuse to leave, let me know."
He nodded his head then she walked with the others to get out of range of prying ears of the uniformed police officers.
Jade finally noticed that Freddie's fellow reporter was nowhere to be seen and questioned, "What happened to Carly?"
Tori added with an almost dismissive laugh, "She said since she can't talk to Mister Shapiro and after getting what little information from the staff of Superman hanging around here and I really didn't want to talk to her about my private conversation with him—which really annoyed her—she decided to go find the witnesses to what happened."
Freddie flicked his brow over the rim of his glass and snorted out, "She has a story to cover."
Jade resisted rolling her eyes and dismissively pointed out, "What's the point? That's what TwitFlash is for with all the witnesses: Superman flies in, rips open van then flies to hospital. End of his involvement. All the local reporters must be all over it. What is she hoping to learn that anyone else hasn't already reported?"
Freddie chuckled and added, "Carly is a very stubborn girl… and she has her Superman obsession. Once she gets a hold of something, it's very hard to pry it from her. It's one of the qualities that make her such a good reporter and… she feels she had a special connection to him with all the times she's been involved in a middle of a story and he's shown up."
Jade's annoyed look turn into one of curiosity and sympathy, knowing the 'connection' Carly believed she had with him was with an image instead of a person behind the 'S'. She almost felt sorry for the girl in not seeing the real Freddie Benson that she had seen since the Police Benefit.
Tori thumbed over to the room and added, "I'm going to sit with Robbie and try to get a hold of Cat again. You two be careful if you're going to do any more investigating."
The darker haired young woman smiled and answered, "We'll try to be."
The movie star accepted her answer for what it was worth and headed to the room.
Jade gave a sad smile and asked, "I take it that wasn't a very pleasant encounter with Carly."
Freddie shook his head and answered, "No it wasn't, but I just couldn't stand there and listen to her go on about how he is always so great and perfect."
"You just referred to yourself in third person."
"In a way he is. The suit is just something I put on and take off… a performance that lets me help. I'm still Freddie."
Freddie's interpretation of how he played hero made Jade think of how she looked at her vigilantism where the more she sunk deeper into the terror of the night, the less she could see a brightly defined line between Jade West and 'The Bat'. She didn't want to think too deeply on that for the moment and asked, "You were standing right here talking about Superman, a person she's met several times yet she really doesn't realize it isn't you? She can't see past the glasses?"
Freddie adjusted his glasses and sadly shook his head. "I told you. She only sees my family crest and the handsome face and smile, not me. She just sees a bumbling reporter… one she thinks is barely worth the title."
The secret vigilante offered a supportive smile, remembering the hurt it was to lose out in love, and said, "I'm sorry…"
The reporter shrugged a shoulder and answered, "It's alright. I'm not too offended with her opinion of me as a reporter."
"No, I meant the other part; the part where she doesn't see you and is… well she sounds like she's in love with the man with the cape."
Freddie struggled with a smile and answered, "Well… it looks like we're both going to be disappointed."
Jade was at a lost to help him since her love life hadn't been that successful and she didn't have any experience in unacquainted love; she was never hurting from male attention with her looks and bank account.
An awkward silence fell between them, unsure the direction of the conversation.
Jade absently glanced down and played with one of the rings on her fingers and commented, "I better go check on André and let him know what happened and hopefully get an update on anything that can help Robbie."
Freddie tiredly smiled and answered, "And I'll go write up that story and hopefully shake the Mob up a bit."
They shared a nod and awkward pause then Jade offered, "Would you like a lift back to your place? I can drop you off on my way to the office."
The reporter gently smiled and answered, "I'd appreciate it." He motioned with hand down the hallway. "After you."
Jade smiled at his farm boy politeness and decided to lop her arms with his arm and let him lead her to the elevator.
Freddie smiled at the gesture and did exactly that.
Special Projects Department
West Enterprises
Gotham, NJ
Jade briskly walked into the office, drawing attention of the staff busy going about their business—which per her order was trying to find any link between Mrs. Lee and the men that kidnapped Robbie.
She pushed open the door to André's office and demanded, "Please tell me that little weasel has given something away."
The executive looked away from his computer and got up from his seat and sighed, "Maybe. As soon as Sikowitz called, I was able to hack into his cellphone. We can record anything in the room with a tap of a key. Nozu got a call from him and he had a short conversation with Mrs. Lee."
"What did they say?"
The former songsmith chuckled as he continued, "Besides you scaring him chizzless from you and Superman?"
Jade lazily rolled her eyes and answered, "Yes, besides that."
"Well, he was begging what he should do. He knows he could be a potential link between her and her goons, so he offered to commit suicide to prevent the cops—you and Superman—from making him. The guy is crazy loyal."
"What did she tell him? Eat a gun?"
"No, she told him to stay put. She's going to give him a little vacation somewhere in Japan. She's arranging a redeye for tonight."
"That's surprisingly merciful, if she's telling the truth."
"I guess she doesn't want to squander that kind of loyalty, so her only other option is to get him to a country with no extradition treaty."
Jade paced about and wondered out loud, "And one where tensions are running high everyday… but it's too late."
"Why?"
"Robbie is lucid enough to get his office to pick Cheng up on a material witness warrant, but still… it's a long shot for him actually being useful."
André sympathetically nodded then offered, "It's still a chance. We could have the phone recordings of the kidnappers talking to Lee and her talking to Cheng drop into the cops' laps—maybe Tori's dad—and guess we'll have to depend on the cops to do the rest of the work."
The blue-eyed former singer answered, "She'd either challenge them as illegal recordings by the police or digitally made up. They might track them back to us and I don't feel like spending the next couple of years in prison for wiretapping."
André shook his head and muttered in defeat, "Then we're done. It's a circumstantial case with an uncooperative witness."
Jade snapped, her frustration getting the best of her, "It's not good enough. We got to get someone to admit she was behind it."
He challenged with a puzzled, "What else to you expect us to do?"
"We have to find a way to prove it in the next…" She looked at her watch and answered, "…eighteen hours or Beck's just going to kill her."
"He's what?"
"He's going to kill Lee. If the system won't deal with her, he will. He's not going to let her get away with it."
"Why? When did Beck become a killer?"
Jade sighed, struggling with having to admit such a thing to him.
The former songwriter misinterpreted his friend's hesitation and added, "I mean, yeah, we always suspected he was Mason's moneyman for his illegal stuff too and you caught him at ACE Chemicals, but he's not violent."
Jade licked her lips then plunged ahead in clarifying her concerns, "He's the Joker, Sam's the blonde girl with him and they were trying to rescue Robbie."
André blinked several times before he was able to finally utter, "Holy Chizz… he's the one that's been hitting all the illegal gambling halls and bootlegging stiles?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Despite the makeup, I can recognize my first love."
André embarrassingly answered, "Right… why? Why would he do any of that?"
"I don't know—I don't know why he's dressing up as a mad clown and doing all that, I just know we have to prove Lee was behind Robbie's kidnapping before Beck does something we'll all regret."
"If Beck's the Joker, why would he hit his own place and Mason's other places? Why not go after the other boss's properties?"
"Because he's not doing it on Mason's orders."
"Then why?"
"I don't know. I haven't exactly gotten a chance to ask him."
André shook his head and tried to think of why Beck and Sam would go off the deep end. "Wait, if he's really the Joker, why did he attack the policemen's charity? His crew could have gotten one of us killed."
"I don't believe he did. I think Steven really was behind that and trying to place the blame on Beck—'The Joker'."
"That's sort of a relief. It's good to know that he doesn't want to kill us…" He looked to her and continued with a more serious tone, "Are you going to try to stop him from killing Lee if we can't make the connecting in time?"
Jade shamefully looked at the desk, hesitant to answer, "I don't… I don't know. I don't want to fight Beck or let Mrs. Lee get away with what she did."
"Maybe you can sit it out and Superman can take care of it. He's flying about. Maybe we can get word out to him somehow? You two met up to catch your witness—how did you manage that?"
Jade snapped, clearly offended by the suggestion while conveniently ignoring his second question, "This is my city and my responsibility. I am not dumping it on him."
"Whoa Jade, take a breath."
Jade took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk then sighed, closing her eyes to help gather her thoughts and feelings.
André got up from his seat behind his desk and walked around to take the neighboring seat. He wasn't sure how to comfort his friend; he was never good at it since she was always so closed off even if the hostility had been significantly toned down since high school.
Jade lifted her head and met André's eyes. "I… I don't know what to do André. This is Beck and Sam we're talking about. They're our friends, but… I just can't let them kill her."
André ran a hand over his mouth and chin then asked, "Do you still love him?"
Jade looked up and gave a conflicted expression. "No, not like that. We've both moved on—he's happy with Sam and me… I'm content with the bachelorette life, but that doesn't mean that I don't care about him as my friend, but… he's an out and out mobster. He has to be stopped, but…"
She closed her eyes and bowed her head, bringing her fingers up to pinch the brow of her nose.
André sympathetically smiled to her and asked, "You don't know if you can do it?"
"No…"
"Then just let the cops handle them or Superman. This one instance doesn't have to be your responsibility. Don't let pride get in the way about this being your city."
Jade realized where she had heard basically the same advice and muttered under her breath, "That's what Freddie said…"
"What?"
She shook her head and uttered, "Nothing."
Seeing that he wasn't going to get any further in that line of conversation, he asked instead about the other important problem facing them, "How's Robbie?"
Jade took a deep breath and focused on the next topic. "Sorry, ah… like I said, he's awake and lucid enough to get a warren, but he's demanding to be released."
"Released? He's kidding, right?"
"We told him that… half his face is severely burned and risking major infection, but that's not all of it."
"What?"
"He started talking in Rex's voice… back and forth with himself and to us."
André stared at her dumbfounded and his jaw slacked.
Jade partially glanced away and uttered sarcastically, "You're having a better reaction than we did."
He closed his mouth and hastily asked, "What are they going to do? Are they going to try to commit him or something?"
"I don't know if the doctors know about that yet. He just told Tori and I and I told 'Rex' to remain quiet while others were around, so they can't worry about that right now. They're concerned about treating his burns—which I hope Medical has been working on exclusively right now—skin grafts, facial reconstruction, anything because they look bad. I really don't know if he'll ever be physically the same."
The former musician nodded his head in sympathy, Robbie was his friend after all and despite Jade's usual melancholy attitude, she was hoping for a miracle. He sighed out and asked, "Who's with him now?"
"Tori. She's making sure that he doesn't go anywhere."
"Then where's Cat?"
"Tori said she was in the building working in her garden trying to find anything that could help. She figured it was better than her moping and falling apart waiting or news—being productive instead of wallowing in worry."
"Has anyone let her know that he's awake?"
"Tori called her and the building to let Cat know. I hadn't heard anything since I left the hospital that she actually got the message."
André got up from his seat to walk back around his desk to reach for his phone and spoke, "I'm going to make sure she actually knows Robbie's awake." He tapped a button on the phone's base then waited a few seconds for the secretary to pick up. "Yes, would you please transfer me to botanical lab?"
He waited a few more seconds for someone to pick up in the lab then greeted the person on the other end, "Yes, this is Mister Harris. I need to speak with Cat please."
Jade patiently watched as the former musician's brow knotted then he answered, "Okay, thank you." He hung up the receiver and turned a curious gaze to the very dark brunette.
"What?"
"They said she left a while ago."
Jade knotted her brow and asked, "So she got the message?"
André shrugged a shoulder and answered, "Apparently so."
The lovely millionaire nodded, relieved to hear at least a bit of good news. "Good, they need each other right now, but for us… how's Medical doing?"
"There are a number of possible skin grafts with artificially grown skin and muscle reconstruction techniques with synthetic fibers that are in the experimental stages, but that could still be a year away before even the first human trial and even then we're going to have to jump through hoops with legal. It'll depend on how well the doctors treating him now can help."
Jade pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed out, not encouraged by that news.
André patiently smiled with her and asked, "Jade, it's going to be alright. We have one of the most advance research facilities in the world and we can always get help from Star Labs and… worst comes to worst… we could… ask NevelCorp for help?"
The secret vigilante dropped her hand from her face and gave André a questionable and somewhat annoyed expression. "Do you think he would share any research with us?"
"Him refusing would be very bad P.R. and besides… I know you could sweet talk him into it."
"Funny André, real funny."
"It's a thought… in the meantime, after everything that you've done today—the rescuing, the investigation, the scaring the chizz out of Lee's employee, perhaps you should just go home and get some sleep?"
Jade wanted to argue with him, but decided that he was right. She had done all she could today and even she had her limits that she hated to admit. On top of it, her arm and shoulder was a little sore. "I think you're right—"
"I need to mark the calendar…"
The dark haired young woman frowned then got up from her seat. "I'm going home and to bed. If anything happens, please let me know and stay on top of everyone… let's see if we can cut it down from a year."
He called out as Jade exited his office, "Will do and try to really get some rest."
Mason Thornesmith's Office
Gotham City, NJ
Mason was going about looking over the numbers to his more illicit businesses, quite peeved at the moment that through the combination of the Bat terrifying his organization's associates and foot soldiers from working the streets and Joker—Beck—from hitting his gambling houses and speakeasies, his bottom line was being hit.
The media circus surrounding Robbie's kidnapping and attempted murder wasn't helping either and now he had to contend with rash mob bosses that were striking out at their enemies blindly, Beck wanting to muck up the entire system and Superman flying about the city. He was half tempted to simply pack up and take an extended vacation in England.
The door opened to his office and his assistant Chelsea hastily stepped inside. Her cheeks were a bit flushed and she informed him with a shortness of breath, "Mister Thornesmith, you need to go to the Daily Planet's website. You're going to want… you're going to need to read it."
The secret mob boss visibly frowned at hearing what he was presumably bad news. He turned to his computer and brought up a browser window then tapped a few keys to bring up the Daily Planet's web edition. He started reading the update provided by Mister Benson and his face nearly turned white then flushed with color as his rage boiled up faster than a geyser.
He called out to his assistant, "Get me Lee on the phone NOW!"
Nozu Restaurant
Gotham, NJ
The sun had gone down about an hour ago when Cat pulled her vehicle into the back alley of the Japanese restaurant. She gripped the steering wheel tightly as her burning anger had grown each mile she came closer to her destination. The usually sweet and nearly childlike young woman had no fear or hesitation on what she was planning to carry out.
The redhead spied one of the cooking staff exiting the backdoor and propped it open before heading to one of the dumpsters and dropped off a bag. The young man reentered the restaurant and a few moments later, exited with another bag. After dumping the bag, he returned once again to the kitchen, but left the door open.
Cat saw her opportunity and quietly opened her vehicle door then slipped out. She ducked low and made her way as quietly as she could manage to the back of the restaurant. She poked her head around the frame of the door and spotted the chef talking to the busboy. He animatedly motioned towards the kitchen exit to the patrons' area then rattled something off in Japanese.
The young man picked up the tray with appetizers and a bottle of wine then headed out of the kitchen.
The chef went back to finishing seasoning and laying out the main course of the meal.
Cat couldn't believe her luck, but didn't question it as she quietly slipped up behind the chef and pulled out a pepper spray dispenser from her leafy green colored jacket. She quietly called out just to get his attention without alerting anyone else, "Hello?"
The heavyset chief turned and looked startled by the petite young woman. He was about to question her presence, but she raised the pepper spray and pressed the trigger, releasing her homemade brew into the chef's face.
The jet of fine mist struck him directly in the eyes and nose. He palmed over his face as his eyes stung with the mist sprayed directly into them and attempted to scream from the pain, but his airway was swollen up in nearly an instant. He tried to grasp for breath, but his airway was just too constricted to do anything but wheeze. He collapsed to his knees then rolled over onto his back. His breath became very swallow, but at the moment, it didn't look as if he was going to suffocate.
Cat took a few deep breaths, attempting to calm her breathing, then looked to the meal. She examined over what she thought would be the most appetizing portion of the meal and thus, first thing that Mrs. Lee would eat. She thought that the main dish would be the first thing the wicked mob boss, so she reached into her left jacket pocket and pulled out what looked like a salt shaker. She turned the lid ninety degrees then sprinkled a bit of the clear powder onto the soup. She took a spoon and gently stirred the soup to evenly distribute the 'seasoning'.
The door to the kitchen opened and the waiter called out from the door, "Hey, where's the boss's food?"
Cat ducked down, praying that she wasn't seen, then grabbed the end of the tray and raised it up on the serving counter.
The waiter grabbed the tray, not giving any thought that he didn't see the chef, and headed back out to present to the owner.
The busboy took a few strides out and reached Mrs. Lee's table near the kitchen, setting the meal in front of the mob boss.
Mrs. Lee set her wine glass down and smiled at the smell of the dish reached her nose. She picked up the spoon in the soup and stirred before taking a large slurp of the broth. She dipped her spoon back into the soup for another mouthful, making sure to gather a few of the noodles then slipped it into her mouth.
As she was beginning to enjoy her meal, there was a loud bang on the front door.
Mrs. Lee looked up from her meal with an infuriated expression at being interrupted. She was not in the mood to deal with the cops or any of Thornesmith's crew, especially after her conversation with the man over the phone. She was to the point of wanting to kill someone, being it Cheng for self-preservation despite his loyalty, Freddie for publishing what she had said, or Mason for simply getting on her last nerve.
She motioned with a nod of her head for one of her bodyguards to head for the door and instructed, "If it's not my driver or the others, tell them to go away."
One of the bodyguards dutifully standing on either side of Mrs. Lee headed for the front of the restaurant. He looked through the glass to see the back of a man dressed in a long purple coat. He began, "We're clo—"
He didn't get to finish as the Joker turned to face the door and raised his double-barrel shotgun.
The glass shattered with a shotgun blast that struck him in the chest and sent him tumbling backwards.
Mrs. Lee jumped from her seat and her head bodyguard stepped to stand in front of her while the Joker led the way with his faithful companion at his side into the restaurant. Two of his crew followed behind them and fanned out to the left and right.
Kwakoo drew his weapon from inside his jacket, but was quickly brought down with the Joker firing off the second barrel of his shotgun to the man's right leg.
The heavyset man's knee was shattered and his weight caused him to drop to his other knee. He attempted to steady himself on his good knee and raise his weapon at Joker.
The clown dressed gangster pulled his .45 from inside his coat and squeezed the trigger, plugging a round in the man's shoulder.
The bodyguard jerked to his right and rolled to his side, down for the count and unable to control his weapon.
The blonde instructed one of their crew to check the back to make sure they weren't ambushed while the clown criminal deviously smiled to the mob boss and warmly greeted her, "Hello Mrs. Lee."
Mrs. Lee glared at Joker and spat, "You'll die for this Beck."
"Oh? I will?" Joker motioned with his pistol. "I was intending for you to die."
"Me? You are crazy."
"I am a convincing actor… maybe I should have went into the business… anyway, I'm just pissed that you tried to murder my friend."
"Your friend? The one who intended to put you in jail? You seem to keep forgetting that part."
"If he did, he did, but you… I told you that you crossed a line and since you decided to not do the right thing, I'm here."
"I still had another twelve hours to turn myself in before you or the Superman got me."
"That was until I heard that after you finished this meal that you were going to head for the airport for a redeye flight down to Cuba."
Lee's face fell in horror at him learning of her get away plan.
He lazily explained with a grin, "I tapped your phone to find out that you called up your private plane to fly out tonight."
She took a deep breath then spat out, "You won't get away with this."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I am. Even if I'm dead, my famil—" she was cut off with a soft cough. She cleared her throat and began again, "My family will… *cough* will kill… *cough*" Her coughing intensified and she placed a hand on her upper chest.
Joker and his companion stared at her as her coughing fit deepened and her face became red. She started blinking as her eyes started watering then tears started running down her cheeks. She reached for her glass of wine and hastily chugged some of the liquid down her throat.
It was no use as Oriental mob boss began to gargle and cough of the liquid back up as her airway closed then collapsed forward on the table.
They shared stunned at witnessing what looked like a violent allergic reaction. He walked over to Mrs. Lee and placed his empty shotgun on the table then checked her pulse. He looked to the twisted harlequin and shook his head in surprise.
The blonde uttered, "Damn."
In the back of the restaurant, the gang member was searching to make sure there wasn't any surprise. He paused at seeing the chef lying on his back unconscious and barely breathing.
He knelt down to examine the prone chef, checking to see what happened to him. He noticed that the man's face had swollen and had a light flush across his cheeks. He figured the man had some kind of allergic reaction.
He looked up to see if there was anything that he could have touched for some reaction so he could avoid the same fate, but his eyes immediately locked with Cat's eyes as she hid under a table.
Cat attempted to crawl away, but the clown masked criminal grabbed her by the leg, dragging her from out of under it then taking her by the arm to pull her to her feet. He turned towards the exit back to the dining area. Cat struggled to attempt to get out of his grasp, but it was no use with the difference in size and strength.
He held her arm tightly in his grip and pushed opened the swinging doors to join the others. "Look who I found hiding in the back."
Cat saw the rest of the criminal crew heavily armed, particularly the purple dressed green haired leader and the blonde with pigtails in a tight corset and leather pants. Her heart was struck with fear with what could happen to her, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight. She slipped her hand into her jacket pocket and pulled out her pepper spray. She turned and pointed it at the face of the goon holding her arm. She pressed the trigger, sending the fine spray into his face.
He let go of her arms and shoved his palms against his burning eyes, beginning to scream, but his airway quickly swelled as the chef in the kitchen.
Cat turned from him and dashed back towards the kitchen to make a break for it.
The other mob soldier dressed clown raised his shotgun and fired. The shot went high and struck the door above Cat's head as she dived down, slipping between the doors.
He attempted to fire again, but the blonde jammed the butt of her Tommy Gun into his side, dropping him to his knees and breaking a rib in the process.
Sam growled in frustration then started after Cat and pushed through the doors to the kitchen and saw the top of the redhead's head as she tried to maneuver through the pieces of equipment, but she tripped over the feet of the barely conscious chef still lying on the floor.
The redhead attempted to get up, but Sam had caught up to her and grabbed an arm.
Cat shouted and struggled, "Let me go!"
Sam called out, "Cat! Cat! It's all right. It's me, Sam."
The redhead stopped her struggling in an instant, recognizing her friend's voice. She blinked after taking a hard look at white face and black eye socket painted young woman. "Sam?"
The Harlequin's voice softened and answered, "Yeah, it's me."
Cat glanced over to the green haired clown that had followed them into the kitchen, taking a moment to really study the feared apparent anarchist. "Beck?"
The henchmen holding his side from the butt of the submachine gun stated, "Damn, she knows who you are. We got to—"
Sam turned and raised her Thompson to point at the mob soldier's face. "Finish that sentence and I will blow your damn head off."
The gangster's face couldn't be seen, but Sam could clearly see in the man's eyes the fear that she would follow through with her threat.
Beck motioned his head back towards the exit and suggested, "Dopey, head outside and pick up Sneezy. We'll be out there in a minute."
The one called Dopey heeded his boss's advice and slowly walked out of the kitchen to help his fellow gangster up and to the car.
Once the three were alone, Cat uttered in uttered disbelief, "You and Beck are the Clown Bonnie and Clyde?"
Sam struggled with a smile and reluctantly nodded her head. "Yeah kiddo, it's us."
Cat looked darted her eyes back and forth then uttered, "So you're the ones that tried to rescue Robbie."
Beck took a breath then quietly answered with as much sympathy as he could show through the white face paint and manically painted grin, "Yeah… I'm sorry we couldn't do more."
The redhead bowed her head, tired of hearing more people apologizing for not being able to do enough for Robbie. All she needed to hear was that woman dressing up as a giant bat to apologize to her to grate on her nerves. She didn't want to feel ungrateful and deep down she didn't, but the words were of little comfort to her in knowing that Robbie was still in the hospital fighting for his life.
Beck calmly asked, "What are you doing here?"
Cat's eyes narrowed her eyes and answered in a dark tone, one that neither could recall ever hearing from her, "Getting my revenge for Robbie."
"What did you do?"
The botanist answered in a cold voice, "I poisoned her food. I hope it was painful."
Sam muttered with a glance towards Beck, "That's why she coughed up a storm then keeled over."
"So she's dead?"
Beck took a breath and reluctantly answered, "Yes. She just started coughing then fell right into her food… but let's make sure."
The former high school actor turned and the former roommates glanced to one another then followed the mob captain out into the dining area. Beck walked back over to Mrs. Lee, placing his fingers on the side of her neck to make sure the woman was dead. He found that she didn't have a pulse, confirming that what was in her food was successful in killing her and for Cat to see that she got her revenge. He grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her backwards, sending her corpse to land with a thud.
Beck raised his pistol and fired several shots into the woman's chest then into her face.
Cat covered her ears and jumped again at the sound of gunfire, but Sam protectively wrapped her arms around her in comfort.
The botanist pulled her hands away from her ears and questioned, "Why did you shoot her?"
"To hopefully make them only look at the gunshots and assume it was those that killed her instead of whatever you gave her. Hopefully they won't bother with a tox screening."
Cat looked dumbfounded to her friend, taken aback at what sounded like him taking the blame for her killing Lee.
Beck knew her confused expression well and answered, "This is what happened: you came to confront Mrs. Lee for what you believe she did to Robbie. We burst in and you were able to hide before I killed Mrs. Lee, so we missed seeing you."
"Okay, but…"
The green hair dyed mobster walked back over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder and quietly assured her, "It's okay. I'll take the heat—I was here to kill her anyway for what she did to Robbie. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Cat nodded, swallowing down her anxiety.
Sam offered Cat a hug, one in which the redhead eagerly accepted. The blonde regretfully offered, "It's going to be okay Cat. I'm so sorry for what happened to Robbie. We tried to…"
The redhead pulled back and met her friend's eyes. "It's okay. It's not your fault and it's not Superman's or that Bat-girl's fault. You were all trying to help. It's that dead witch's fault and she got what she deserved."
The blonde mobster nodded her head, accepting her friend's forgiveness. She just wished they had gotten there sooner to keep the blood off Cat's hands. She felt a sense of failure in not acting in time to prevent it.
Any further discussion was cut off when Sleepy came rushing into the restaurant and called out, "Boss, the cops are on their way. We got to go!"
The mob soldier paused when he saw Cat, the D.A.'s well known fiancée standing with them. He uttered, "Shit, it's the D.A.'s girl. She knows who you are. It won't be hard for them to figure out the rest of us."
"It's fine Sleepy. She's not going to tell anyone."
"Are you sure?"
Sam tightened her grip on her Tommy Gun and hissed, "Is there a reason you should be doubting my 'puddin'?"
Sleepy expression was hidden from view, but he nervously swallowed and answered, "No ma'am."
Cat called out, "Tell your friend I'm sorry for spraying him. He should thoroughly rinse his eyes out and take a few swigs of vinegar. It should help relieve the inflammation from my special pepper spray."
Sleepy slightly tilted his head, presumably giving an awkward smile behind the mask.
Joker reasserted with a stern voice, "Well, you heard the botanist: make sure you take care of him when we get back to the hideout."
"Right." He turned and headed back out with Joker and Harley right behind, but the blonde paused to give Cat's hand one more squeeze before being the last one out of the restaurant.
Forgotten by all those involved, Mrs. Lee's head bodyguard wasn't dead and overheard the exchange and Cat admitting to poisoning his boss. He remained quiet and blocked out the pain, determined to stay alive to avenge his mistress.
The vehicles pulled away from the establishment as the first sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance.
A few minutes later, several police officers cautiously entered the establishment with their sidearms and shotguns drawn, stepping over the body of the first bodyguard. They fanned out to secure the dining area. They spotted Lee's heavyset bodyguard lying on his side and the dining table behind him in shambles. They carefully approached him and one officer knelt down to check on him. He needed just a cursory look to see his mangled knee and bleeding shoulder. "He's a live, but he's shot up pretty good."
A few other officers continued forward to the disheveled table and spotted the gruesome remains of the former mob boss.
One veteran officer covered his mouth with a hand and mumbled, "Damn, they wanted to make sure she was dead."
"Help me! Help me!"
The officers turned and raised their weapons to their right at the sound of the voice. They spotted Cat hiding under a table at the far end of the restaurant. One officer on that side approached her then officer knelt down in front of the table to peak his head underneath it. He offered a hand as he assured her, "Ma'am, it's alright. You're safe."
Half an hour later, Detective Vega's car pulled up to the scene at the Japanese restaurant with several police cruisers parked around the perimeter of the parking lot with yellow police tape around the entrance and most of the parking lot to keep the public and press at bay.
An officer lifted the tape to allow Vega to pull into the parking lot and he and Gary in the passenger seat spotted two ambulances parked near the entrance with a couple of sheets over presumable bodies at the door. He pulled up next to the far side of the ambulance and the detectives got out of the vehicle then headed towards the entrance, but stopped when Vega spotted Cat sitting on the end of the ambulance with a blanket wrapped around her. "Cat?"
Cat looked to him with a bashful smile and answered, "Mister Vega?"
He rested a hand on her shoulder and asked, "What were you doing here?"
"I was… I knew she did it. You know she was the one that ordered Robbie's kidnapping and I was mad at her and I just wanted to yell and scream at her, so I came over. When I was shouting at her that… that purple dressed clown busted in with a few of his guys and started shooting people."
Gary sighed and passed a glance to his partner, "Beck Oliver."
Cat clamped her mouth shut, thinking she gave something away, but quickly realized she hadn't. Everyone knew Steven was 'The Joker'… that happened to be dead now, but that didn't suddenly make what he said about Beck true. "Who said it was Beck?"
The graying detective gently smiled to Cat and answered, "We have reason to believe that the mysterious Joker fellow is Beck."
"Who says?"
Gary tightened his friendly smile and explained, "Steven Carson before his death said that Beck was the one that tried to kill him and it was 'The Bat' that saved him."
The redhead crossed her arms over her chest and spat, "You're taking the word of a known liar and admitted gangster. I knew him in high school and was a very good liar. He was able to two-time my friend Tori for months with some girl in Metropolis without anyone realizing it."
Detective Vega's smile tightened, recalling the embarrassing incident for his daughter. The man's credibility was questionable, so even if he had lived, his testimony and the finger pointing could have easily been challenged.
"So you're saying it wasn't Beck?"
Cat shut her mouth for a moment. She knew she had to be careful and convincing as she was not going to implicate Beck. She may not have approved of him being a mobster, but he tried to save Robbie and he had come here to get justice for him too; she just happened to beat him to it. She took a breath and calmly answered, "I saw someone with green hair and white face paint dressed in purple. He did a very good job with the make up and black sunken eye paint, so no one could make out features, but I'm not going to believe it was Beck when I couldn't make out a face or take the word of that liar."
The crooked cop blew out a soft breath from his nose at hearing that he couldn't get a positive ID on the clown criminal.
"If he wasn't Beck, why didn't they kill you?"
"They didn't see me. As soon as I heard the shots at the front door, I ran and dove under a table and hid."
A loud frantic shout called out from the stretcher being rolled out of the entrance of the restaurant and to the neighboring ambulance, "She's a liar! It was Beck and they're covering for each other! She killed Mrs. Lee with poison and he shot her to cover it up! She admitted it to him!"
The detectives looked to the heavyset bodyguard with a blood soaked bandage over his right shoulder and another one over his destroyed knee as an EMT was rolling him out of the restaurant.
Cat clamped her mouth shut and eyes nearly bulged out when she spotted Kwakoo. She hadn't realized that he wasn't dead when she had conversed with Beck and Sam. He had to have heard everything.
Vega walked over to the right side of the stretcher and questioned, "Mrs. Lee is dead?"
"Yes, that redheaded bitch killed her! She choked to death on her—"
The detective placed a hand on the man's bloody shoulder and gently pressed down on it.
Kwakoo grimaced and growled with the pressure on his wound.
"That's not a very nice thing to call her."
He let off the pressure and Kwakoo threw him a murderous gaze.
"So, you're saying that Miss Valentine conspired with the 'Joker' to murder Mrs. Lee."
"No, he showed up and shot Akio then shot me. Beck was going to shoot Mrs. Lee, but she started coughing then collapsed." He motioned to Cat and finished, "They found her in the back and after they recognized each other, Beck decided to cover for her and repeatedly shot my Mistress. They've been friends since high school when the used to come here to eat and sing."
The EMT at the back end of the stretcher and offered, "We found the chef collapsed in the kitchen. It looked like some kind of allergic reaction. His face has swollen and his air way is barely open. We've had to stick a tube down his throat to make sure he won't suffocate."
The bodyguard now out of a job shouted, "See, she poisoned him so she could get to her food!"
Detective Vega looked to Cat and she looked back with a blank expression, something he couldn't recall ever seeing on the bubbly girl. He easily remembered that she did go to a performing arts high school before going into plants, so she could act—and still did on occasion. He could understand the need for vengeance after finding out the severity of Robbie's condition and there was the fact that the girl was still one of his daughter's closest friends.
Vega looked to his partner to see his reaction, but he saw that his older partner wasn't too keen on the explanation. He would easily believe that Beck was the Joker and shot up the place and spare Cat's life due to their friendship, but he couldn't believe the sweet thing he had met on occasion with the D.A. to be capable of such a thing even if it was in the name of revenge. He believed she didn't have the personality for it and was too much of an emotional wreck to think out such a plan and carry it out.
After exchanging eye contact, Vega looked back to the bodyguard and coldly whispered, "You and I know that your boss kidnapped the D.A. and he was nearly killed because of it, so it's not at all a stretch to twist the knife in a little deeper that you would make up such a story to try to get her sent to prison in one last show of loyalty to the woman to take down her enemies."
Kwakoo glared at the detective as the seasoned cop finished in a more conversational voice, "It's a Japanese restaurant with plenty of things that are poisonous if not handled carefully. If Mrs. Lee died of something, then the chef inadvertently put something in her meal and accidentally poisoned himself while preparing the meal."
Vega looked to the EMT and stated, "Get him to the hospital before he accused anyone else of something—like you because he didn't like the way you bandaged him."
The EMT's eyes opened wide and he pursed his lips for a moment before he pushed the gurney forward towards the second ambulance.
Kwakoo continued to shout as he was hulled into the ambulance, "You can't get me to shut up! She's the one that killed Mrs. Lee! She's the one!"
His voice was muffled once he was inside the ambulance and the door shut behind him.
Cat looked to her friend's father and bashfully thanked, "Thank you Mister Vega."
The detective gently smiled and answered, "You don't need to thank me."
A sweet voice with a slightly high pitch called out a few feet from them, "Hello?"
The pair looked to the sharp dressed young woman with light skin and dark brunette hair. She continued with an introduction, "I'm Carly Shay from the Daily Planet."
Detective Vega gave her a cautious expression as he greeted the reporter, "Daily Planet? Aren't you a little far from home and isn't there already one reporter from there?"
"I'm a globetrotting reporter that goes anywhere there is national news and the kidnapping of a major city's District Attorney and being rescued by Superman is certainly national news." She looked to Cat and continued, "We didn't get a chance to speak at the hospital. I'm sorry… about what happened to your fiancé."
Cat's anger flared as she eyed the fair if not pale reporter, feeling that her words were nothing but a way for her to butter her up to get to speak with her.
The reporter followed up, "Would you be willing to talk to me?"
The redhead looked to Detective Vega, seeing that he wasn't too thrilled with the reporter's presence. She politely smiled to the reporter and answered, "I'm sorry, I wouldn't want to hinder the police's investigation by talking to you."
The reporter hid her disappointment and calmly turned to Detective Vega. "Detective, could you tell us what happened?"
Detective Vega gently smiled and answered, "Not at this time. Would you please get behind the police line?"
An officer came up her right to escort her out of the crime scene. Carly looked to him with a near pout towards the officer, but complied with his demand and allowed the officer to escort her behind the line. However, she would have the last word as she pulled out her phone and called the Planet.
Shawn Quincy's Office
Gotham, NJ
Quincy was preparing a drink at the small liquor cabinet and called out over his shoulder, "Would you like a drink Mister Gibson?"
Quincy's guest, a well-dressed six foot tall young man with short spiky dirty blonde hair was sitting in a seat in front of mobster's desk answered politely with a hint of an accent from Central America, "No thank you. I'm quite alright. Your hospitality has been more than generous."
The mob boss turned away from his cabinet with a beaming smile after preparing his drink and answered while walking back behind his desk, "It's my pleasure. It's my way of showing my gratitude of taking this job at such short notice."
Mister Gibson chuckled as he relaxed further back in his chair, "I would think the generous payment for my services would be gratitude enough?"
Quincy lifted his glass and answered, "The money is for your services—money I know will be well spent, the welcoming is for my gratitude." He took another sip then continued, "I hope you've enjoyed your visit so far to my fair city."
"Yes I have. It's a nice to return to civilization and see all the sights…" He glanced over to the several ladies dressed in evening gowns sitting on the far side of the large office quietly chatting and enjoying their drinks. One such lovely young lady was a long haired brunette with lightly tanned skin and the slim body of a model that was giving him a particularly seductive gaze while bringing the rim of her glass to her lips.
As they were exchanging glances, the door to the office opened and one of Quincy's assistants came barreling through the door. The businessman took a slow sip of his drink and looked up with a perturbed look at the lack of decorum. He finished his sip then asked, "Yes."
The young man straightened his posture and his blazer jacket then answered, "Lee's dead. It's all over the news."
Quincy almost dropped his drink on his desk and uttered, "What?"
"They're saying it was the Joker. He went in there, killed a few of the guards then pumped her face full of lead, but…"
The one-third of the triad of Gotham crime bosses impatiently asked, "What?"
"That reporter from Metropolis—the one that reports on Superman—is reporting that Kwakoo, Lee's head bodyguard is shouting to anyone that will listen that it was Cat Valentine that poisoned her and the Joker was just covering for her. The cops don't believe him though."
Quincy slammed his glass on the table in frustration. He wouldn't much miss Lee, but he knew that time was running out. Beck would have to make his move and make it soon before they were able to track him down. However, he wasn't just going to sit around and wait for Beck to come after him.
"Damn... we have to move now. Call the airport and get the jet ready. We're taking a vacation."
Gibby looked to the mob boss incredulously and demanded, "You're running away?"
Quincy didn't like the tone in the young man's voice implying that he was a coward, but instead of admonishing him, he calmly explained, "I'm having enough sense not to stand in front of a charging bull. He was ready to bring down an entire building with a van loaded with explosives, so there's nothing stopping him from doing the same to my building. Right now, I don't know where he's located… but… Mister Gibson, it looks like I'm going to have to call on your services sooner than expected."
Mister Gibson smiled, up for the challenge.
Author's Note: So, a lot of things happened in this chapter with perhaps another 'villain' revealed and the introduction of a few more characters, especially with Carly's debut. I know some characters aren't going to like her reporting about Kwakoo saying it was really Cat that murdered Lee. I hope you enjoyed it and that I'll get another chapter out soon. Thanks for reading, OneHorseShay.