In This We Found the Darkness

Simone approached the navy blue truck and came to a halt. It was empty, like the big open parking lot she was standing in. She brushed her wavy hazelnut hair behind her ears and looked around one last time. Her arms crossed over her chest. Damn it was cold out and she was cursing herself for only wearing a black long jon shirt and a pair of black jeans. Her black boots were the only things doing their job in keeping her feet warm. At least she had that.

When she saw that she really was alone she peaked up at the big light pole and figured if there was a camera on it probably couldn't get a good view of her. The light was off and it was like every other night in Gothom. Black. Pitch black at that. If it wasn't for all the training when she joined the League of Shadows she probably wouldn't be able to see much. It was in those specific times that she was thankful for that. Her eyes adjusted well and she was happy for that.

While it was possible there was a camera around somewhere and it could have had night vision she decided to shrug her shoulders and chose money over anything else. It was what she needed to survive after all. Rent, clothes, food, bills, and weapons weren't free. If they were she certainly wouldn't live like a mercenary. She pulled the slim Jim out from behind her. The thin piece of metal fit perfectly and all she had to do was move it just right. She gave it a good jerk then pulled up and the lock to the truck clicked. She was in.

She hopped into the truck and leaned forward to dig for wires. With a truck like the one she just scored she was looking at a pay of 2000 dollars. It wasn't the silver Bugatti that her friend Ray had been wanting but Ray wasn't a picky man and would take what ever he could from anything and then scrap the rest. She may not have alot of friends but she sure had the right kind.

As soon as the truck turned over she turned the lights on and began to drive the truck out of the dark parking lot. She finally came out into a main road where there were actual lights and other people. She felt her heart speed up and her hands gave a little tremble. Just because she stole many cars before did not mean that she ever lost her nerves while on a job. There were always cops around and while Harvey Dent was crazy enough to put away most of the mob before he died there was still far worse out there. Worse than dirty cops, worse than thugs, and worse than her.

After joining the League of Shadows she had seen and done things that haunted her dreams every single night. Some nights she would rather do jobs like stealing cars and beating the crap out of people than resting her head on a pillow and closing her eyes. If she didn't close her eyes she couldn't see what haunted her. If she stayed awake she could just bury those memories at the back of her head and focus on doing something. Anything. So there she was, stealing some pour bastard's truck at 2 in the morning.

She stopped the truck at a red light and pressed her back into the cold leather seats. Heat was blasting on her and quite frankly she was getting tired.

"Come on, come on. Turn green." She mumbled to herself as she tapped her slender fingers on the steering wheel.

When her phone vibrated in her back pocket she nearly jumped out of her skin. She pulled out her outdated smart phone and pressed the answer button. There was only one person that would call her at 2 in the morning. Ray.

"Hey, I'm almost there." She informedd.

"Well what's taking so long?" Ray's smooth voice sounded a little impatient.

She brought her green eyes to the red light. It still didn't turn green. Now it was just testing her luck. Maybe a Gotham police man would pull up behind her and run her tags cause he is bored and will discover she stole it. It sounded like the story of her life. She found out the hard way many times that rock bottom had a basement and she had landed in that place one too many times.

"I'm at a God damn punishment light." She looked around and saw that there wasn't anyone coming.

"A punishment light?" Ray asked. "Sounds kinky."

She let out a sigh and gripped the steering wheel so tight her white knuckles nearly poked right out of her skin. "Its been red for like 5 minutes and it's still red. There's no one around and no one coming so I'm feeling like I'm being punished." She explained.

"Well I got the garage open for you. Just park the truck inside. I'll come out once I hear you." Ray replied.

She hung up her phone and looked back at the light. Still fucking red. She tapped on the gas and the truck jumped forward a bit. Finally the light turned green and she proceeded to Ray's shop.

Ray's shop was an interesting story. In a short story, Ray was a car mechanic during the day and he ran a little "chop shop" at night. He takes parts from stolen cars and uses them on cars he fixes during the day. While he charges for the parts and his labor he makes a decent paycheck every week. A hell of a lot more than Simone made.

Simone pulled into the chop shop and parked the truck. Ray emerged from the little office in blue coveralls with his name embroided at the left side of his chest. Ray was a decent looking man with thick dark brown hair and melting chocolate eyes. He had a full on beard on his face and while she never really had feelings for her friend she had to admit he was smoking. Not to mention his life as a mechanic gave him a perfect sculpted body. She would know. She had seen it one day when she walked in the garage one day and caught him screwing some blonde on someone's car.

"What you got there?" Ray asked as he approached the truck.

"A decent truck, runs pretty damn good and has good heating. No dents, no damages inside, and has a damn near full tank of gas." She answered.

Ray shut the trunk off and popped the hood. He leaned over the hood and studied all the parts. "So far it looks so good." He brought his watery brown eyes to her and then hopped in it again.

The car horn blared and Simone jumpedd, turning to the truck. Ray jumped out laughing at her.

"Simone what was that?" He asked as he walked across the garage and pressed the big button on the wall to shut the garage door.

Simone let out a sigh. "Nothing. Just sometimes I get a little jumpy." She lied as she felt her heart hammer into her chest. She was wide awake now.

"Your always jumpy. I don't know why. I've seen you take down men twice my size. What do you have to be afraid of?" Ray asked.

She never told Ray anything of her past. She didn't plan to either. The League of Shadows was behind her and that's how she wanted it. So instead she just forced a teasing smile.

"And I've watched you take out 3 men at once yet you still keep a crowbar hidden in them damn overalls. I think I should be asking you that question."

Ray nodded his head. "Touché. Alright so I'll give you 1800 for the truck and you can head on home." Ray was quick to change the subject.

Simone brought her eyes to the black clock ticking on the wall of the garage.

Tick tock

The second hand kept jumping forward.

Tick tock

She didn't like clocks. They kept ticking and it was a constant reminder to her that time for her would eventually run out. It always ticked away.

Tick tock.

An image flashed in her mind before she could think of anything else. A man with a mask came to her view. It looked like a muzzle covering his mouth and hooking around his cheeks and over his bald head. His tall figure towered over her like a sky scraper and she felt her heart pound.

"I hope you know that I am smart. Certainly smarter than you since you thought you could leave without me finding out."

She felt sweat appear above her brow. She considered fighting him and balled her small hands into fists, preparing to act on impulse. Bane's face may have been covered by the mask but she could see it all in those cold blue eyes. He was laughing at her.

"You want to leave? Fine. Only when you beat me will I let you go. But know that out there in the world. All on your own. . . We will cross paths again. And more importantly, you wont see me coming." He proposed.

It had taken her 6 tries before she finally decided to spike his water with a heavy sedative. And like a coward she ran.

That was years ago and she knew her time was coming to an end very soon. She feared what would happen when her and Bane crossed paths. And it was coming soon. Even sooner than she realized. When her eyes went to the office she saw several newspaper clippings about an agent going missing. That masked man popped in her head again.

Ray came out of the office with a big stack of 20s in his hand.

"Simone? You alright?" Ray asked.

Simone snapped out of her thoughts and gave her head a nod. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just extremely tired." She lied and held out her hand to take the money.

Ray gave her the money and she generously tucked it away in her front pocket. They looked at each other one last time.

"Same time tomorrow night?" Ray asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. I might be doing something else."

"Like what?"

Like packing my shit and running.

She thought about it. But where would she go? Who would she trust to do dirty work with her because she certainly couldn't work a legal job. Then her name would be in a database and then a paper trail would pop up. She let out a sigh and erased that idea quickly.

"Nevermind. I'll be here with a new car. Keep the cash coming and I'll keep the vehicles coming." She replied.

Ray looked over her with worry. "Go home, Simone. Get some damn sleep."

She nodded her head and approached the old white Jetta. Home it was then. Her home was literally five minutes away but she was too tired again to walk. Maybe she would just make herself a cup of coffee and stare off into space the rest of the night. It felt like a good idea.

Simone lived in an apartment building with three floors and hers was the third floor. She walked up the old beaten down steps and rubbed her hand down her face, trying to wake herself up. The hallway light flickered and she suddenly became alert. Her eyes opened wide as she approached the door that had 3A on it. It was ajar. She never left her door unlocked.

Someone was in her apartment.