The Last Man Standing

Chapter 3: Plans

"You can't be serious! No way in hell am I going to law school! Why the hell would I want to waste my time practicing something I have no interest in! I have a better chance of becoming a criminal mastermind than getting in there anyway!"

"Why must you always fight me?! Think about your future! Think about all of the possible opportunities! I thought you said you wanted to make it big!"

"Not like this! I want to do everything on my own! That's the whole point in growing up! That's the whole point in becoming an adult! I want to become someone big on my own! Someone important! Then everyone will remember my name! And no one would dare forget it!"

"You're going to law school and that's final!"

I clenched my fists angrily. The thought finally dawned on me. All this time her and dad wanted me to make it big just so they can take all they can from me. It was always like this. Not once could I get a break from them. Why couldn't I become the person I wanted? Why couldn't I become an actor? Or an artist? Why were they so intent on getting me into law?!

"No! I refuse! All this time all you and dad have been doing is mooching off of me! I'm tired of it! I'm going to become great someday without you nagging in my ear twenty four seven! I'm finally going to be happy without you always bringing me down! I don't care about money! I don't care 'bout fancy things or parties! I just want to be happy! I want to smile and laugh freely! I want to find someone who won't forget about me!"

Her lips lifted up in almost a sneer. The ugliness in it did not frighten me. I was disgusted by my own parents, especially my mother, but I was not afraid of them. Abuse me, torture me, but I would never be afraid of pathetic excuses for parents like them.

"So you're going to leave your brother to die?!"

Before I could stop myself, I swung my hand up and smacked her. All I saw was red. All I wanted to do was grab her by her stringy hair and smash her head in.

But I didn't.

Somehow I was able to stop myself despite me not wanting to. I would never leave my brother to die. He was my light. He was the only one who could make my emotions stable and my mind clear of all thoughts. He was the only blood that I truly loved and for her to accuse me of such thing, infuriated me.

"Don't you dare make accusations like that towards me! You're worse than scum! You're the shit on my shoes! Ignore me all you want, fine! Hit me all you want, now we're talking! But don't you ever, ever, say something like that to me! I love Alexander more than life itself! I'll do whatever it takes to protect him and make sure he's happy! Something you wouldn't understand in that pitch black heart of yours!"

*

**

He blinked and looked unsure for a second as if assuming that's not my real name. The uncertainty was gone as soon as it came and he chuckled again. It was a lighter tone than last time and he seemed entirely amused by the situation.

"Nina, huh? Pretty name for a pretty girl I guess. So tell me, why are you out here all alone? There's a lot of psychopaths roaming around such as the Joker or the Queen. Especially since someone let out some of the Arkham prisoners. Anyone can go after you."

My nose twitched slightly. I wasn't worried about some clown wannabe. He was not my main problem until I become introduced to him. But Jack was right about the escaped convicts. With them running around it would surely cause trouble for myself and the Joker.

"I was born fighting and I'll go out fighting. It's not my life you should be concerned about, more so the idiot who tries to attack me. My temper isn't the best one after all."

I watched as his tongue darted out and traced over his scars quickly. I shrugged it off, assuming that it was out of habit much like my twitching when I feel certain emotions. I was curious about how he got them, but did not ask. Personal stuff like that I respected.

"I see." His grin finally diminished as he exaggeratedly plopped on the ground in front of where I stood. "Well? Are you going to sit, princess?"

I rolled my eyes and sat back down in front of him. It's not like I had anything better to do and I did find this man slightly interesting. I leaned against the tree and crossed my arms.

"Just so you know, I have a knife and I'm pretty skilled at using it."

He smirked. "Don't worry so much, princess. If I wanted you dead you wouldn't be breathing right now."

We sat in silence for about twenty minutes. It was comfortable and non-awkward unlike most encounters I have had with strangers. He suddenly clicked his tongue in annoyance as he glanced at his watch.

"Hey princess, you want to meet up again on Sunday? Same time and everything."

I checked him over one last time. He was about 6 foot give or take an inch or so, his teeth were okay, and he had a strong build, but seemed kind of lanky with his brown jacket on. I didn't find his personality overbearing or anything of sorts. I found him interesting and strange, and his scars made him stick out.

"I'd like that."

He grinned again at me before stalking off somewhere. I glanced at the time on my phone 12:04 pm. Deciding that my team needed to plan another heist and I, too, got up and walked away from the tree.

***

"You're late." I kept walking despite Liam's pestering. "Did you meet someone? Is he good looking? Does he treat you right?"

I pushed his face away from me with my hand and sat down on a crate. Ethan and Ella walked into the meeting part of the warehouse and sat on a crate in front of mine together. Liam sighed and sat on a different one.

"We need to up our game. I believe the Joker is now after us." I got many protests, but I quickly silenced them with a glare. "Yeah, I know you guys are against this, but it's either us or him. We'll need more men. I'll leave that to you, Liam. Make sure they're trustworthy and won't try to betray us. Ella, it has come to my attention that with the Arkham escapes running around, we will possibly be a target. Find out who escaped, how, and get me their files. Ethan, I need you to help me with setting up bombs in three major points."

"What places? How big do you want the explosion?"

"The News Station is the first one followed by an apartment complex and a bank of your choosing. I want this to be big but not too big. Focus more on the damage it will cause rather than the lives it will take. We need to show others that we will fight. We need to show the Joker and all of the other criminals that they are outmatched."

That this meant war.