𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭. 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚖𝚊𝚗

00.03

      The club was blaring as usual when Lennox walked in. She wore a red dress that clung tighly to her figure, causing men and women's eyes to catch on her body.

     "Can you hear me?" Batman spoke through an earpiece.

     "Yeah,'' Lennox whispered. She felt eyes boring into her back as she walked through the lower level. She floated down a flight of stairs and headed to a guarded door.

     "What are you doing down here?" the bouncer said.

     "Hospitality,'' Lennox crooned, she flashed a card walking past him and through the doors. She looked around the room, trying not to make eye contact with any of the men there.

     "You need to look at them longer so I can ID them." Batman drawled. Ruefully, Lennox turned around to give the group of men a second look. "These guys have a little problem with eye contact don't they?"

     "Feels good, doesn't it?" she whispered.

     On her left a man called. "Yeah baby, feels real good!"

     She heard Batman rattling off names she'd heard before. She strode past a group of people doing drops at a table.

     "Dropheads," she groaned, forgetting Batman could hear her.

     "Isn't that what you were doing around the time I found you?" he crooned. Lennox ignored him and scanned the group of people quickly. She caught the eyes of one of the men and looked away. "Wait," Batman said. "Look at that guy again, I didn't see the name.

     "No, if I look it's gonna start something. And I really don't want that."

     "Look again," Batman demanded. Lennox groaned and turned, forcing a smile at the man. "Got it. It's Gil Colson, he's the DA." Batman said.

     "Yeah, well now he's coming over here." Lennox huffed.

     "Talk to him."

     "Hey," Colson said to Lennox.

     "Oh, hey," the girl smiled.

     "Uh, I'm Gil," the man slurred, blinking hard.

     "Hey, I've seen you before!" Lennox feigned naivety.

     "Oh!" he chuckled. "I'm the DA. Do you uh, do you wanna come sit with me and my friends?" Colson asked, stumbling over his words.

     "Go," Batman said. Lennox nodded and unwillingly followed Colson to his table. She took a seat in a chair beside Colson and crossed her legs.

     "Uh, everyone," Colson started, "this is um," he hesitated, not knowing her name.

     "Nela," she used her alias.

     Batman was listing familiar names in her ear while Colson talked. "It's nearly half the DA's office," Batman sighed. Colson continued rambling about something incoherent, but Lennox was focused on her thoughts. Maddening fear crept through her mind. She hadn't been here in almost five years and she felt like she couldn't breathe.

     "Ghost, take a deep breath." Batman muttered. "Ask Colson about the rat."

     Lennox took a deep breath and placed a hand on Colson's thigh. "Hey, what's this about a rat?" She tilted her head innocently.

     "Well, uh," Colson struggled with his words. He started spewing barely comprehensive words about Mitchell and Falcone before the woman on the other side interrupted.

     "Let's not talk about this. This is the kind of political pillow talk that got that Russian girl disappeared." She said quietly, and then walked off.

     Lennox stood and followed her through the crowd, grabbing her arm. "What do you know about Annika?" Lennox asked. This girl may have been her only lead to her friend's whereabouts. She was quickly stopped by a tall, lanky man with glasses Carmine Falcone.

     "Hey there, beautiful." Falcone mumured. "I haven't seen you around in a while." He trailed a gentle hand down her face. Lennox forgot all about Annika and the woman. All she could think about was the way his hand made her skin crawl.

     "I took a break, but I pick up some shifts now and then." Lennox shrugged. It was the truth. Whenever she needed a little extra cash she'd go to the Iceberg or even 44 Below and pick up a shift.

     "Ah," Falcone sighed. "Don't be a stranger, beautiful." And he walked away. Lennox thought she would vomit right here in the middle of the club. She needed to wash her face, she needed to take a scalding shower, anything to get his touch of her skin and out of her mind. She rushed to the bathroom and clasped the sides of a sink, hard.

     "Ghost, you need to breathe, okay." Batman said through the earpiece. "Whatever that was, you need to let yourself calm down."

     Lennox heaved a deep breath and exhaled roughly. "I can't. I need to go home." Batman let out a noise of protest before being quickly cut off by the woman, "I'm coming home, Vengeance."

     Removing the contact and earpiece, Lennox sucked in a few more deep breaths before exiting the bathroom. She left 44 Below and strode through the rest of the Iceberg. "Hey, you have a nice night, Nela. Stay safe on the streets tonight," the twins called as she left. She knew they were being genuine, but tonight had left a sickening feeling in her gut.

     Lennox looked around trying to remember where she hidden her bike, when Colson came stumbling out of the club. "Nela!" he called. "H-hey. You need a ride?" he asked.

     "No, thanks," Lennox smiled.

     "You sure? That's me right there," he gestured to a black SUV.

     "I've already got a ride, thanks anyway." Lennox walked down the street and around the building where he bike was parked. She straddled the seat and sped to the Cave.

---

     Bruce was fuming when Lennox returned. She ignored him and sat down at her computer. Clearly, Bruce didn't like that so he cleared his throat and stood beside the woman. "What the hell was that, Lennox?" he asked barely remaining calm. She stood and faced him, arms crossed.

     "I needed to get out of there, Bruce. I told you." Lennox huffed.

     Bruce chuckled as if in disbelief. "Since when can you not handle a job like that, Lennox? You've been doing this a lot longer than I have."

     "You go stare into the eyes of your abuser and tell me how you feel, Bruce." Lennox had stepped closer to the taller man. She heard the sharp intake of air when she spoke. Bruce took a step back and dropped his shoulders.

     "I'm sorry Len. I didn't know." Bruce apologized. "I thought you just quit on me for no reason." Lennox shook her head and leaned her forehead on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, placing his head atop hers.

     "It felt so disgusting," Lennox started, "having him touch me. I wanted to scream, to cry, to hurt him the way he hurt me." Bruce held her tighter, running a hand through her black and white hair. "But I couldn't. I just couldn't."

     "He'll never touch you again, Lennox. I promise."

03/08/22