Grace was reading another book, having finished the first one just after Barsad stopped by to ask what 'lady things' she needed.
Quickly ripping off the front of the box, she sent him away. Better to just give it to him than have him remember and bring the wrong size.
Grace placed down the book when the book's love interest turned out to be the man in the mask that had been terrorising the heroine. He had been both men. Her tormentor and her lover.
It was always bittersweet when she got to the part when he was unmasked and taken away to the Tower of London.
A minute later the knock she's been dreading came.
"Come in."
Bane opened the door and she had to repress the urge to smile.
"How are you, my dear?"
"I'm grand. How are you?"
He let out a sigh as he moved further into the room. "As well as can be. However, I am in desperate need of sleep. I hope you have no objections?"
She could see the exhaustion in his eyes. But they were also on high alert. She wondered if something was happening soon? He seemed twitchy tonight.
"Actually, I was hoping to have an early night?" She watched as he processed her question.
She wouldn't say no flat out. She wasn't sure if he'd appreciate that.
"That is up to you, my dear. I will collect you tomorrow."
Damn, he was going to come back the next day. Maybe she should just tell him.
"Bane?" She called out before the door closed. "I don't think that I should visit your room anymore."
He turned slowly to look back at her.
"Is that so?"
"Yes." She spoke quietly. "I think it's for the best."
"If that is your choice, I will respect it."
"Thank you." She gave him a small smile, hoping to be polite.
When the door slammed shut, she flinched.
Maybe she should have bit the bullet and sang for him?
No. She needed to create some space between them. Patrick would stop getting himself into trouble and hopefully they would get to leave soon.
Xxx
Bane stormed down to the main hub of activity.
He had planned to sleep, but alas, his songstress seems to have abandoned him in favour of solitude.
Perhaps her brother's words seeped deep into her subconsciousness.
Barsad collected the information he'd wanted on Jack Ryder and he was… perplexed to say the least.
There seemed to be no link between Ryder and Grace. Apart from his son attending the school a few years ago.
What's more unusual is the man's fall from notoriety.
He lost a fortune in a court case and was ordered to donate a substantial amount to charity.
Why was Patrick so angry?
"Boss?" Barsad called. He was looking over some notes.
"You found something?"
"I've had Jaques hack into his personal computer and there are some unpublished stories and notes. There's a folder labelled Grace Fitzgerald." Barsad revealed quietly.
"Show me."
Once the copies were in his hands, he devoured the crap the man passed as journalism.
One thing that did catch his eye was a published story Ryder wrote in 2010. In it he claimed that a teacher at Hamilton High School became infatuated with him and he was expected to reveal a salacious tale of a parent-teacher conference that went 'better than expected'.
He detailed how the music teacher wore a close-fitting dress that showed off her glorious figure.
…and the girl didn't have a ring on her finger. And with one of Gotham's most desirable bachelors also sporting a naked digit, she must have thought she'd won the lottery.
She even locked the door behind us to give us some 'privacy' as we discussed my son's music practical.
He was very good with his fingering apparently.
When I replied, 'like father, like son', it set off a chain reaction. Ms Fitzgerald got this fiery look in her eye that practically screamed 'Take me, Jack!'
Well dear reader, I'm sure you can imagine what happened…
But you'll have to find out in next week's column.
There were several other stories about his relationship with Grace. All sounded very unlike the woman he had come to know.
Hours after the article was published, there was an email from the editor stating that Hamilton High School would threaten a public legal inquiry and release the police report Miss Fitzgerald filed.
Not for defamation, but for attempted rape. They had the security tapes as proof.
Rider tried to rape Grace?
He clenched the papers in strained fists.
Somewhere, there were tapes of this man attacking Grace.
He needed to calm down.
He stripped out of his shirt and Kevlar vest in an attempt to cool down. If there was on crime that he abhorred, it was rape. After what happened to Talia's mother in the pit…it pained him to recount the night she died.
It was not something he would wish on his worst enemy.
His followers knew his ethics were grey in some areas. But rape was always black and white. It was never condoned within the League.
He was warming by a fire when he was interrupted by the thud of a body landing behind him.
Two others breathed heavily, as if they carried the man all the way to him.
"Why are you here?" He rasped out.
"Answer him!" Someone kicked the man. Bane heard a moan of pain.
"I was asking you."
"It's the police commissioner."
Bane stood and turned.
"And you brought him down here?" He was beyond furious with their incompetence.
"We didn't know what to do. We just thought-"
"You panicked. And your weakness has cost the lives of three others."
"No, he's alone-" He didn't let the imbecile finish. His hand wrapped around his neck and broke it swiftly.
"Search him. Then I will kill you." He spoke to the other fool the league recruited from Gotham's cesspool of criminals.
The man got to work going through Gordon's pockets. A stack of papers and a handgun were quickly handed over.
A quick glance over the words written by the commissioner and they revealed quite the tale.
Lies and corruption laid at the foundation on Gotham's justice system it would seem.
The real truth about Harvey Dent and the Batman.
Very interesting.
The sound of a falling body and subsequent gunfire didn't faze him.
The tenacious commissioner was a slippery fellow.
He had to be to uphold the lie that was the basis of the Dent Act.
"He's dead." The man told him.
"So, show me his body."
"The water runs to any of the outflows. We'd never find him."
Barsad already had the tracking device ready to hand over.
He took it and placed it on the man's coat.
"Follow him." He tapped his chest. It was quite comical watching the confusion spread across his face.
"Follow him?"
With a shot, the man was dead and on his way to lead them to Gordon.
The other body would be incinerated. The bodies turning up in the river were getting far too much attention in the news.
Xxx
Stryver delivered the fingerprints supplied by Selina Kyle.
Now it was almost time to reveal themselves to Gotham.
He just needed one thing.
"Has Fitzgerald completed the programme?"
"As far as I know."
"Good."
He sensed that Barsad wanted to say something.
"Speak, brother."
"Fitzgerald said something the other day. Something that concerned the safety of our operation."
"Which was?"
"The men were playing a game…it's not important what game." He spoke quickly. "But when it got to Fitzgerald's turn, he brought up the name Miranda Tate."
That got Bane's attention.
"Why would he bring up Ms Tate?"
"They were discussing women they would like to…" he let the rest hang in the air.
Bane could deduce what the rest of the sentence from Barsad's red face.
"And did you question his interest in her?"
"He just said that she was beautiful and asked what my problem was."
"And did you believe him?"
"He's gotten the better of us before."
"He's gotten the better of you." Bane reminded him.
"With all due respect, I think we need to get rid of him."
Bane pondered the idea in his head. Weighing the pros and cons.
"Let us examine his work first. Then we will see."
"I'll get it now." Barsad left.
Bane had already briefed the team that was going to hit the stock exchange. It needed to go to plan.
If they did indeed need to dispose of Fitzgerald, then it would mean that there was no need to keep Grace.
His stomach twisted slightly.
He didn't know why he felt uneasy at the thought.
The only reason he had ordered Grace to be brought here was to control Patrick and keep him working.
Barsad had a point though. Even if it was the flippant comment of an innocent man, it was still a risk to keep him within the operation.
But then what to do with Grace?
She knew they were in the sewers. Knew there was something coming. She would go to the police and tell them everything. She wasn't obliged to lie for them. Especially if her brother was no longer alive.
"Bane?"
He turned and saw Barsad produce a portable thumb drive.
"He says it'll work after they cut the cables."
"Are you certain?"
"Yes, Jaques confirmed it."
"Very well. Let us visit Mr Fitzgerald."
They headed to the main area and passed Grace's room.
"What about her?"
He eyed the locked door. He could hear the soft melodies flow through the gaps.
The fiddle really was beautiful.
"Leave her, for now."
They rounded the corner to observe Patrick.
He had a furrow between his brows.
He looked determined.
"So, what's the plan?"
Barsad was right. He needed to go.
"Best to be cautious. Get rid of him."
Barsad nodded.
When they reached Patrick's station, Barsad grabbed him and had him in a headlock before he could react.
"What the fuck are you doing?" He wheezed out.
"I'm afraid we are no longer in need of your services." Bane walked around the struggling man to face him.
Patrick's face was red and sweating profusely.
"So that's it huh? I do all the work and you get all the glory?"
"Nonsense, you will be fondly remembered when Gotham is born anew."
"And you're really just going to kill me? Just like that? What kind of sick bastard are you?"
"Of course. You have served your purpose. We have all we need from you. Now you shall follow in the footsteps of your predecessor." Remembering the falling body of Almani made Patrick struggle more.
"There's just o-one problem in comparing me to that prick." He grunted.
"Do tell?"
"I already had a plan in place for when this day came."
Barsad slightly loosened his grip on Patrick. Bane stared into the gasping man's eyes.
"What plan?"
"If you want to keep Talia al Ghul's identity a secret, I suggest you unhand me."
His ears started to ring.
Barsad was right. He did know about Talia.
"And why would we do that?"
"Because every 17 hours, I reset an order that would release everything that would unravel your plans. The fact that Miranda Tate is actually the daughter of Ras al Ghul, whoever he is. The plan to make Talia the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, the nuclear physicist you're forcing to build a neutron bomb and the fact the Talia will be holding the trigger."
That was their entire plan in the hands of a crook.
"When will the order need to be reset?" Barsad tightened his grip.
"I'm not telling you. It could be in 10 hours, or it could be in 10 minutes. You'll just have to wait and watch the news to find out." He smirked.
"Destroy his laptop!" Barsad shouted at the rest of the IT team.
"I have it saved on a website; do you think this is my first day?" He panted.
Bane stared at him with a venomous eye.
"Barsad, release him."
"What!" Barsad balked at Bane.
"You heard me! Release him."
Even if he was lying, the risk was greater than the reward.
Barsad let him go and Patrick fell on the floor breathing deeply.
"I knew you would try to kill me eventually. The minute you killed Almani, right in front of me, I knew it was only a matter of time. I had to have something to bargain with."
"If I did not feel such rage right now, I would almost feel impressed." Bane's fists clenched.
"I'll keep working for you. But no more bullshit. I think it's time I get initiated or whatever you guys call it."
He wanted to be initiated? So that was his game.
"You think you have what it takes?"
"I don't know how many times I have to prove it. I could have told the police any time we were down here."
"But your dear sister would have suffered in retribution."
"I think we both know you wouldn't allow that to happen." He stared down Bane.
"Suffering is not always physical, Mr Fitzgerald."
Patrick tensed at his words.
"I won't release the information if I get initiated."
Bane thought about it. The pros and consequences of what he was going to do next.
"Very well, Mr Fitzgerald." He agreed. "You win."
Bane turned and left a reeling Barsad with a joyous Patrick.
But Patrick would not be smiling for long.
Xxx
Barsad watched as his leader left him with Patrick.
The other man let out a quick sigh of relief.
"That was easier than I thought. Do I get a badge or something?" He grinned at Barsad. "And no hard feelings Bars, I know you're just following orders."
"It's not that simple." Barsad stomach twisted.
"What do you mean?"
"You haven't completed the task yet." Barsad frowned. Still questioning Bane's motives.
"What task?"
"The ultimate test of devotion to the cause." Bane had swiftly returned, carrying a struggling Grace. She was thrown over his shoulder.
He dumped her on the ground and held her close with his massive arm around her waist.
"Patrick! What's going on?" She couldn't break free from Bane's grip.
"Why do you have Grace?" Patrick turned pale.
"To test you."
"Grace, it's going to be okay." He tried to reassure her.
"Barsad, hand him the dagger."
Barsad finally seemed to understand.
Grace gasped at the sight of the ornate blade.
"What do you want me to do with that?" Patrick trembled.
"Isn't it obvious?" Patrick was still staring at Grace in desperation. "You will have to prove your dedication to the League."
Barsad handed him the blade.
"Kill her." Bane ordered.