THE BAT CHASE (Batwoman/Ruby Rose fanfic)

THIRTY-ONE (Kate POV)

"This is weird, n'est-ce pas? I don't see anyone, no guards watching and this silence is getting on my nerves..." I growl quietly for Dani to understand that I agree with her while we walk slowly around the castle, hiding behind some carousel horses that are piled up near a wall to take a look at the back door taking advantage of the fact that the clouds have moved away, it's not raining for a change and the moonlight lights the park up for some seconds. Everything seems clear but it looks like something out of a horror movie: some legs of the horses are missing, the paint is peeling on the walls, clowns with crazy eyes stare at us from an old poster, one graffiti catches my eyes on the side of a stand... The artist is pretty good and the face of his Joker is very similar to the real one, with his green hair and psychotic grin. I can't help shuddering even if my cousin got rid of him long time ago and it's not my problem anymore. "What do you think it means?"

"I don't know," I admit frowning and trying to focus on our operation again. "Maybe Cobalt Blue thinks he's invincible, overconfidence has been the ruin of more than one criminal in this city, or maybe his army isn't as big as the wants us to believe and there aren't enough blue shirts to monitor the entire park. The Amusement Mile is as huge as any other neighbourhood in Gotham." We both stare at the door quietly for a minute, weighting in our minds if it'd be a good idea to run towards it and just jump inside not knowing what's waiting for us on the other side, when it opens suddenly and two young boys walk out chatting lively. Dani pushes my shoulder so I bend down even more because my red wig could grab their attention easily while they laugh and share a cigarette carelessly. Both boys fall on the ground in a heartbeat and my companion gets up calmly, moving closer to them. "What the...?"

"It's the orchid elixir, in addition to the spray you know it's also very useful with darts..." Dani kicks one of blue shirts slightly, who's snoring calmly, while I look at her in disbelief. "We should hide the bodies, shouldn't we? The last batch I distilled is really powerful so they'll sleep for at least 15 minutes, I hope it's enough time before they wake up and raise de alarm..."

"Have I told you that I adore you?" I whisper while carrying one of them and leaving him behind the horses.

"Don't stop telling me, s'il te plaît..." My girl follows me dragging the second guy and we make sure they're completely hid before walking through the door. A corridor goes deep into the castle and we move slowly, stuck to the fake stone wall, I can hear the spectators' excited cries far away in front of us: Kitty and Boone must be in the ring fighting right now... I hope that the guard who told us where the restroom was doesn't realize we haven't come back.

"Kate, I think we have found something... but I'm not sure yet..." My father's voice startles me on the other side of the earbud, I almost forgot about the Crows. I turn around to inform my girlfriend but she's nowhere to be seen and panic bursts in my stomach for a second till I see how a wall opens like a door and her hand covered with a black leather glove grabs my cape and pulls, dragging me inside before I can complain.

"You've scared the hell out of me!" I whisper angrily and she shrugs.

"I'm sorry, I leaned on the wall and it opened suddenly but it took me a minute to find out how to do it from the inside. You told me this castle was the park's haunted house, I'm pretty sure that false doors were part of the ride and allowed employees to frighten the customers... Look..." Dani points at an old coffin lined with red velvet leaned against a wall, I think a vampire waited in this corridor to scare unwary teenagers years ago... We keep walking till finding a broken mirror, a trunk with a rusty old axe, several shackles hanging from a fake stone wall and a chandelier that only keeps two light bulbs but it's enough to be able to see where we place each foot. We finally reach a small round room decorated like a prison with a guillotine in the middle and an old white wig in an 18th century style in a basket like it's worn by Marie Antoinette herself. "There's no exit..." my girl mumbles puzzled.