No Man's Land

Chapter 9

The barren desert gives way to a shimmering oasis... well, from the other vehicles parked in the town. Zinda looks around in amazement. The structure of the buildings are familiar somehow, but she has never seen so many shapes and colors of cars before. Jeff slows the Jeep to a stop in front of a small ranch home with a porch in front.

"Well, this is home." He sighs turning off the engine.

"I thought we were going to the library."

"We will. I need to find my library card..." He grins as he searches through some drawers, "I am not exactly a regular there. Bathroom's down the hall to your left."

Zinda nods and peels off to the hallway. She finds the bathroom and as she turns on the switches, she jumps at a loud humming sound from above her. She turns all the switches off, and the white room is dark again. She turns the switches on one by one: dim light, full brightness, then the humming begins again. Then the thought occurs to her: a fan! She smiles at herself for thinking it was a monster for a brief second. As she washes her hands, she cannot help but look at the woman in the mirror.

Her blonde hair is mangled and twisted together, her face is scuffed with dirt, but her pale blue eyes somehow pierce through the tough outer appearance. She gently brushes the dirt from her face with water. She stares back into the mirror, her eyes now losing their look of innocence, which now has been upstaged by her flawless slightly tanned skin.

She turns off the switches as she walks out of the bathroom when a picture on the wall across the way catches her eye. It is of Jeffery and a young beautiful woman, hugging and grinning madly in front of this house. She smiles, they look happy. She hadn't seen a band on Jeffery's left hand, but there was one on both their ring fingers.

"That was my wife... Janet." He says softly, walking to her side.

Zinda catches the grammar, "What happened to her?"

"She had cancer. We didn't know it at the time, but uh... this was one of the last pictures we took together before things got ugly."

Zinda frowns. She had heard about cancer, but it usually happened to the elderly... not to someone so young. "I'm sorry for your loss."

He forces a smile as he looks away, sniffling a few times, "Yeah, well, we're helping you get on your feet again not me."

Zinda smiles at him, "I find help is reciprocal whether we want it to or not."

He doesn't say a word, but his smile seems slightly more sincere. He holds up the small plastic card. "Come on, let's go solve your mystery."

****************************

My dad paces in front of the map of Gotham, the downtown portion of which is covered in post-it notes. I wheel myself towards the back of the room of officers.

"I want to thank all of you for your hard work today," he says as he addresses the crowd, "Because of that work, we have now mapped a good portion of downtown Gotham." He points to the east side of the isle. "We did not send anyone through Two-Face's territory, but we were able to track along the borders." He gestures along a line of post-its starting from the southern coast going through the center of downtown. "There are only a few blocks east of Old Gotham that are unclaimed until Petit noticed that several buildings along the outskirts of Two-Face's turf had this tagged on the side." He scribbles something on a post-it and smacks it on the board. It looks like a coin with several lines through it, much like Harvey's signature half dollar.

"We believe this is what Two-Face is using to mark his turf." Petit booms from the side of the room, gesturing to the dollar, "The next couple days, we will send groups to each building, at least four or five to a group... we all know what this maniac is capable of. He's taking advantage of gaining more territory while he can. It has already increased by around three blocks east towards downtown."

My dad frowns, "Further north near the Diamond District, we did see some of Penguin's men snooping around the area. This means we might have a turf war on our hands if Penguin and Two Face go for the same places. This is where we come in. We send some teams in to secure the borders we have now. This station will be our base camp and headquarters. We will rotate teams each week and always have two teams at HQ."

The Commissioner starts to assign squads to different points that they've established to be safe. They'll be on their own until they rotate back to headquarters, and in this town, no hope of immediate back up can be a death sentence. I glance from my dad to Sarah, who is standing inconspicuously in the back. This is what they've chosen to do; protect this city and its residents no matter what the cost... as have I.

*****************************

Lois takes the dishes from the table with a smile.

"Dinner was delicious, Lois," Bruce nods, "Thank you."

"Clark helped." He hears from the kitchen as the blue eyed man with glasses grins across from him.

"Was that steak-"

"Cooked with heat vision?"

The two might not always get along, but on some days they actually laugh together.

Bruce smirks, "Huh, that's a first... I might have to look into Kryptonian chefs for my restaurant investments."

Clark chuckles as Lois comes back to sit with them, confused with all the laughter, but deciding to enjoy it while it lasts. For a moment, it's like nothing happened; as if business colleagues are just having dinner... Bruce's smile is the first to fall.

"If there's anything we can do, Bruce," Lois starts looking between her husband and Bruce, "Please, don't hesitate to ask... I just have no idea where to start..."

Bruce nods as he sits back in his chair, "When I have an idea I will be the first to let you know, Lois."

"The interview is a good start," Clark smiles reassuringly, always trying to bring some hope to the moment, "It will get an accurate first hand account out there. It's been a complete blackout, and what isn't censored by the government is so diluted or it's complete speculation... if you're able to get back in, Bruce, maybe some leaked footage might spur public interest. Then, Washington will have to look."

Bruce silently nods again, concerned with the well being of his city... but one inhabitant in particular. He feigns a smile listening to Lois go on about the ratings of their interview while his mind is clouded with wonder about Alfred.

******************************

Freedom at last. She takes a deep breath of the outside air, instantly coughing from the smoke rising from the city around her. It's what she's always wanted... but with so much fire and destruction there is not a plant in sight. This is not what she's wanted. It would take years for her plants to regrow... even with her help.

She digs her fingers into the soil below her as she stands. The building that held her captive is now falling to pieces in front of her. She smiles, staring at the rushing river below that carried her to safety. Somedays she hates the poison running through her veins, but today it has saved her. She smiles, planting her foot in the clay. Roots begin to trace around her feet and scaling upwards along the riverbank, creating steps for their mother to walk on. When she reaches the surface, she notices the familiar surroundings of Robinson Park. Because there are no buildings around it for miles, it has been virtually unscathed by the quake aside from some places where the ground has splintered apart.

This once seeming disaster might prove to be a miracle, giving her what she's always wanted: home.

She grins as the grass grows taller around her, "Perfect."