Book Three : Siege

Chapter 30

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Tonight, the Batman would meet up with Bane. Tonight, it would all be over. That was my hope. We would be finally free. Bruce would let go of the Batman at last. And I would live a life free of knowing of what was to come. That was my hope.

It started to drizzle on my drive out the city and by the time I reached the Wayne Manor, it was pouring down. I wasn't really expecting the front door to be unlocked but it was. Dripping wet I stepped into the hall. Bruce walked into the hall as I was shutting the door. He was holding a towel; while another was draped around his shoulder.

"The rain got you too, huh?" I smirked before hanging my jacket on the rack. When I turned back, Bruce put the towel around my shoulders. "Thanks." I smiled at him.

"Selina Kyle agreed to help the Batman." Bruce told me as he rubbed my arms. "Tonight, I'm meeting with Bane."

I knew it was happening it would happen that night, I knew that. But somehow, my heart just dropped in my chest. It was becoming a little harder to breathe. "I know." I nodded very quietly. "You know what to do."

"I do." Bruce said his voice as quiet as mine.

"Good."

"It'll all be over soon." Bruce's hands went to my shoulder. I was now shivering. I did not know whether it was because of the cold rain or for fear of losing him.

"I know." I reached out to touch his cheek. "I know." And brushed my lips against his.

I knew everything would be alright in the end. Bruce knew what to do. And once, it was all taken care of, we could live a happy life. Together. Maybe even away from Gotham. I really hoped so. I kissed him harder, slid my arms up and around his neck. His arms went around my waist as he pulled me closer to him. Between the flurry of kisses and the shedding of clothes, the lights shut off.

"You forgot to pay your bills, Mr. Wayne?" I laughed; Bruce joined in.

This wasn't the first time; Bruce and I had been together. And it wouldn't be the last. And somehow, this time felt different. I didn't know what it was. Maybe the knowledge of what was to come or the fear of losing him. All I knew was that it was just him and me in that moment and nothing else. No Bane, no Miranda or Talia, just us.

"We still can leave Gotham." I suggested one last time. We were now sprawled on the floor, wrapped in several blankets. "Start a new life somewhere else. Just the two of us."

He pulled me closer. "We will soon." And kissed me.

"Promise, you'll come back safe." I said quietly.

"I promise." And he kissed me again.

I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door the morning after. I was alone. Bruce was gone. When did he leave? And how long was he gone? I did not know. And that frightened me. What had gone wrong?

I threw on a robe and rushed to the door. "Blake?"

"Sanders." He greeted. "Is Mr. Wayne here?" He stepped in.

"No." I answered.

"Do you know where I can find him?" Blake questioned.

"I don't know." I shook my head. "He left last night, to meet up with Bane. And I don't know how long ago that was."

How could I have slept through the entire night? How did I not wake up? Why didn't he wake me up? The questions were swirling though my mind. My heart was pounding in my chest, so hard it was ringing in my own ears. I couldn't think or breathe. Something must have really gone wrong. We had a plan; he knew how to neutralize Bane. I had told him. So, why wasn't he there? Was it possible that he was—?

"Hey, Emma." Blake said soothingly. He was holding my arms. "Take a deep breath. It's okay." He took in a deep breath before letting it out. And I found myself imitating him. "I'm here. It's okay. I'm here."

"Selina Kyle." I said when I could breathe.

"What?"

"We need to find her." I continued. "She's the one who took him to Bane."

I needed to know what truly happened that night. I would not say it would have been easy. But once Bane was neutralized, Miranda would lose her greatest support. It would have taken time but Gotham would have been saved. We would all have been safe. What went wrong? The only person who could answer all those questions or shed some light on what truly happened, was Selina Kyle.

"Get me Commissioner Gordon." Blake said on the radio. Selina was walking into a taxi. "I got a line on the congressman's kidnapping."

I could be mad at Selina for taking him there. I could. And yet, I couldn't. Selina was the kind of person who would do anything to survive. Adaptability was her strongest suit. And that was how she survived. So, I knew why she did it. But that wasn't why I was after her. I needed answers and she was the only one who could provide them.

We got waved passed the barriers and metal detectors. And intercepted her before she could board the plane. We moved her down the hall to an empty room. Two officers stood outside the door.

"I showed your picture to the congressman. Guess what." Blake started as we both sat down across her.

"Don't tell me. Still in love?" Selina replied.

"Oh, head over heels." Blake retorted. "Pressing charges, though. You've made some mistakes, Ms. Kyle."

"Girl's gotta eat."

"And you have an appetite." Blake continued. "Why would you run? You can't hide with a record like this."

"Maybe it's not you I'm running from."

"Bane?" I asked. "What do you know about him?"

"That you should be as afraid of him as I am."

"We can offer you protection." Blake suggested. Selina rolled her eyes. "Okay." Blake stood up but I remained seated. "When we spotted you, we were looking for a friend of ours. Bruce Wayne." Selina looked up at him. "Did they kill him?"

"I'm not sure."

Blake walked towards the door. "Could you give me a few minutes with her?"

"Sanders, I don't think that's a good idea."

"I just need a few minutes." I insisted. I glanced up at him. "Trust me." Blake hesitated but he did walk out. "You really don't know whether he is alive or dead?" I asked her.

"I don't know what happened to him." She spoke.

"But you saw the whole thing." I leaned over. "You were there last night. I know you took him to the maintenance shafts underneath Wayne Enterprises. I know you watched while they fought. And so did his men." Selina remained quiet as she listened. "What I don't know is what truly happened during that fight. So, tell me what you saw. Tell me what happened."

Selina remained quiet for a few seconds maybe debating with herself. Deciding whether she should tell me the truth or not. "I thought Bane was unstoppable. I've seen the way he fought. The Batman did put up a good fight." She started fidgeting with her handcuffs. "It looked like he was winning."

"Who?" I asked knowing the answer.

"The Batman." She glanced up at me. "He broke Bane's mask. Bane fell down. He looked like he was in pain." She leaned in. "And then she stabbed him."

"She? Who?" I scrunched up my eyebrows.

"Miranda Tate." Selina said. "She talked to him but I couldn't hear what she said." She leaned back into her seat. "And then she left."

"And then what?"

"Bane is a beast. Unbeatable. Unstoppable." Selina said. "After he was stabbed, the Batman didn't stand a chance."

I let the information sink in. Miranda Tate was there. And she intervened in the fight. "Thank you." I stood up and left without uttering another word.

Miranda Tate had revealed herself to Bruce sooner that she was supposed to. She must have stood in the shadows watching the fight. And when she saw that the Batman was taking the upper hand, she stepped in. Again, Selina had not confirmed whether Bruce had survived the encounter or not. If he had survived which I was convinced he did, Bane and Miranda had already moved him out of Gotham.

Their plan was for Bruce to witness the destruction of Gotham. It was for him to watch his city burn while he was rotting in a cell, powerless. I was holding onto that hope that their plan for Bruce had not changed. They wanted revenge and the only way for them was to destroy Gotham. As Ra's Al Ghul had planned years ago.

Yes. Bruce was still alive. I had to hold onto that hope.

"You were right, Commissioner." Foley walked into Gordon's hospital room. "Will you excuse us, please?" The nurse left the room.

"What happened?" Gordon asked him.

"Your masked man kidnapped the Wayne Enterprises board." Foley explained. And that was just the beginning, I thought to myself. "He let most of them go, but he took three into the sewers."

"No more patrols. No more hide and seek." Gordon said. "Get every available cop down there and smoke him out!"

"The mayor won't want panic." Foley told him.

"So, it's a training exercise." Blake suggested.

Foley looked to Gordon for approval. The latter nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't take you seriously."

Blake was about to follow Foley, as I waited for Gordon's orders. "Not you." Gordon stopped Blake. "You're telling the Batman's gone—so you chase up the Daggett leads any way you can."

"Yes, sir." Blake nodded at the Commissioner. I nodded too Gordon before following Blake out of the room.

There was no stopping Bane for now. I would be an unwilling participant in his mind games. Or rather Talia's mind games. The police officers were being deployed in the tunnels to look for Bane. Blake and I were following the Daggett's lead. But I knew how it would all end up. In chaos. But I had no choice but to play along. I did not need them to suspect me. I could not afford it.

"We've been to half of Daggett's cements plants and all locations they poured for underground's constructions." Blake said to Gordon. The call was on speaker.

"Anything strange about the pourings?" Gordon asked.

"Last, I check, Boss. We were detectives. Not exactly civil engineers." I told him.

"But you know about patterns? Keep looking."

"Right." I hung up as Blake took a right.

Two construction workers were on site. "Hey. Hey!" Blake called out one of them as we got closer to them. "That was you in front of the stock exchange, wasn't it?"

"When?" He asked Blake. I turned around to keep an eye on his friend. The latter was standing a little too close to us.

"When?" Blake repeated. "When half of the city's cops were trying to pull onto Castle Street and your truck was shutting them out."

"Oh, yeah. You're the cop."

"Detective now." I corrected him. "And there's one thing, Detectives don't do, right Blake?"

"We don't believe in coincidences."

The worker behind my back pulled out his knife and attacked us. I pushed his arm away and kicked him in the guts. I pulled out my gun and shot him right in the chest. When I turned around Blake had taken down the second worker. Once, he understood that the man was dead, he threw away his gun. Disgusted.

"Hey. You okay, kid?" I rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I didn't want to kill him." He said with a slight tremor in his voice.

"Yeah, well, he wanted to kill you." I nodded putting my gun back in its holster. "And those men were definitely Bane's. Not Daggett's." Blake pulled out his phone to keep Gordon updated. I started looking around the construction site. "Polyisobutylene." I read out as I was looking at those barrels. "Blake?" I called him. My eyes went to the motor oil, next to it.

"They're pouring explosives." Blake stated.

I rushed to the car to call off the operation. "Patch me in to Foley."

"Foley's overseeing the operation."

"They're heading into a trap!" I yelled on the radio. "So, patch me in, now!"

Blake jumped into the car and started it as fast as he could. "Foley."

"It's a trap! Pull everyone out!" I told him quickly. "Bane has been pouring concrete lace with explosives!"

"Where?"

"In the tunnels!" I said, "There's ring around them. They'll blow it and trap the cops underground!"

"Pull them out! Pull them out now!"

That was the last thing we heard before we heard the detonations in the distance. They were going off all over Gotham. Only getting nearer. My grip on the handle above door, tightened as the detonations sounded closer and closer. The streets around us exploded, the car lifted into the air. Before we crashed into the ground.

The siege had officially started.