All good things must come to an end, or so Jenna was learning. After a rather successful night with Bane, Jenna had returned to her room and quickly dressed in a t-shirt and new underwear before she climbed into her cot. Not even five minutes after being out of Bane's room, her eyes were heavy, her was body was tired and weak, and her actions were slow and prolonged. Her night with Bane had left her body sore and exhausted, like the previous time, but like the last time, it left her feeling rather relaxed, light, and majorly content. She didn't entirely enjoy the fact that these feelings were brought on by the beast, but she figured that she might as well enjoy them while they lasted.
Despite how uncomfortable the cot was, Jenna had fallen asleep with ease, and she had entered a deep sleep within minutes. She barely tossed or turned, and she knew that for the first time in a while she would feel completely rejuvenated when she was to rise the next morning. But unfortunately for her, Bane had other plans...
He had entered her room quietly the following morning, but his next actions would be anything but quiet. On the surface he was angry and peeved, but deep down, he felt just as content as Jenna had. His body felt relieved, stronger, and, although he wasn't particularly thrilled that the bratty, indecisive beauty had been the one to bring this on, like Jenna he figured he might as well enjoy it. These feelings were, after all, completely new to him.
Jenna's black hair was spilled around her on her pillow, masking her face, and Bane's eyes traced the contour of her body from under the blanket. Once he reached the cot, his eyes returned to her head, her face facing the wall, and he immediately lifted his foot to place on the side of the cot.
"Wake up!" He called loudly as he forcibly tipped over the cot, and as he watched the mess of Jenna, the pillow and blankets crash against the floor, he heard her gasp loudly at her rude awakening.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jenna complained as she immediately sat up on the floor, not noticing yet that her legs and underwear were completely bared as she pushed back her hair from her face. She was quick to remember her cell phone, however, and panic instantly arose in her, waking her up further, as she tried to inconspicuously look for it. Bane, however, was staring down at her, completely taken back for a moment at her appearance, but when Jenna finally cleared her face, found that her cell phone was fortunately hidden from view from him, under where her pillow had fallen, and glanced up to glare at him, he quickly raised his eyes to look at her, Jenna knowing now that he hadn't seen or heard her phone. Jenna had seen what he had been looking at, and when she finally realized how cold her legs were suddenly, she knew why he had been staring. She shocked them both, however, when she didn't move to immediately cover herself. Instead, she forced back the smirk that desperately wanted to make itself known as she brought up her left knee before spreading her legs slightly. Bane had seen her do this as he kept eye contact with her, and he hated how he had to try extra hard not to acknowledge her actions.
"What?" Jenna finally asked a moment later when she realized her movement had failed to get his attention in the way her body absentmindedly desired. A shock had run up her spine, however, when she realized what she had tried to do in its full extent. She swallowed, but remained glaring at him, annoyed.
"You were to report to Karly's at nine o' clock this morning," Bane returned, and Jenna furrowed her eyebrows. Nobody had ever told her that. Was Bane accusing her for failing at something she had no idea about?
"What time is it now?" Jenna wondered.
"Nearly eleven," Bane answered. "Get up," he then added. "And get there fast to give her this." Jenna watched as he dropped another envelope in between her legs, and she felt her stomach drop when she practically felt his eyes travel up her body, wandering over her most sensitive area. Bane understood what she had been trying to do, and it gave him great satisfaction to know that Jenna understood now that she had failed. He glared into her eyes another few seconds longer before he turned to start toward her opened door.
"Hey," she said finally as she began to stand up, collecting the blankets as she did so, and when Bane turned around he saw that she was now shielding her lower half with the blanket mound behind the tipped cot. "This isn't my fault, you know. Nobody ever told me I had to be somewhere so early today." She had not enjoyed Bane's tone, or the way he had looked at her.
"I'm aware," Bane replied. "I told James to wake and inform you, but it seems as though he failed to fall through."
Jenna was shaking her head, and she let out a yawn before speaking. "I don't know who that is."
"In a few moments, nobody will anymore."
Jenna watched as Bane finally turned to leave, and she pondered his words for a few minutes. She gave up easily, however, and decided that she'd better get dressed and get going before Bane got even more annoyed.
After dressing in a new pair of cargo pants and a black tank top, and after tying her boots, Jenna ventured toward her door and stepped outside of it. She was surprised to see that Bane was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his vest, but she tried to ignore this as she let out another yawn. Bane watched her take her time with moving toward him while she yawned, and he watched her push back her hair from her face. He was smirking, but he waited to announce what was on his mind until after she had approached him and stopped.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" He asked her patiently, a hint of playfulness mixed with seriousness laced in his tone. He watched Jenna's eyes to roll the left as she thought, but after a few seconds or so of waiting for her to remember, Bane sighed as he glanced away from her. "The envelope, Jenna."
"Oh, shit," she mumbled, turning instantly to head back to her room. She could feel Bane's eyes on her, and she felt her face reddening more and more the further from him that she got. She closed her eyes and shook her head to herself, hating that those feeling from last night were being carried over to last this morning. Bane had watched her shake her head to herself before she disappeared into her room, and he couldn't help but to grin as he glanced away again, fully aware as to why Jenna was seeming so forgetful and goofy, and fully aware that he was the only cause for it. He thought back to her actions when he had woken her up that morning, and he paused, a pang going through his heart, but once this happened, he immediately pushed the image of her spread legs from his mind.
Jenna had found the envelope on the floor behind the cot, and after she fixed the bed, placed the blankets and pillows on top, and hid her cell phone, she ventured back out of her room, hoping Bane would not say anything else about the situation to her. She knew she was acting like a retard, and all she could do was blame it on her body. Once she approached him, she handed him the envelope, and her eyebrows furrowed when he didn't take it. He stared into her eyes for a short moment before he finally leaned off of the wall, uncrossed his arms, and started up the stairs.
"I don't need it," he said now, Jenna following him. "That is for you to deliver to Ms. Treaffluw."
Jenna was frowning, and she felt her face redden all over again. Bane stopped on the stairs suddenly just when he had reached the top, and Jenna halted in her tracks just as suddenly before glancing up at him.
"Are you... capable... of doing this right now Jenna?" Bane asked seriously, but she watched the wrinkles appear on the sides of his eyes a second later when he grinned. "Because you're acting rather... ditzy right now."
Jenna glanced away from him. So he had noticed, and she knew the both of them understood why she was acting like this in the first place. "I'm fine," she mumbled, and when she heard Bane turn around, she glanced up at him. She may be acting stupid, but Bane was in a rather excellent mood it seemed. Good, she thought. She had gotten to him just as much as he to her.
She finally followed him up the rest of the stairs and out of the door, but she stopped immediately when a cold, harsh wind blew over her, and she immediately hugged her arms around herself. Bane had glanced over his shoulder, and he grinned with a shake of his head as he proceeded forward now.
"Don't you think it would be in your best interest to invest in a coat?" Bane asked her as he moved easily through the wind and toward the garage. He knew Jenna was right behind him, so he knew that she had heard him.
"You don't have a coat," Jenna accused as her eyes wandered over his bare arms, only his vest and belt covering his torso.
"I don't need one," Bane replied simply, and Jenna knew that was the end of the conversation. She knew she needed a coat, she just wasn't sure how she was supposed to go about doing so.
The Challenger and Isaac's truck were pulled outside of the open garage door, and Jenna noticed a few other henchmen hanging around inside. When they got closer, Jenna saw that Isaac was standing next to the work bench, and she stopped at the entrance of the garage while Bane proceeded inside. Isaac turned around upon hearing him come inside, and Jenna watched him remove a hand gun from a holster on his belt and hand it to Bane as he walked by without either of them saying a word. Jenna cocked an eyebrow at this, but a strong feeling of anticipation overtook her as she watched Bane venture a few more steps into the garage before he stopped and turned around.
"Where is James?" He wondered loudly, and Jenna's eyes wandered to the left when she heard footsteps. A short second later, a man wearing the same clothes as everyone else with a scruffy beard stepped forth, and Jenna noticed how nervous he looked.
"Y-yes Sir?" the man known as James asked once he approached Bane. By this time, Isaac had taken the Challenger keys off of the hook above the work bench, and he approached Jenna before handing them to her.
"What's going on?" Jenna asked quietly as she leaned over toward him slightly, and she took the keys from him. She expected Isaac to turn around and ignore her, but she grew confused when he actually leaned in to reply.
"Watch," he offered simply, and without another word he leaned away and stepped closer to the work bench.
"I told you to wake our prisoner this morning," Bane began to him. "Only to discover that you had failed to comply."
"I-I'm sorry, Sir, I became busy with-"
"Save the excuses," Bane interrupted sternly, and Jenna watched James swallow. "You failed to follow my orders."
"But it was just waking her up, I didn't think-"
"Around here you follow my orders, no matter how big or small. Now, you must be punished for your mistake."
"No, wait!"
Just after James had spoken these two words, Bane had already cocked and raised the gun to fire a single round into his heart. Jenna had flinched strongly at the boom that rang and echoed throughout the garage, and when she opened her eyes she watched James fall to the ground, a small pool of blood forming around him. She watched all the other henchmen back up slightly, but when Bane turned around, she saw that Isaac was firmly and carelessly holding his ground as Bane approached him. Again, no words were exchanged between the two when Bane handed him back the gun, and as if nothing ever happened, Isaac tucked the gun back into his holster. After Jenna had witnessed him do this, she glanced up just as Bane started past her.
"Deliver that to Karly," he told her again. "I don't think it is necessary to warn you what will happen if you don't."
Jenna shook her head as she clutched the envelope tighter, and as Bane started back toward the building, Jenna immediately started to the car.
Images of Bane shooting one of his men was still fresh in her mind as she pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, the heat blasting on full through the vents. It had taken Jenna until she was turning off the car to realize that at some point, Isaac had installed carpet on the floor within the car. She paused once she took the keys from the ignition, and she leaned over toward the passenger side to get a better look. She couldn't help but to grin, excited to see that the interior of the car was finally starting to come to together. She frowned slightly a moment later, however, when she realized also that Isaac was probably not even making it look nice for her anymore, if he even had been in the beginning. Now, it was just a project he wanted to get finished.
Although the distraction of the carpet had ended on a bad thought, it had kept her mind off of Bane's murder for a few minutes. But now, as Jenna made her way toward the building, envelope in hand, the images returned, picture perfect, to her mind. James had barely messed up; all he had failed to do was wake somebody up. Was that really enough for a death sentence? No wonder Bane's men were so uptight and always jumped on the opportunity to perform the duties the millisecond they were assigned. Apparently, life at the warehouse and living under Bane's control was better than death...
Jenna swallowed. If it was so easy for Bane to kill someone due to one miniscule mistake, then Jenna should have been shot and killed nearly fifty times by now. The thought made her shudder as she neared the hotel's main door. She had taken tones with him, she had disobeyed him, she gone behind his back, she had tried to escape, she had lied to him, she had bravely done things nobody else would have ever dreamed of doing to him. Why wasn't he killing her? What made her so special?
It was a question Jenna knew she'd never receive answers to. But regardless, the thoughts were haunting, and they made her feel incredibly anxious. What did she do at this point due to realizing all of this? Did she continue to press her luck? Or did she just give in to everything Bane wanted, and strive to ignore him until he needed her? The last idea sent a strong, painful shock through her heart. She didn't want that. Her body didn't want that, and now, suddenly, her mind didn't want that. Besides, she wouldn't be herself if she stopped pressing her luck. The way she had been acting toward Bane since the beginning, the majority of the time, was just... her. She couldn't help it.
She had gotten this far, however. It would be silly to quit now and become some mindless clone. It appeared as though she had it better than everyone else around there. Maybe even better than Isaac. Bane practiced more patience with her than probably anybody else in his life. Jenna could get away with doing things that the other men probably never, ever could. Jenna shook her head, confused, as she pulled open the door.
A man was standing behind the counter, but as Jenna walked in, he barely paid attention to her. He had glanced up with bored, sleepy eyes, but when Jenna glanced at him from the corner of her eye as she continued toward the elevator, the man merely glanced back down to place his head back on his hand before continuing to read from his magazine. Jenna let out the breath she had been holding once she disappeared around the corner, and she waited for the elevator doors to open once she pressed the button.
Once she reached Karly's floor, she began the walk down the hallway as she stared at the envelope, reading Karly's name scribbled on the front. She was unsure if it was Bane or Isaac's handwriting, if it was even either of them, but her thoughts were instantly shattered when she heard Karly speaking on the other side of the door in her room.
"Benji, I know. I'm leaving right now. Yes, I-"
Karly paused, and Jenna leaned in closer to the door. Leaving? Jenna wondered. Who was Benji? Was Karly leaving to carry out Bane's plans... or was she going to do something else?
"Benji! I'm literally going out the door, right now." Karly's voice was directly next to the door now, but Jenna held her ground. "A taxi, Ben, I don't care. I'll walk to the airport if I have to. Just tell Daddy he can expect the money and the weapons by next Friday. Because that's the best I can fucking do, Benji! God dammit!"
Just then, the door was thrown open, and both Karly and Jenna jumped when they laid eyes on each other. Karly looked furious and nervous all at the same time, and as she stared at Jenna she could easily detect wary curiosity in her eyes. Shit! Karly cursed to herself.
"Ben, I'll call you when he gets here," Karly said blankly into the phone as she kept her eyes focused on Jenna. Jenna could hear a male voice starting to talk on the other end of the phone as Karly brought it away from her ear, but he was cut off when she hung up. Jenna thinned her lips as she crossed her arms, holding the envelope even tighter, and she waited until Karly had tucked her cell phone away in her pocket of her pinstripe pants.
"Where ya goin'?" Jenna asked her casually, but they both knew this meeting was about to be anything but casual.
"None of your damn business," Karly answered in a grouchy tone, her eyes dropping to the envelope. "Is that for me again? I swear, the way your people communicate is absolutely ridiculous. I was expecting to get phone calls. I'm sick of you showing up at my door."
Jenna was ignoring her. "Where are you going?" She asked more sternly, finding herself growing impatient.
"None of your business," Karly repeated in the same tone. "Give me the envelope."
"No," Jenna said as she took a step back, and she uncrossed her arms before holding the envelope away from Karly. "This isn't a vacation, you know. You're here to help one person, and you're to follow his complete orders no matter what." Jenna swallowed. "Or else," she added, thinking back to James.
"Look at you," Karly said now with a small smile as she tilted her head to the side. "The hostage thinks she has everything figured out. You don't know what his plans are, you don't know why I'm here, and you don't know what he said I could and couldn't do."
Jenna found herself getting angry at that word. "You may be right," Jenna began in a sassy tone. "But I know Bane would hate to know that you're going off and doing your own things, when you have a job to focus on." Again, Jenna had to wonder where the fuck all of this was coming from. Whenever she was around Karly, her mouth just spewed these tactical, serious words. "What money and weapons, exactly, are you sending Daddy?" Jenna asked now. "That doesn't sound like something Bane would have arranged." She had dropped her voice several octaves.
Karly swallowed. So Jenna had heard that. Fuck. Her glare hardened suddenly, and her own lips thinned as she took a step toward Jenna while closing the door behind her at the same time. Her body and face a little over two inches away from Jenna's, both women held their ground as they glared fiercely into each others eyes. "That is none of your concern," Karly began quietly, her voice just above a whisper. "You'd be smart to go back to Bane, and worry about your own damn self. Now, if you'd excuse me." She reached out suddenly to snatch the envelope out of Jenna's hand, and she gritted her teeth when she felt the paper leave her grasp. "I have somewhere more important to be."
Without another word, Karly started past her, purposely bumping her shoulder into Jenna's, and once her body had collided with hers, Jenna instantly turned to face her, her fists clenching as she watched her storm down the hallway. In her previous life, Jenna never took to anyone doing that. But now, she was rendered useless as she watched Karly disappear around the corner, for she knew Bane would not approve of Jenna acting out toward his hired help. But how helpful was Karly really? Weapons? Money? Jenna shook her head as she started down the hallway to herself. Now, it was time to go back to Bane and prove her loyalties all over again...
–
The warehouse was empty when Jenna parked the car outside of the closed garage, and after taking the keys from the ignition and stepping out of the car, she openly shivered as she locked it. Clutching the keys in her hand, she headed over toward the exit door, and she rushed up the stairs, desperate to get inside. The building was warm, but Jenna knew the basement would be cold, and sure enough, as she descended the stairs, the further she got into the basement the more the temperature began to drop.
The basement, as per usual lately, was empty, but Bane's door was wide open. Swallowing, Jenna started over toward it, and once she approached it she blankly left a few knocks on the frame. After she had, however, she leaned in slightly, her eyes scanning the room, and she realized quickly that it was empty. Her eyebrows furrowed, but right when she turned around her body nearly collided with Bane's. He had approached her from behind, and he watched Jenna jump back with a start before she glared up at him.
"Where did you come from?" Jenna wondered in a somewhat rude tone as she slapped her hand against her racing heart. Bane ignored this.
"I was over there," he answered as he jerked a thumb toward the open area of the basement. "Your lack of observance may prove to be a serious problem in the future. Did you give Karly the envelope?"
"Yeah..." Jenna answered slowly. "Um... about that-"
Bane instantly rolled his eyes as he stepped past Jenna to enter his room. Jenna frowned at his actions, but she tried to ignore them as she followed him into his room, figuring Bane would not grow upset at this.
"Seriously," Jenna said. "I think she's planning on... robbing you."
"Robbing me?" Bane repeated loudly as he turned away from his desk to stare down at her, and Jenna could see the amusement in his eyes.
"Seriously," Jenna said again. "She said-"
"Jenna," Bane started in a much calmer tone. "You have to realize, it is near impossible to take anything from me. And you think that some petite, red-head is capable? Have you not learned anything around here?"
"Bane, please," Jenna said now as she absentmindedly took a step further into his room and closer to him. "Just fucking hear me out," she added, only to back down a moment later when she saw Bane's eyes harden. "I think this is serious."
Bane sighed. "Alright, Jenna." Why was he giving in so easily? "Tell me what's on your whimsicalmind."
Jenna's frown deepened as she glared at him. She watched Bane step toward his bed and slowly sit down, and once he had folded his arms on his lap, he glanced up at her with a tilted head, sarcastic and false interest written all over him. So, he was still in a good mood, and he was practicing just as much patience with her as always; this was good, but Jenna was too distracted to take too much notice.
"When I got there Karly was leaving to go to the airport," Jenna began, but much to Bane's dismay, this had taken him by great surprise and interest. His eyebrows furrowed.
"The airport?" He repeated. "How do you know this?"
"She was on the phone, and I heard her talking to somebody named Benji about taking a taxi – or walking – to the airport. Then, she said he'd call him back when somebody got there. I think she's going there to pick somebody up who's flying in."
Bane was nodding. Unfortunately, this information did seem pretty vital, if Jenna was even telling the truth. But why else would she be so quick to rush in and tell him all of this? She couldn't hate Karly enough to make up lies, could she? "And you think she's recruiting help to steal from me?"
"She told Benji to tell her father that 'he could expect the money and the weapons by next Friday'."
Jenna watched Bane glance away from her, and he stared at the wall in thought. She waited, unable to help but to feel slightly anxious. When Bane finally glanced back at her, she waited for him to speak, but her anxious feeling grew stronger when he stood up suddenly before taking a step closer to tower over her. He glared directly into her eyes as Jenna stared up at him, and although she just wanted to melt away, she forced herself to keep her ground.
"You're not lying about any of this, are you?" Bane asked in a deep and very serious tone. His voice sent a wave of goosebumps to appear on her skin, and as she listened to Bane breathe in the silent room, her head began to spin. She started to shake her head.
"No," she replied. "Of course not."
"Because I have a difficult time believing that you just happened to approach her at the perfect time to overhear all of this. This may be a serious issue, Jenna."
"I know," Jenna replied after she had swallowed, feeling herself start to fidget under Bane's glare. She took a small step back, but she felt even more lightheaded when Bane took a large step even closer to her. "I'm not lying, I swear."
"Because if I go after her for something that is based entirely off of a lie-"
"I'm not lying," Jenna replied in a slightly sterner tone. "I'll take you to the hotel right now. She won't be there. I'll take you to the airport and-"
Bane was shaking his head. "I need to know I can trust you, Jenna," Bane went on now.
"Y-you can..." Jenna replied in a small voice, feeling herself getting smaller and smaller under the weight of Bane's glare.
"Trust is everything around here," Bane was going on, and Jenna couldn't help but to instantly think back to her cell phone. But it was as if Bane could read her thoughts, for the second Jenna began to feel nervous all over again about her phone, Bane was bringing it up. "Can I trust you, Jenna?"
"Yes," she replied weakly. Bane narrowed his eyes on her.
"Your cell phone," he began, and he watched Jenna's eyes widen slightly. "Did you really dispose of it?"
Jenna struggled not to swallow, for she knew doing so would give her away. "Yes." The room was spinning faster than ever now.
"All I have is your word on the two situations. If I find out that you are, or have been lying to me..." he paused, and he shook his head slightly a moment later. "It will be the end of you. Am I clear?"
Jenna felt her body starting to shake as she barely nodded her head. "Crystal," she said as she finally started to glance down and away from him. Bane remained watching her for a minute longer before he finally backed up and turned to head out of his room. Jenna listened to him go, and once she heard him start up the stairs she finally let the breath she had been holding go.
–
Bane's discussion with her had left her feeling anxious and worried. With both of the times he had brought up the topic of her cell phone, he made it seem as though he knew that she had lied to him. But how would he know? Jenna was sure to have checked it secretly and during a time she was mainly sure she would not be interrupted, and she had gone this long with keeping her secret... Besides, why the fuck would Bane give her the responsibility of getting rid of it? Maybe he wants to trust me... Jenna thought slowly to herself. But did that make sense?
If this thought had come up days ago, Jenna would have laughed at herself and ridiculed herself for even thinking such a stupid, la-la-land thought. But now, it sort of made sense, didn't it? With everything that had been happening between her and Bane lately, maybe he actually did want to trust her. She had, somehow, managed to get past being considered a hostage (regardless if Bane still called her that or not), and now Bane was assigning her with tasks to further his plan, whatever it was. Because of this, Bane would want to trust her. But when had this all happened? Why was it happening?
Jenna sighed frustratedly to herself as she rolled over onto her stomach on the cot. Why was Bane so interested in her? And even worse, why was she so interested in him? She closed her eyes as she stretched her arms out under her pillow, but she paused immediately when her hand wandered over her cell phone. Her eyes snapped open, and she stared blankly at the pillow. Bane always made her nervous when he brought up the issue of her phone; wouldn't it make sense to just really get rid of it? If she did, that would completely eliminate a factor of anxiousness in her life.
But did Jenna want to him to trust her? Did she want Bane to see her as somebody who, like Isaac, would never go behind his back or against him? Did she even want to be that type of person to him? She bit her lip as her fingers found the 'on' button, and she didn't release her lip until after she had kept her finger pressed on the button for a little over five seconds. Whether she wanted Bane to have her trust or not, Jenna just didn't want to be punished for lying, or deceiving. She had seen what happened to two of Bane's men for doing so... death over a cell phone was not how she wanted to go out.
But she just couldn't. She couldn't get rid of her cell phone, she realized, as she just barely pulled it out from under the pillow enough to see the majority of the screen. She waited, and sure enough, after a few seconds had gone by, her phone began to buzz to life. Missed calls and unread text message notifications filled the screen, and she knew they were all from Rodger. A pang went through her entire body, and upon hearing footsteps out in the basement, she immediately moved to turn the phone off and stick it back under the bed. It was a risk, but clearly, it was a risk Jenna was willing to take. Having some sort of contact with the outside world, just in case for what ever reason, helped her, or so she thought.
Frowning, she rolled over on her cot, that bored, lonely feeling starting to creep up on her again. Deep down, she felt as though she wanted Bane to trust her, but why? Sadly, she was quick to figure out it was not because she was scared of what would happen to her if he did not. She legitimately wanted him to trust her, all because she wanted to trust him.
How fucking sick, Jenna thought sourly to herself. Why did she want to trust him? Did she already trust him? What, exactly, did she trust him with? She may have hated her life before, but she never was she forced to contemplate such deep, puzzling questions, aspects, and feelings.
And why was it so hard to figure out how she felt, sitting by herself, yet it was so easy for her to have sexual relations with the mad man who had brought all of this upon her? How did that make sense? It doesn't, Jenna thought to herself. I'm just fucking stupid. That's all there is to it. I need to stop...
But could she? No. Jenna thought. It was silly to even consider forcing herself to stop when she was already starting to want him, just by sitting silently in her dark room, thinking about him. The only thing Jenna knew about all of this was that it just wasn't fair.
She heard more footsteps out in the basement, and she held her breath when she listened to them grow closer and closer to her door, the noise getting louder and louder. She kept her eyes closed as she hugged her pillow to herself, and when she heard somebody open the door, she already had a good idea of who it was.
"You know," came Bane's metallic, muffled voice through the dark, dim light flooding into the room from behind him. "When I mentioned you leaving my room the other night to go sit alone in the dark, I had not meant for you to take that literally, at any point."
Jenna couldn't help but to grin, and Bane didn't miss the small breath of laughter that escaped from her. But all amusement was instantly lost. "Why do you care?" Jenna retorted.
"Always with the negativity. You should understand, Jenna, not everybody who approaches you has the goal of judging you, or forcing you to do something you don't want."
Jenna opened her eyes, and she couldn't help but to furrow her brow in slight confusion. "I never said that."
"Your tones speak louder than any combination of words that mindlessly spew from your mouth," Bane accused. "It's a bad trait that you possess."
Jenna rolled her eyes before closing them. What was she doing? Not even ten seconds ago she was admitting to herself how she was beginning to want him again, and secretly hoping she could find a way to go to him, yet here she was, opportunity standing not even fifteen feet from her, and she was struggling to shut him out. Why couldn't she just act the way she felt?
"What do you want, then?" She asked sourly, completely regarding her previous thoughts. Her body ached, but her mind was in charge of the game currently. "Me to come bother you again?"
Bane sighed, his mouth already opening to speak before he could stop himself. "The invitation is open. I have to talk to you."
Jenna's eyes opened again. Seriously?
"When you're done pouting in the dark, I'll be waiting."
Jenna listened to Bane turn away from her room and start for his own, and her heart began to race. He was inviting her to his room? Again, after the tone she had taken with him? What was with that? And even more so, what was with her even speaking to him like that in the first place?
Who cares, Jenna thought. That was just how she was. Maybe it made sense, and maybe it didn't, but it seemed to be something that Bane was accepting. She was happy to have an invite for some company again, but what did Bane want to talk to her about? Shit...
After exiting her room, she approached Bane's open door slowly, and she paused when she had reached it. She glanced in, and she grew slightly wary when she saw that it was empty. The lighting inside was dim, casting eerie shadows all over the place, and she noticed the blankets on his bed were all messed up, making it seem as though he had just gotten out of bed. She swallowed as she glanced over her shoulder, wondering if it would be okay to go inside without him. He had invited her, but why wasn't he in there? If he had wanted her to meet him somewhere else he would have said so. Finally, a short moment later, Jenna forced herself to take a step inside, figuring it was okay. Bane had already given her dozens of second chances anyway... what was one more?
His room seemed... bigger... without him inside of it. Her eyes wandered all over his furniture and belongings, the same questions running through her mind as before as she stared at the syringe needles on the dresser and the colorful boxes behind the side of his bed, where she usually laid down before getting kicked out. As she approached his desk, her eyes instantly dropped down to the various pieces of paper on it, and she glanced over her shoulder and out of his room into the rest of the basement. It was empty and silent, and because of this, she couldn't help but to turn and glance back down to the desk. In the center, a large map of Gotham covered the surface, and upon leaning in, Jenna saw the circles she had listened to him continue to make the night before all over the map. Studying the paper further, she saw that he had circled all of the police stations, big and small, within each island that made up the entire city. Her eyebrows furrowed, but rather than standing there and pondering why, her eyes roamed to the left, wandering over all sorts of other pieces of paper that had been written on, until a strong shock ran up her back. Sitting underneath a newspaper, she saw a black and white photo of herself, and she couldn't help but to reach out and pick it up.
It was a picture of her and her parents, and she remembered the exact day that had been taken. It was when she and her parents had still been considered new to Gotham, and when their charities were starting to turn things around. Her mother had forced her to wear that that God-awful dress –she remembered it fit her funny– and she recalled the persistent photographers. Her parents had been barely paying her any attention that day, but when the photographer mentioned desiring a nice, family photo of the three of them, her mother had grabbed Jenna and instantly threw her arm around her. In the photo, their smiles were wide, fake, and after the first couple of photos had been taken, Mia had scolded Jenna to smile. So Jenna had, but staring at the picture now, she saw how fake it was too. Nobody in that picture was happy. Especially her.
Her eyes dropped back down to the desk as she set the picture down, and she couldn't help but to shuffle around some of the other papers on the desk. Being alone in Bane's room was taking a toll on her; suddenly, she couldn't help but to snoop. Maybe she could discover something about him that he would be unwilling to tell her. But was that a bad idea?
Jenna paused her thoughts when she discovered an old newspaper sitting under the crinkled, random paper, and without thinking she brought it up, holding it with both hands. It was a picture of Bane, masses of people sitting behind him in what looked like a stadium, and it seemed as though this candid picture had been taken in secret. It was an article about him, probably written before Jenna and her parents had even heard of Gotham, but Jenna couldn't help but to notice the coat Bane was wearing. It was long and and somewhat light-colored, with what appeared to be wool or some alike material on the inside of the coat, and on the giant collars that flared upwards, nearly over his head. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the black and white picture, but she jumped a moment later when she heard footsteps behind her.
Bane had paused in the frame of his door, and his eyebrows had raised slightly once he laid eyes on Jenna. Jenna turned around instantly, her heart racing, and she was sure she was about to get in serious trouble. She anxiously waited for Bane to scold her, or step up and hurt her, but her anxiousness grew when Bane remained still, just staring at her.
"Discover anything fascinating?" He asked a moment later as he finally stepped into the room, and Jenna watched as he headed over to his bed.
"No," she answered. "Sorry, I-"
"Sorry?" Bane repeated. "For what?"
"For... looking through... all of this..."
Bane shrugged. "There's nothing... important on there." Nothing important for you, at least.
Jenna stared at him blankly, and she felt lightheaded as she watched him start to take off his vest. She swallowed. Bane wasn't mad that she had been going through his things? How could that be?
"Why do you have that picture of me?" She wondered once Bane had set the vest down on the bed, and she struggled not to eye him up and down as he stepped over to her, clad in only his cargo pants, belt and boots. Thinking he didn't know what she was talking about, she instantly turned to find the picture again, but Bane was already speaking before he had laid eyes on it.
"Because I was studying you."
"Why?" Jenna asked, ridiculously curious suddenly.
"It helped me to decide if I want to... take you... or not."
"How?" Jenna pressed on as she stared down at the picture in her hands. "What's so special about this."
"A picture is worth a thousand words," Bane said as he pulled out the chair to his desk, and Jenna watched him slowly sit down. "That picture told me a lot about you, and your family."
"Like what?"
This was not what Bane wanted to talk to Jenna about. This small talk was unimportant here, but regardless, he found himself humoring her as he turned his chair to face her, and he rolled the chair closer to her. He leaned up slightly to look down at the picture with her, Jenna holding her breath all the while at his actions, and when she glanced down at him, he had glanced up at her. "You tell me. What do you see?"
Jenna glanced back down to the picture. "I see... that ugly dress I was forced to wear. And that stupid dress my mom wore that day to show off her fucking body, which is ridiculous because she's married. Those people back there, they wouldn't-"
"No," Bane said sternly, already shaking his head. "I didn't ask for a shallow answer. Do I look like I care about the choice of attire there? Your face, Jenna. Your expression. Your parent's expressions. What do they tell you?"
Jenna stared down at the picture again. "That I'm... unhappy?" Was this the right answer? Jenna knew she had been unhappy that day, but she was smiling in the picture. When her eyes wandered over to Bane, she saw he was nodding.
"Precisely."
"So, you took me because I was unhappy?"
"Yes," Bane replied. "And no. As I've told you before, I took you because you were a symbol to Gotham. Your unhappiness, as exposed in that picture and later verified by Barsad, told me that you'd be more than willing to do what I told you."
"I have a hard time believing that you're..." Jenna trailed off, realizing finally what she had begun to say, and she watched Bane go through the papers on his desk, hoping that he had not heard her.
"Smart? Deep? Perceptive?" Bane began to list, and when Jenna had grown silent, he stopped what he was doing to glance up at her. Her facial expression told him those were the exact words she was thinking. "Most people do. It catches them off guard."
Jenna glanced away, and she placed the picture back down onto the desk. Just when she had, her eyes found the picture of Bane and that coat again, and she picked up the photo. "What happened to this coat?" She wondered now as she held up the picture, desperate to change the subject, and she grew confused when Bane let out a small chuckle.
"You have the attention span of a two-year-old," he accused, his eyes wandering over the picture quickly. "And that coat was destroyed."
"How?"
"Trampled, by the masses of Gotham fighting on the streets," Bane answered. Jenna frowned. Thank God I wasn't here for that... Jenna thought to herself.
"Do you miss it?"
"The coat?" Bane clarified, glancing up at her, and when she glanced down at him he shrugged. "It did its job. I liked it." Jenna studied him, positive that he missed the coat more than he was letting on. While she figured this, however, realization of what they were talking about hit Bane like a ton of bricks, and he was quick to change the subject. "I received an interesting call from Karly today."
Jenna instantly felt annoyance bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't want to hear what Karly had to say, and if this was what Bane wanted to talk to her about, then she most certainly did not want to hear what he had to say either. Jenna kept her eyes fixed on the photo of him, studying his figure in the coat and blankly wondering why he wore the collar like that. Bane had grown silent, and from the corner of her eye, Jenna could see, and feel, that he was staring at her, waiting for her to verbally acknowledge his comment.
"Oh yeah?" Jenna finally mumbled, absentmindedly bringing the picture a little closer to her face. Bane blinked slowly, his patience starting to deteriorate, but he struggled to hold onto what was left of it. Why was Jenna so willing to talk about a coat, but yet when an obviously important topic came to hand, she went right back to her childish ways? Bane was not going to have that. He let out a rough sigh as he reached out to snatch the paper from Jenna, and he noticed the way she jumped in surprise.
"Put the paper down," Bane was saying as he set it back down onto the desk. "Look at me, and listen, Jenna." By now, he had reached out to take a hold of her wrist, and she gasped when he pulled her closer to him. Jenna was frowning as she stared at him, but she could not ignore the butterflies that had started in the pit of her stomach due to his hand on her wrist. Bane was staring at her expectantly again, and Jenna rolled her eyes as she glanced away.
"What did she say?" She finally forced herself to ask.
"She specifically told me to stop letting you over to her hotel room."
Jenna couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped past her, and Bane watched her shake her head to herself.
"She told me that you hassle her, and lie to her, and she said that you don't make her feel like part of the team."
"Oh please!" Jenna exclaimed now, unable to help it, and she turned back to Bane with wide eyes. "Please tell me you're not buying into that sappy bullshit!"
Bane grinned, but he was sure to not let the expression touch his eyes. He saw that Jenna had grown nervous at her outbreak, but to Bane, it was redeeming. Wanting to play along, he closed his eyes and merely shrugged.
"I don't know, Jenna," he began, and he struggled not to smile widely when he saw how instantly angry she became at this, with her body tensing and eyes widening. "Around here, it's our goal to make everybody feel needed, and important."
Is he joking?! Jenna wondered agitatedly to herself. She shook her head as he looked away from him, and she struggled to free her arm from his grasp, but when she tried to pull it free, Bane tightened his grip, and Jenna gasped again when he pulled her even closer to himself. Jenna quickly caught her balance, and she swallowed as she stared into his eyes, his mask only a few mere inches from her face.
"And along with that," Bane was going on, his tone lighter now. "We want everybody to feel safe, and special. You don't agree?"
A grin slid onto Jenna's lips as realization hit her, and finally Bane smiled back, allowing this one to touch his eyes. So he was kidding, Jenna thought. Thank fucking God.
"No," Jenna finally said. "Well, maybe. But we want her to feel-"
Bane laughed, interrupting her. "I can only imagine, Jenna," he said, finally releasing her arm, but once he had, Jenna hesitated for a moment. Her body had not been ready for Bane to do that, but now, as he turned away from her, she forced herself to quickly lean back up. She sucked in a sharp breath as she leaned against the desk next to him, and she slowly and silently released it.
"She really said all that thought?"
"Yes," Bane replied with a nod. "Why do you hassle her?"
"I don't," Jenna defended. Had he forgotten already what they had talked about earlier? "She knows I'm on to her about whatever it is she's doing. She's always hiding something, and she's a fucking bitch me to me. And she calls me a hostage."
"Jenna," Bane began slowly, and he turned to glance up at her with amused eyes. "You are a hostage."
Jenna frowned, that frustrated look returning to her. "Not... as far as she knows," she replied.
Bane shook his head with a grin. "What do you lie to her about?"
"Nothing," Jenna replied, but when Bane slowly glanced back up at her, she knew she had given him a wrong answer.
"Why are you lying to me then?" He asked now. Jenna sighed, and she glanced down.
"I'm not," she said in a softer voice. "I tell her that I know more about your plans than she thinks."
"Why?"
"So she see's me as someone to respect and listen to."
"You don't always gain respect by lying," Bane told her. "You must earn it. If you want Karly to respect you, you must demand it, and in turn, earn it. Not lie. Not in this case."
Jenna rolled her eyes. She didn't care if Karly respected her. Why had she said that. It was natural for her to drop the issue, but before she could desire this too much, she was already correcting herself. "I don't really mean... respect," Jenna said in that softer voice now, and she could still feel Bane's eyes on her. "I just know she's up to something, and I thought if I could make her believe that I wasn't a hostage, then I could... I don't know." She shook her head again as she crossed her arms, and she glanced away.
"Scare her into telling the truth? Push her to do something stupid more quickly so you could catch her? Unfortunately, it seems as though your plan has worked."
Jenna glanced back over to him as he looked back down to his desk. So he did remember what they had talked about, and it seemed as though he believed her about it too.
"You must really believe you're not a hostage."
Jenna knew it would probably be safer to disagree with him, but Bane had said he wanted to hear nothing but the truth from her, right? "I do," Jenna said, her answer catching Bane by slight surprise. "Hostages sit in a tiny room all day, and are tortured, and left to rot until death, unless the captor get whats they want." Bane could feel her staring at him now. "Around here, you have me actually going out and doing things to benefit you, which requires having some trust me in already. That's not hostage-like, and you know it."
Bane was quiet for a moment. Unfortunately, she was right. Just hours previously, he had referred to her as a hostage, but now he realized that was the wrong title entirely. She wasn't a hostage anymore. Come to think of it, was she ever? Bane ignored her last statement, and instead went on with what he wanted to say.
"I'm having some of my men check into your discovery," he said. "They've been following her, and I'm waiting to hear back from them. As far as you going to her apartment and hassling her," he paused to glance over at her. "There will be no more of that. Isaac, or somebody else can deliver messages to her."
Jenna's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, you're still trusting her to help you out?"
"I never said I trusted her, Jenna," Bane replied. "Right now, we need her. But once her duties have reached their end, she will too."
"You're going to kill her?" Jenna asked, her eyes wide.
"Yes," Bane replied simply. "Does that, bother you?"
Jenna immediately shook her head. "No," she answered. "Just... why?"
Bane sighed. "Think, Jenna. First of all, if she's planning on attempting to rob me, we can't let her efforts go unpunished, can we? And after all of this is... done... it would be a crime to let her go back to her father with knowledge of my operations. Do you understand?" He asked now in a tone that suggested she was a child. Jenna tried to ignore this.
"Yes," Jenna said as she looked down slightly. "That makes sense."
Bane could tell she was starting to feel stupid. "If you just thought before you speak, every time, you'd never ask a stupid question again, or say anything unintelligent," he advised, his words catching her off guard. She glanced back up at him, already knowing what she wanted to say, but before she knew it, she found herself taking his advice. Expressing a friendly 'fuck you' was probably not a good thing to say right now.
"Okay," she answered simply, and her stomach dropped when she saw Bane to be grinning.
"See? You're smarter than you let on," Bane said now, knowing that she had just performed his very advice. "What were you going to say originally?"
Jenna was shaking her head. "Nothing," she said.
"Lies," Bane accused. "What were you going to say? Tell me."
When Jenna glanced back down at him, she saw that he was still grinning, and because of his currently amused state, she figured telling him wouldn't do so much harm. Besides, he had asked. "Fuck you," she replied, and she couldn't help but to smirk slightly.
Bane nodded. "Smart of you to take my advice," he praised. Jenna waited, expecting him to go on, or even make another joke over her choice of words, but he never did. "That is all," he said now, completely turned away from her now as he shuffled through the papers on his desk. Jenna backed up slowly, but she paused when she was only a step away from the desk.
"Can I stay in here?" She asked. This couldn't be considered a stupid question, she thought. She had thought about asking it, and she had forced herself to say it. Bane knew how lonely she got, sitting by herself, and as she waited for an answer, all she was hoping was that he would not get angry at her question. And even deeper down, she was sickly hoping that he would say yes.
"Not tonight," Bane replied in an even tone after thinking it through for a moment. Although he wasn't facing her, Jenna nodded, and without another word she turned to start out his room. She didn't shut the door, and when Bane heard her own door close, he paused suddenly as he leaned up to stare at the wall. Suddenly, his room felt cold, and empty, and he was forced to wonder if that had been the wrong answer to give...
Hope everyone had a wonderful New Years celebration of some sort! Please leave me a review, and don't hesitate to add me on Facebook! (Lacey ClownQween Michele)