Just Breathe

Chapter 10

Beth opened her eyes as the roar of the wind and traffic was suddenly replaced by an echoing silence, filled only by the purr of the bike's engine.

She should have been freaking out over the threat to her safety; or annoyed that her life had suddenly been put on hold while she effectively went into hiding; or at least curious about where she was being taken...

But pressed tight against Bruce's back, her arms clenched around his body, her thighs bracketing his...it was the most contact she'd had with another human being in years. And touch-starved as she was, she'd decided to close her eyes against reality and pretend.

Pretend that she was a normal girl, going for a ride with a normal guy.

Pretend that she wasn't a freak. That her life wasn't in danger. That the guy actually cared about her, and wasn't just acting out of some warped sense of heroic responsibility.

It was nice while it lasted, but the real world inevitably intruded.

She sighed as the bike came to a stop, and reluctantly removed her hands. She sat back and felt the warmth between their bodies dissipate.

"Are you okay?" Bruce asked, his voice flat. He hadn't made a move to dismount, and was staring straight ahead.

She hated not being able to see his eyes. They were so expressive, she was usually able to gauge his mood from looking into them.

But she had no idea what he was thinking or feeling right now and it was driving her crazy. If he really did regret their friendship, did he resent having to help her now? Did he hate the idea of bringing her here, into his private space?

"I'm fine," she said curtly, swinging her leg off the bike. She stepped away from him to survey her surroundings. They were in an enormous underground cavern, the space lit at the far end by spotlights situated under an arching staircase. It was an abandoned train station, she realised, noticing the lettering on the arch and the railway lines under her feet.

"Where are we?" she asked, curious despite the awkward situation. She wandered over to the car in the corner noting that someone had been working on the engine.

"Underneath Wayne Tower," he mumbled. He made a beeline for the workstation beneath the arch and started flicking through information on the monitors. The crackle of a police radio filled the silence between them.

She felt uncomfortable and out of place, and he was acting so strange - cold and distant.

He must really hate that she was here, intruding into his life.

"Did you find him?" a voice called from the floor above. An older man descended the stairs; his hair and beard were greying but his eyes were sharp and he looked lean and fit beneath his shirt and waistcoat.

Bruce didn't look up from the screen. "Not exactly."

"Then why are you-" he spotted Beth the moment he reached the floor. His double-take would have been comical under any other circumstances.

"Hi," she said, offering him a nervous smile.

"Hi," he responded slowly. "Bruce?"

"Alfred, this is Beth. Beth, this is Alfred, he's my...he's Alfred." Bruce's eyes flicked between them, then he shut down his computer and moved back to the bike. He called to Alfred over his shoulder. "I need you to get a room ready for Beth, she's going to be staying here while Newsome's loose."

He mounted the bike and started the engine. She ran over to him, suddenly angry. "You're just leaving me here?"

He flipped the hood of his jacket up, creating shadows that hid his face from view. "I'm gonna try and track Newsome. The sooner I catch him, the sooner you can go home."