Buenos dias, Adriana," Ricard's housekeeper greeted her the next morning in Ricard's bedroom.
"Lupe," Adriana replied and rubbed her eyes.
"Perdón por molestarte. Quieres que lave la vestida?" Lupe said. Sorry for bothering you. Do you want me to wash the dress?
Lupe looked at the gown laying across a chair.
"Oh, que hermosa," Lupe said, admiring how beautiful the gown was. "Dry cleaning? I can take it."
"Oh, no Lupe you don't have to," Adriana replied in English. "Really."
"No me molesta," Lupe said with a smile. I don't mind.
"Muchas gracias, Lupe," Adriana thanked her. "You're the best."
Lupe took down the dress carefully and left the room, and Adriana leaned over to the bedside to table to grab her phone which she heard vibrate for a moment. There was a text from a number she didn't have saved.
Appointment requested at 1:30 p.m. Reply '1' to confirm availability.
She tried to call the number that had sent the message.
"Your call cannot be completed as dialed." The automated voice spoke briefly before the call disconnected abruptly.
"What?" Adriana tried again and the same thing happened. "Okay then."
Just to see what would happen he sent a response. She touched the '1' button on her screen and sent the text and decided to wait for a reply. It might have been some type of scam. She waited for a text asking for her credit card number or something. As she waited she fell back onto the pillows and thought about the previous evening's events.
She had helped Lucius and Bruce find a bomb without knowing how and had to pretend to be okay the rest of the night. Was the bomb powerful enough to kill everyone at the gala? Damien had left for work at 4:30 that morning and Adriana laid sleepily in his bed, wondering about the man that she had sent Bruce after. Had she made a mistake? She didn't even have the foggiest idea what made her run to the window and point out that man. Maybe he was innocent? Her gift had certainly changed and maybe it wasn't as reliable now?
Appointment confirmed. W.T. 1:30 p.m. Thank you.
The text was a bit confusing until Adriana looked closely. W.T.? Adriana decided to open the text after reading the notification to send a question. Who is this? What is W.T.? But shortly after clicking, the original message was gone. It seemed to have completely vanished from her phone.
"Wayne Tower," Adriana thought out loud.
.
.
It was another cloudy day in Gotham. Adriana stepped off of the bus and walked down the street to Wayne Tower. The air was brisk and sounds of traffic filled the air. The loud whistle of a train in the distance and police sirens closer by resounded over the rumble of the subway coming up through the grates on the street. The tunes of Gotham. Adriana waved her hand in front of her face to disperse the cloud of cigarette smoke she had just walked through.
"Good morning," a man at the door said to her as she entered Wayne Tower.
"Hi," Adriana responded with a smile as she entered the lobby which looked nearly empty since it was Sunday.
"Ms. Navarro," she was greeted immediately by Rebecca, the only receptionist working. "You can go with Mr. Leame here."
Leame, the security guard, led her to the elevator and scanned a card and pressed a button before exiting the elevator and leaving her alone to go up. Adriana felt a bit of relief that they seemed to be expecting her, so her assumptions about the origin of the mysterious text messages were correct. When the elevator door opened the reception area was empty. Adriana stepped out of the elevator and looked around for a few moments before wondering if she should leave.
"Adriana," she heard Bruce say behind her. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."
"Yeah, I almost thought there was no one here," Adriana said and turned around. He was dressed casually in a very fitted black tee-shirt and very dark washed blue jeans that almost looked black. He looked different in a tee shirt, Adriana thought. It showed off the incredibly fit and muscular physique he had.
"Thank you for coming," he said.
"I didn't know if the message was from you," she replied. "It disappeared."
"You're smart," he said and took his hands out of his pockets. "I knew you would figure it out."
"I appreciate your confidence in me," she laughed. "So..an appointment?"
"If you don't mind," Bruce said. "I'd prefer it if we converse somewhere else. I don't want to take too much time out of your day though."
"I don't have anything planned for today," Adriana said. "Other than hanging out with my sister."
"Your sister," Bruce replied.
"Yes, she's staying with me for a little while," Adriana answered. "Visiting from Chicago."
"I won't keep you for too long then," Bruce nodded.
"It's totally fine," Adriana said. "She's probably still sleeping."
"At 1:30?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm pretty sure she went to Limelight last night," Adriana said. "She won't be up til at least 3 or 4."
"In that case let's head out," Bruce said.
"I'm surprised this place seems so busy on a Sunday," Adriana said as they entered the elevator.
"Every day, apart from a few holidays," Bruce said and pressed a button on the door. "How is Mr. Ricard?"
"Damien? He's fine," Adriana answered. "How's Lucy?"
"Lucy?" Bruce asked as he pressed another button on the elevator, and Adriana couldn't be sure if she was imagining it but the elevator seemed to move sideways before moving down again.
"Lucy, your..girlfriend?" she replied carefully.
"Oh, Lucy," Bruce seemed to remember with a bit of embarrassment and looked Adriana in the eyes. "She's not my girlfriend."
"My bad," Adriana answered.
"Don't worry about it," he laughed. "We're here."
The door to the elevator opened to reveal a parking garage which looked entirely empty except for the black Lamborghini parked close to the elevator. Bruce held his arm at the elevator door until Adriana exited then walked beside her to the passenger side of the car before opening the door for her. As they walked Adriana noticed that there was no visible way to get to any other levels of this parking garage, if there were any.
"Thank you," Adriana said as she stepped into the car and sat. Bruce shut the door and walked around to the driver's side. The inside of the car still smelled fresh and new and Adriana inhaled deeply before letting out a sigh. She couldn't stop thinking about the previous night's events. Witnessing a bomb counting down in person was something she had never expected to happen to her. Bruce, however, seemed very calm and collected as if he saw this sort of thing every day. When she first saw him after stepping into the reception area she immediately wanted to discuss it with him and ask him what happened with the man he may have chased down. But she fought the urge and mimicked his calm demeanor, not wanting to appear panicked or too eager.
She was fastening her seat belt as he entered the car and shut his door.
"Are you cold?" he asked as he started the engine.
"A bit," she answered honestly. The weather was brisk and she was wearing jeans, knee high boots and a burgundy colored leather jacket over a long sleeved yellow top. Bruce was wearing only a tee shirt and jeans and didn't seem cold at all as he turned on the heat as well as her seat warmer. The car seemed to fly as he started driving, accelerating rapidly down a dark corridor which led to an exit at the back side of the building. The way out.
"Do you know where I'm taking you?" he asked as they turned onto a main street.
Adriana decided that sounded like an invitation into his thoughts and immediately she saw it clearly. The Batcave.
"Yes," she answered and retreated from his thoughts. "Where you keep...everything the Batman needs."
"Amazing," he said and glanced at her.
"Yeah, it's something," Adriana said and realized she was staring at his bicep and then forearm.
"And you've been this way your entire life?" he said, making a turn on the road.
"Yes," she said and glanced out of her passenger side window. "Ever since I can remember. And I can tell this place is private. Top secret. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
"I appreciate that very much," he said with a smile and a glance. "It must be difficult..keeping secrets."
"Not really," Adriana answered. "I'm very used to it." And that was very true. Her entire life she felt as though she was trained to compartmentalize and keep secrets. Having to remember which information to share with which people and what to keep silent about. In general, she kept silent about almost everything.
"I understand," Bruce said and made another turn. He was driving incredibly fast and she could tell he had made this trip a million times before. Adriana got a bit nervous as they passed a parked police car while going much faster than the speed limit, but the officers did not pursue them. Clearly the speed laws of the road did not apply to him. The drove a while longer and Adriana felt herself falling asleep in the warmed seat.
.
.
"Adriana," Bruce said gently. "We're here."
Adriana opened her eyes and realized she had fallen asleep in the seat. She looked around at the shipping yard where they had parked.
"Sorry," she apologized for dozing off.
"No worries," he smiled. "I didn't realize you were tired."
She almost wanted to explain how she wasn't especially tired, but after a lifetime of lacking sleep her body seemed to take every possible opportunity to doze off..and it felt great.
"I'm not that tired," she said and smiled.
"Good," he said and opened his door, "Let's go."
She followed him through a maze of shipping containers and into one of them.
"This is crazy, but awesome," she said almost laughing.
"Indeed," he said and reached in front of her to press a button.
They went into a shipping container and stood in the dark.
"The elevator is just this post," he laughed. "So you need to be careful." She then noticed that the walls in the container moved upward and then disappeared as the solid post they stood on moved downwards. An elevator without walls.
"Right," she said. Lucky save for her exclamation.
As they came down from an opening in the ceiling, Adriana looked around at the Batcave. Despite the bright grid-like ceiling which was entirely filled with light, it still had a very underground feeling to it. Cool air from the concrete, dark despite all of the light.
"This is just temporary," Bruce explained. "Which is why it's so bare. Everything will be moved next month."
"It's very nice," she commented, her attention drawn to the vehicle parked in front of them. It was black, massive and armored. It appeared to be indestructible and dangerous, with sharp jagged edges and enormous tires. It was surrounded by well designed matte, metal plates on all sides and at various angles.
Adriana followed Bruce over to a table in the room that had a few computer monitors on it and then she saw his armor in a tall glass case. The armor without him in it looked dark, hollow and vacant. The openings for the eyes were completely black making the Batman mask look somewhat frightening.
"Don't worry, it doesn't bite," Bruce said, noticing she was staring at it.
"You sure?" she laughed and stopped abruptly when she noticed the bomb on the table beside the desk with the computers.
"It's all right, it's been completely deactivated," he insisted. "Just needed to examine it."
"It looks a lot smaller in here," she said.
"It's not a large device but enough to have taken out about a quarter of the hall where the gala was. Several people would have been killed."
Beside the deactivated bomb she saw a large sheet of paper and after looking at it closely she realized it was a seating chart.
"The seating chart from that night?" she asked Bruce and he leaned over from the opposite side of the table where Adriana was standing.
"Yes," he said and moved his finger along a curved red line on the chart. "The people within this semi circle would have been killed, most likely. And then this circle," he indicated an orange line beyond the red one, "These people would have been injured. Everyone else would have been fine."
"Wow," she said and noticed Bruce's name between the red and orange lines. Her name was far from either line. The governor was in the danger zone and his name was circled.
"Yes," Bruce said and looked up from the paper and into her eyes. "I owe you."
"If you say so," she shrugged. "I didn't even realize what was happening until it..happened. The guy I showed you..do you know if he was involved or..was I wrong?"
"You were absolutely correct," Bruce said and stood upright and turned to look at the armor in the case. "He admitted to placing the device there."
"I'm glad you caught him," she said with relief.
"The target was the governor," Bruce answered. "The man I followed, he was working for someone else. The Joker."
Adriana nodded. She allowed herself to access his memories.
"The guy told me so himself. After a bit of..persuasion. He was paid in cash but I believe the Joker has an account somewhere. Under an alias perhaps."
"He does," Adriana said.
"You know this for sure?" Bruce seemed incredibly relieved.
"He used it to pay the guards at the institution," she said. "But he also has cash various places around the city."
"Do you know where those are?"
"I..I don't know," she shrugged. "I should have focused on it more when I was around him, I'm sorry. I would have to try to remember. I spent only a couple hours around him. I could try to remember. It's so easy to access everyone's memories in detail but my own."
"Do you know anything about his bank accounts?" Bruce asked.
He waited as she thought long and hard.
"Well, the name he used...the last name, I think it was..Marques?" she said. "I'm sorry I can't remember the first name. I really should have paid more attention...this is important."
"Don't apologize," he said sounding very happy and walked around to her side of the table. "This is brilliant."
"I don't know where all of his cash is. I can only remember for sure that the bulk if it is in a room. Around half a million," she tried to remember. "Down in the subway..an old utility room, somewhere in Chinatown-"
She stopped speaking when she realized Bruce was hugging her but then he stepped back quickly.
"Sorry about that!" he said after the sudden embrace.
"No, it's okay," she laughed somewhat shocked. The moment was brief but the feeling of his extremely strong arms around her lingered. His body felt like steel.
"This is," he nodded. "Profound."
"I just hope I'm right about everything. I mean I'm just going from memory-" she said. She was trying her best to remember the details. She had been focused more on the overall psyche of the Joker when she had been in his presence. Details about his money were foggy.
"I will have every room in the Chinatown subway searched and we will begin looking for the account immediately," Bruce went over to the computer. "I just need to send this information and it will be handled."
Adriana nodded and walked behind him and looked at the computer screen expecting to see him sending an email or something similar, but the screen was entirely black with blue flashes of what looked like code floating across the screen. Looking at it made her dizzy so she looked away, back at the armor in the case. She walked over to it slowly and admired the craftsmanship for a moment before Bruce spoke again.
"Done," he said and stood up. "I'm sure you're right."
"Hope so," she said quietly looking at the outline of the bat on the armor's chest.
"Adriana," Bruce said and she turned to him.
"Yes?" she said.
"I need to compensate you for this," he said still sounding extremely happy. "What would your fee be?"
"For this?" she almost laughed. "I haven't done anything."
"I would like to pay you," Bruce insisted.
"But that was part of what you already paid me for," she answered. "Being around him and getting this information. You have already been very generous."
"Ok, then let me pay you for finding this," Bruce gestured toward the bomb.
"I wasn't working at the gala," she laughed finally. "That just..I don't even know what happened with that."
"What do you mean?" Bruce inquired.
"I don't know. I was hearing whispers..they kept getting louder and louder until I found that thing. And finding the man that left it..that felt like..magnetism almost."
"Has that happened before?" Bruce asked.
"No, never," Adriana said. "But my friend, Sidi. She said things could happen with my gift..it could change. Over time.. I don't know. But anyway, it wasn't work for me. I mean I could have been hurt too."
"You would have been fine," Bruce said. "Your table was far enough away that you would not have been hurt at all. You deserve much more than what I gave you."
"I don't need more, seriously. I have enough money to last forever thanks to you," she smiled and heard her stomach growl loudly.
"Okay then," he said. "At least let me take you to lunch then."
"Sure," she nodded. "Food is the best payment."
"Let's head out of here then," Bruce said.
"Let's," Adriana smiled at the dark armor and walked behind Bruce to the elevator.
"So, ten million would last you forever?" Bruce asked seriously.
"Well, yeah," she answered. "How long do you think it should last?"
"A year, year and a half at most," he said.