Dangers in the Dark

A Little Murder Between Friends 20.1

Holly POV

Darkness loomed over me, and the chill of the Gotham night had never soaked so deeply into my skin. It froze me to my very core, mixing with my memories of the night's events. While the streets were silent, my mind would not quiet and as I walked side by side with Bruce, neither one of us speaking, I couldn't help but replay the way Reggie's shouts had stopped so abruptly leaving an emptiness behind.

"Hey!" an unfamiliar voice called out from behind Bruce and me, breaking me out of my mental film. I glanced over my shoulder to see a boy, only a few years older than us, entirely dressed in dirty black clothing walking up to us with a slight swagger in his walk. "You look far from home."

"How observant of you," I replied, really not in the mood for anyone's shit tonight. "Just back off, alright. We have nothing that you want."

"On the contrary, girl, your friend looks like he has a lot that I want," the boy sneered, and at that exact moment Bruce's watch reflected off one of the bin fires that the homeless nearby had created.

"Get away from them," Selina warned the boy, approaching him from behind.

"Or what?" the boy retorted.

Selina's only response was to flick open the pocketknife she had been carrying around and glaring fiercely at the boy. Reminding me of a cat – ironically enough – showing her claws, Selina waited for the boy to try anything.

"Whatever," the boy scoffed, walking away from us clearly deciding it wasn't worth the fight.

"Come on," Selina encouraged, taking both mine and Bruce's arms and tugging us along.

"Did you go back?" Bruce finally asked.

"The cops were there when I went. Are they still there now, S?" I inquired, glancing over at Selina as she led us into a part of the alley with more light.

"They were when I left," Selina nodded.

"And?" Bruce said.

"And? What do you think? He fell out of a five-story, Bruce. He's dead," Selina told him.

Selina was about to turn away when Bruce spoke up again. "Why'd you do it? He told us what we wanted. He told us about Bunderslaw. You didn't have to kill the guy!"

"Yes, I did!" Selina raised her voice in response to Bruce doing the same. "Cause the moment we'd left, he was gonna go tell his boss. Who works for you, by the way. He's the one who tried to kill me, who tried to kill your butler ... who probably killed your parents."

"Bruce, Selina did what all three of us wanted to do," I spoke up quietly, in case there were any onlookers. "She did what had to be done. Selina saved your life. Don't get mad at her for that. Now, come on. Let's just get home."

"Wait—"

"Holly's right. Just go home," Selina interrupted Bruce, who was on the verge of protesting.

"We still have to find out who Bunderslaw is and what he wants," Bruce said.

"You mean you do," Selina corrected.

"You really think this is over? He's gonna come after us. All of us," Bruce reminded us.

"So, what do you think we should do?" I asked, hoping to diffuse some of the tension between my two friends.

Bruce was silent for a few moments before his eyes widened slightly in realisation. "His safe."

"What?" Selina voiced what I was thinking.

"Every senior executive at Wayne Enterprises has a safe in their office. Any secrets Bunderslaw has, that's where they'll be," Bruce explained.

"Key or combination?" Selina asked.