LOVE + FEAR | Damirae

HYPOCRATES

Raven sat in dumbfounded silence as Luthor prattled on. "If Joker shows up and tries to take over this meeting, Grey, there are some pills I have left over from my root canal in my top desk drawer. The max is two. Get me four."

Raven kept glancing at Two-Face. He sat a few seats away, texting on his phone. Every now and then he would look up at her and smile.

"Is there a problem?" Luthor's eyes darted between Raven and Gotham's former district attorney.

Raven's shoulders hunched. Luthor was blind to social cues and discreteness — or he simply refused to take part in them. She held a file up to her lips and whispered in his ear, "How well do you know him?"

Luthor made a face at her attempt of incognito. "We're not besties. It's hard to socialize with the Gotham crew. They all have history with one another, dating back to their early years."

"Arkham?" said Raven.

"Farther." Lex's eyes narrowed as more spots were filled around them. "Scarecrow, Riddler, and Two-Face went to high school together. Mr. Freeze lived down the block from Quinn growing up. That's how it is in Gotham: everyone knows everyone. If you're an outsider, it's hell to make it here. Thankfully, I'm gifted."

Raven marveled at the room with new eyes. How easily those from Gotham were drawn to one another. They sat side by side without the slightest hint of unease. Did Raven's mother cross paths with the villains in the room?

She knew Two-Face, evidently. But how?

Something tapped Raven's shoulder. She looked up. Conner leaned in close to murmur in her ear, "Hey, I found something you gotta see."

"What is it?"

"It's...relevant." Conner's eyes darted to Two-Face.

Raven looked to Luthor. He scoffed, "You're lucky you are one personal assistant of five. Take care of him."

Raven softly excused herself as she followed Conner out of the room. The hushed atmosphere of the meeting vanished as they walked along the corridor.

"What did you find?" said Raven.

"It's uh...a couple floors down. Floor six. Here," A workout bag was slung over Kon's shoulder. His hand plunged inside and procured a pair of black roller skates with red shoelaces.

"Are those...for me?" Raven blinked in surprise. She hesitantly accepted the pair.

"Yeah. I thought it would be fun..."

"Like Career Opportunities?"

"That is a great movie...! Besides, this is pretty intense stuff, so I thought it would lighten the mood." Conner glanced at the floor.

Pretty intense stuff? A pit was forming in Raven's stomach. "How did you find out about this?"

They boarded the elevator and Conner pressed the button. The box around them hummed as it came to life. Raven's reflection slid across every glossy surface, throwing a worried glance at her companion.

Conner held out a letter in a black envelope. "Found this on the floor before the door of your office. Someone must've just put it there after you left for the meeting."

Raven's heart clenched as her eyes fell upon the letter. Two-Face had walked right past her door as she left. Did he plant it then? Was it the work of one of his goons? Or was it someone else entirely?

Conner passed the parchment to Raven. She held the letter up to the light. It was difficult to tell with a black envelope, but she didn't see any odd shape of the contents inside. There was something hard inside the envelope that was cool against her fingers. Her eyes flickered and her Demonic Stare inspected the letter.