Save Your Sin || Dick Grayson [2]

17| Arms of a Stranger

***

I couldn't stomach the idea of going to the hideout and being alone, although I still felt that sense of loneliness now surrounded by criminals in the secret room of the Iceberg Lounge. It seemed that I wasn't the only one who wanted to spend Christmas Day alone, and since the incident in Arkham this place was much more lively than before.

All anyone was talking about was the recent murder of Milos Grappa, one of Falcone's bodyguards, not that it was any surprise. The Holiday Killer's pattern was clear, they only killed on holidays and it seemed that they had some kind of vendetta against the Falcone crime family.  One that was increasing tension within the Gotham underground as Carmine Falcone was becoming increasingly desperate to find whoever was looking to take down his empire.

"Alone on Christmas?"  A familiar voice questioned, and I couldn't help but feel surprised that the man who claimed he disliked the Iceberg Lounge found himself here on Christmas. Though it really shouldn't have been as everyone in the room was here as a pathetic escape from their loneliness. "And in that dress?"

I turned to meet Floyd Lawton's dark eyes who although as serious as always, seemed slightly amused. He was wearing is using black and red attire as he leaned against the bar counter. It wasn't difficult to imagine that he was possibly coming here after completing on of his jobs. "I don't see how that's any of your business Floyd."

He looked around the room with a smirk on his lips before leaning closer. "See everyone has been talking about tensions between you Sirens. They're starting to see that cracks."

It was true, I wasn't completely sure if we were still the Sirens at all. Since the Arkham incident things had to been cleared between Harley and Ivy, and rumors spread fast in Gotham especially when it came to the possibility of gaining more power. "Is that some kind of warning?"

"Just to be careful. You don't want them to think you're weak." Floyd said dismissively as he turned to look at all the other criminals in the room who were chatting away with one another.

"Weak?" I repeated in disbelief, the idea of being thought of as weak after everything I have done to make a name of myself in Gotham was infuriating. Maybe it was all the emotions building up or the alcohol that was making it's way through my veins, but suddenly the lights around the room began to flicker. I heard people's gasps but they hardly registered in my mind as I looked at Floyd irritated by his words.  "I could kill everyone in this room in an instant if I wanted to."

"I know. It's good that you reminded them though." He replied a turned and looked around to the room where everyone seemed uneasy as they looked my way. Their fear was unmistakable, because they knew it too. My abilities were deadly even if I rarely used them, which might be the reason they seemed to have forgotten that I had them at all.

Slowly I realized that this was what Floyd wanted. He wanted me to react this way, to prove that I didn't need the Siren's to be a real threat. Oddly, I found myself appreciating him, at least enough to continue our conversation. "What do you want?"

"I can think of a couple of things."  He mused as he looked at me suggestively, and I simply rolled my eyes as I retuned my gaze back to my drink. "But if you want to talk. We can talk. Have you heard that Jokers going even more insane? Rambling that there can't be two homicidal maniacs in Gotham."

The truth was that I couldn't care less what was happening with the Joker or the Holiday Killer. Those weren't my problems to solve and they didn't involve me. All I was focused on was my own inner turmoil and no amount of talking would get my mind off of my troubles.