Chapter 27: Friend or Foe
I frowned as I sat down in front of Dinah. Roy and I had finally gotten home around nine in the evening after sifting out information from Ben about the governor's whereabouts. Why a tattoo parlor, you ask? Let's just say that background info on him seemed to revolve around...sketchy places.
I looked at Dinah, clearly confused, and noticed a sad look in her eyes. She sighed and slid a manilla folder across the table, towards me, and I looked inside and practically gasped.
"What the hell is this?" I asked in a low tone. Dinah took a deep breath before speaking.
"These are your enemies." She said, pointing to the pictures and papers in the folder. "The ones that are coming after you." I cringed as I looked through the papers. Sportsmaster...Cheshire...The Phantom...Benjamin Dolores...Aaron Mathews...Patrick. I swallowed hard.
"They've found me too." I said suddenly. Dinah gave me a look.
"Care to explain?" She whispered harshly, looking up the stairs to make sure that Roy wasn't listening. I sighed.
"The days that I was...gone, I wasn't taking time off. I had been kidnapped by Sportsmaster and Cheshire, and not to mention knocked out by a few other accomplices, but that's not the point. As for the rest on this list, it's a long story."
"Well, we have all night." Dinah said. I sighed. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"
"Beginning, beginning? Or like the beginning of the stalking?"
"I think we can just start with the stalking."
"Okay, well in that case, let me go down the list. The Phantom..." I read and laughed. "You know about that one, but that party you sent us to...he was there. I was just glad he didn't recognize me."
"That makes two of us...Go on."
"Uh...Benjamin Dolores. The last I saw of him was the day I met Roy. In the mall. A very awkward conversation, but anyway...Aaron Mathews. Camping trip. Tried to kill me, but his weakness proved that he didn't have the strength or guts to do it."
"Okay, now that's something that you should've told me."
"Don't get too emotional. I'm not done yet." Dinah raised her brow and I went on. "Patrick."
"Last name?"
"Tell me that you have read these, please..."
"Some of them, but not all. Batman gave me the list." I sighed.
"Then good." I said. Dinah raised her brow again. "There's no reason that you need to know his last name. And for the record...he's the only one that I've been able to trust during this last month. He saved the team from mass destruction while you're fiance's insane protege nearly killed himself during our little intervention with the Joker, and then he saved me from having to fight against you all while I was...missing."
"So you're telling me that this man is a friend and not a foe?" I laughed.
"He's neither friend, nor foe to you. Or the Justice League and Team. But to me...he's sometimes more than that." Dinah smiled.
"Lover?" She asked. I sighed.
"Ex. Two years away from him and he suddenly answers his phone to a familiar voice on the other end."
"Are you two getting back together or what, then? Cause it seems like you two had a very...intimate relationship." I laughed.
"Two years ago, we might have, but in this day and age...he'd be lucky if I didn't end up killing him in the end."
"Kill him? Sarah, what's your game here? I see nothing but destruction in your future! You can't just kill an innocent man."
"Innocent? Dinah, do you realize who you're talking to? Patrick is not innocent, I can assure you that."
"He has to have some good in him..."
"Well, I guess he's more innocent than I am, I'll give you that. But in the end, Patrick is going to have to choose between the right or wrong and family or no family. And when the wrong means exposing me to the whole world just to save what little family he has left...believe me, he'll choose it in a heartbeat. And no matter how much I try to encourage and persuade him to give up on that, it'll just end up coming down to him and I, our weaknesses and strengths, and whatever weapons we possess. So I encourage you, Dinah, to stay out of it, or you'll just end up like the rest of my enemies. Fighting for life."
I stood up and walked away, going to my room and shutting the door behind me. I sighed. It was going to be one hell of a week.