Disclaimer: I do not own Batman. Just my OC.

A/N: Here's another update. Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites. Enjoy!

Chapter 8: The Set Up

My pencil drew around my small sketchbook in front of me as I nursed my Bloody Mary that sat right beside me. Even though I was helping Bruce keep an eye out on Carmine Falcone and this one guy named Flask, of whom I had no particular interest in getting to know, I was feeling slightly down tonight, in which my bartender friend noticed. Within the hour I had drawn sketches of Flask and Falcone at the scene of the crime.

"So, moving up in the world, girl. That should be something to celebrate about, not having a long face," Liz said, coming over to me and replacing my drink.

I sighed. "Yeah."

"It took you a long time to find your first entry job! Seriously, why so serious, Mel? If I were you'd I'd be out celebrating and getting drunk!"

I rolled my eyes. "You and everyone else in this town," I winced at how that sounded out of my mouth. "Sorry. No. It's…you're right. I should be out celebrating. But, I'm not. I'm here just…wasting my life away. Wayne Enterprises is not what it seems on the outside."

Liz frowned and leaned her elbows over the counter. "What is it?"

"A dead-end."

"I can hear you," Bruce's voice suddenly jumped in my ear, and I coughed, reaching for my drink to try and hide my pink blush that was slowly creeping up on my cheeks out of embarrassment.

"Right! Sorry. Um, it's just…it's slow," I said.

"Well, yeah I can imagine filing papers in a dusty old warehouse slow," Liz said with a chuckle. "Thought you were getting the receptionist job?"

I shrugged. "He promoted me to…"

"Archivist," Bruce supplied for her.

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Archivist."

"Well, that's something! That would sound really great on your resume too for future job offerings," Liz added, trying to sound positively towards me. Good ol' Liz always the optimistic.

"Yeah, I suppose," I said. "But that's a long road."

"And you're only 28," she reminded me happily.

"29. I turn thirty in a couple days."

"Huh. Interesting. Doesn't that uh…Bruce Wayne guy turn thirty soon? He's back from the dead, so it should be exciting!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah, leaving your twenties is just so exciting," I snorted into my drink, and took another sip.

"Awe, honey, is that why you're blue?" she asked.

I sniffled and nodded. "I've done nothing with my life! All my dreams have died and vanished because I struggled in this stupid town, trying to make ends meet with this place. God…I don't even…"

Tears started slowly spilling out of nowhere. I hated crying in public, but sometimes they just had to, and I especially hated when I cried in front of other people I cared about. It just made me feel worse.

"I'm nothing, Liz. Nothing. I have nothing to show for all my goddamn years of slaving away in this freaking town. I just spent it on useless crap that got me nowhere."

"Careful. I know you don't want to hear it, but try to calm your emotions and not draw too much attention to yourself. I think I've got most of what they're talking about…" Bruce said to me in my ear. I winced. I sort of forgot he was in my ear, after getting so emotionally within my own woes, I really did forget we were on a 'case'.

"Look, everyone starts somewhere, Mel. I know you're not the next Beyoncé yet, but one day you will get there. I've always believed in you, since the moment you signed on that application," she said.

I sighed, and wiped my tears away with my fingers. "Thank you. And I don't even expect to be of someone of that magnitude, gorgeous, and exquisite, but, I just…I don't know always wanted to make a difference, but when I started my own research, and found out they kill people who try to make any kind of difference in the world, I got scared, backed off, and redirected into Wayne Enterprises, that was on a much smaller scale, but at least a start," I said. "I am a coward."

"You are not," she said, giving me a stern look.

"Hey Liz, need a hand here with some of these cases," a co-worker said, holding the big box in his arms. She looked over and nodded.

"You're amazing, Mel, okay? Please, don't ever forget that. Hey, I'll be right back," she said, giving me a smile, and walked towards the back. I let out a loud sigh, and turned my head towards the small booth that had Flask and Falcone deep in a conversation.

On the other end of my earpiece, I could hear what they were saying.

Falcone slid him a glass forward and leaned his arm back against the leather seat. "I need you at the docks on Thursday."

"Problem?"

"I don't want any trouble with the last shipment."

"Sure," Flask nodded. "Word on the street is you got a beef with somebody in the D.A.'s office."

"Is that right?"

"And that there's a fat prize waiting for who's anyone who is willing to do anything about it," he continued.

"So, what's your point, Mr. Flask?"

"Have you seen the girl?"

I narrowed my eyes at that. "Bruce?" I whispered. "Who do you know at the D.A's of-"

"Shh."

"A cute little assistant D.A. Do you think that's a little too much heat to bring down?" Flask asked concernedly. "Even for this town."

"Never underestimate Gotham City," Falcone replied. "People coming home from work get mugged every day of the week," he explained, making me relive a time where I did get mugged just coming home from work. Luckily it was just my purse that had a few things in it, nothing major. I knew enough about Gotham not to put all my eggs into one basket. And besides, I wasn't much of a target; I was merely a low-class citizen, why would anyone want to steal from me? Falcone let out a chuckle that sent chills down my back. "Some times, some times things just go bad."

The two of them left after their drinks, and I closed my book shut tight. I left Liz a hefty tip, some of it from my first week at working at Wayne Enterprises, and I left no sooner than they did. I met Bruce outside the alleyway and headed down to his Rolls-Royce car secludely parked.

"So," I said, hugging my sketchbook within my arms. "Who is she?"

"Rachel Dawes. She's an old childhood friend, who cares about cleaning up the city, kind of like you actually," he replied. "Think you can tail her everyday route for me?"

"Yeah…what are you going to do?" I asked curiously.

"I'm…building a project," he replied cryptically.

I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"It's… a long story. Something I learned while I was away."

"Huh, so the billionaire drop-out did learn something after all," I teased.

"Ha. Come on, I'll drive you home."

"Hey," I called before he got in. He turned around to face me. "By the way, all that stuff back there, I…was just…please don't think of that as a reflection to my character of how I would like to portray at Wayne Enterprises. I really do like it there and-"

"It's in the past," he smirked at me, and I smiled back.

I tilted my head forward in thanks. "Thank you."

We climbed inside, and he took me back to my apartment in the Narrows, while he got to go home back to the rich Palisades outside Gotham City, only leaving me to dream what it's like to one day get there.