Closer Than Your Shadow

Comfort In All The Noise

December 9th 10:46 p.m.
Gotham
Ace Chemicals

I went to the edge of the roof once I heard the engine.

Natasha's truck.

Four doors opened, and I didn't need more than a second to know that it was Claire. Even from a hundred feet up. Even through the rain.

She disappeared behind the metal door, and I couldn't help the shake of my hands. The tremors that rattled my body whenever I got nervous. It'd been a while since I had them. I wasn't supposed to be the nervous one. I was trained to be composed, and that wasn't a lesson I learned from Bruce.

My dad and mom drilled that into my head. I was a performer. A pretender.

It took me 3 minutes to slash their tires and get onto the rafters overlooking the room.

Dom, Red, Natasha, Jacob.

Claire.

I watched as their eyes flicked from Claire to Dom.

He pulled something out of a small box and extended his hand towards her. She hesitated and her hand made a fist on-top of the table. Something was wrong.

She was too close to them.

If I was going to do this, end this tonight. There was no postponing it.

"MARONI!"

It was enough to get them to leave their spots and look up.

They couldn't see me. Dom told me that by the way his eyes frantically tried to track where I was.

They scattered.

Jacob wasn't close to hitting me, so I stalked to the edge of the rail. I was waiting for her to run out the door, but she watched the lights swing.

I wanted to scream at her, whisk her away or drive her to the airport myself.

Then she was face to face with Natasha and she stepped back.

Dom's niece brought out a gun and everything went blurry.

I pinched the titanium blade between my thumb and finger. I brought my arm back and I threw it to Dom. He looked at the knife embedded in the wood next to his throat. He didn't even look back, he kept pulling at the wooden slabs of the crate.

My feet went over the edge and I vaulted over the rail. About a 20 foot drop but she was already gone.

"Fuck you!" Jacob screamed behind me. He slammed into my back like a linebacker and we both crumbled to the floor. He was trying to pin me but the back of my elbow crashed into his jaw. He rolled off me with a curse.

Dom made his way up the staircase and I watched him throw the door open to the roof as I got up.

I barely missed the barrage of bullets from Jacob, but I wasn't really thinking clearly once my hand wrapped around my baton. My knuckles got tense and suddenly I needed to hurt someone, anyone.

I used to never see red like this. I was always the one with a conscience compared to Bruce. But lately I couldn't control my anger or my actions. My hands would move on their own accord, no thinking involved just muscle memory and rage.

My arm reeled back once I was about 4 paces away and the end of my baton collided with his wrist. He cursed and his gun flung to the cement. I didn't hear the pop I wanted, so I just did it again. But harder.

I slashed the metal against his face and he staggard backwards.

"You fucking cunt!" He cursed.

Well, now I know where Claire got her potty mouth from.