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jeriendhalThis is just a short bit that I'd had cooking in the back of my head for a while. The dialog didn't come out as smooth as I wanted, but I just wanted to get it down finally.
Duwayne sat gasping for breath on top of the old brick apartment house's flat roof, tarpaper still sticky from the day's heat even though it was near-midnight. Gotham's muggy air filled his lungs, the scent of exhaust, fire from a burning building maybe twenty blocks down, and piss from some bum in the lee of the stairwell marking the town as the shithole he always knew it had been. It didn't matter though. He was free and that asshole Little Georgie and his homies were in a lock-up at the local police precinct.
“Easy money, you said. The goddamn Batman can't be everywhere, you said,” Duwayne muttered to nobody. “Fuck you Georgie. I'm just glad you and your homies were stupid enough to fight him and give me a chance to run.” He laughed at that. He was free, they wasn't. There wasn't nothing to see on the security cameras for any court to use. He's been wearing his doo rag over his face and had made sure to wear gloves. And Georgie could rat him out all he wanted. All he had to do was pack up and move the fuck outta Dodge and to somewhere nice and safe, like Central City.
“Duwayne Washington?” a voice said behind. It sounded like something that would come out of a vampire's grave. He turned slowly, to see the man himself, nearly invisible against the night sky in his black and gray uniform, cape flowing behind him somehow even in the muggy stillness of the night air. The Batman.
“Awww, fuck,” Duwayne muttered, closing his eyes and putting his hands on top of his head. “Just Bat Cuff me already, I don't wanna get the shit beat outta me top of everything else.”
“I'm not here to arrest you,” the Batman said.
“Say what?” Duwayne opened his eyes again. The man was keeping is distance, arms crossed over his chest. No Batarang or nothing else in his hands.
“Your friend Georgie sang up a storm to the cops when they finally arrived. Apparently you masterminded the whole bank robbery.”
“The fuck I did!” he exclaimed.
The Batman grunted in agreement. “I didn't think so either. Georgie's rap sheet is as long as his arm. All you have are a couple of probations for drug possession. It still doesn't explain what you were doing in that bank with a gun though.”
“Kinda hard to do an armed robbery when you ain't armed.”
“True.”
“So what do ya want outta me?”
The Batman reached into his utility belt and drew out a card, tossing it over to Duwayne, who caught it automatically. “You got a phone?”
“Yeah,” Duwayne said cautiously.
“Call that number. It's good only for tonight, after that the line will stop working. The woman at the other end will be waiting to hear from you. Her name is Oracle. She'll give you a job. A real one, nice and legal.”
“Hey, you think if I could get a job, I'd be robbing banks?”
The Batman grunted again, dismissing his argument. “She'll ask you a lot of questions, nothing too personal, but she's going to want to know how long you went to school, and what you know how to do.”
“I don't know how to nothing.”
“Everyone knows how to do something. She will get you a job, one you're capable of, even if it's ditch digging. If you're willing to work hard, it'll be enough to feed you, your mother, your girlfriend and her kids. And if you can do that, you can try for more further on.”
Duwyane stood up, his legs shakier than they had been during the robbery. “Hey, why are you doing this, man?”
“I saw the security tapes from the bank. Georgie had his gun to that boy's head, and you pushed it down.”
“Hey, pointing a gun at a rent-a-cop is one thing, but you shouldn't put one up to a kid's head. That was just wrong man!”
The Batman nodded once, a sharp, curt gesture. “That counts for a lot in my book. More than you could understand. Now prove that I'm right about you and call that number.”
“What's gonna stop me from just robbing another bank later on?”
“I don't think you will. But if you do...” For the first time that evening, the Batman smiled. Duwyane wished he hadn't. “I'll be watching you.”
Duwayne sat gasping for breath on top of the old brick apartment house's flat roof, tarpaper still sticky from the day's heat even though it was near-midnight. Gotham's muggy air filled his lungs, the scent of exhaust, fire from a burning building maybe twenty blocks down, and piss from some bum in the lee of the stairwell marking the town as the shithole he always knew it had been. It didn't matter though. He was free and that asshole Little Georgie and his homies were in a lock-up at the local police precinct.
“Easy money, you said. The goddamn Batman can't be everywhere, you said,” Duwayne muttered to nobody. “Fuck you Georgie. I'm just glad you and your homies were stupid enough to fight him and give me a chance to run.” He laughed at that. He was free, they wasn't. There wasn't nothing to see on the security cameras for any court to use. He's been wearing his doo rag over his face and had made sure to wear gloves. And Georgie could rat him out all he wanted. All he had to do was pack up and move the fuck outta Dodge and to somewhere nice and safe, like Central City.
“Duwayne Washington?” a voice said behind. It sounded like something that would come out of a vampire's grave. He turned slowly, to see the man himself, nearly invisible against the night sky in his black and gray uniform, cape flowing behind him somehow even in the muggy stillness of the night air. The Batman.
“Awww, fuck,” Duwayne muttered, closing his eyes and putting his hands on top of his head. “Just Bat Cuff me already, I don't wanna get the shit beat outta me top of everything else.”
“I'm not here to arrest you,” the Batman said.
“Say what?” Duwayne opened his eyes again. The man was keeping is distance, arms crossed over his chest. No Batarang or nothing else in his hands.
“Your friend Georgie sang up a storm to the cops when they finally arrived. Apparently you masterminded the whole bank robbery.”
“The fuck I did!” he exclaimed.
The Batman grunted in agreement. “I didn't think so either. Georgie's rap sheet is as long as his arm. All you have are a couple of probations for drug possession. It still doesn't explain what you were doing in that bank with a gun though.”
“Kinda hard to do an armed robbery when you ain't armed.”
“True.”
“So what do ya want outta me?”
The Batman reached into his utility belt and drew out a card, tossing it over to Duwayne, who caught it automatically. “You got a phone?”
“Yeah,” Duwayne said cautiously.
“Call that number. It's good only for tonight, after that the line will stop working. The woman at the other end will be waiting to hear from you. Her name is Oracle. She'll give you a job. A real one, nice and legal.”
“Hey, you think if I could get a job, I'd be robbing banks?”
The Batman grunted again, dismissing his argument. “She'll ask you a lot of questions, nothing too personal, but she's going to want to know how long you went to school, and what you know how to do.”
“I don't know how to nothing.”
“Everyone knows how to do something. She will get you a job, one you're capable of, even if it's ditch digging. If you're willing to work hard, it'll be enough to feed you, your mother, your girlfriend and her kids. And if you can do that, you can try for more further on.”
Duwyane stood up, his legs shakier than they had been during the robbery. “Hey, why are you doing this, man?”
“I saw the security tapes from the bank. Georgie had his gun to that boy's head, and you pushed it down.”
“Hey, pointing a gun at a rent-a-cop is one thing, but you shouldn't put one up to a kid's head. That was just wrong man!”
The Batman nodded once, a sharp, curt gesture. “That counts for a lot in my book. More than you could understand. Now prove that I'm right about you and call that number.”
“What's gonna stop me from just robbing another bank later on?”
“I don't think you will. But if you do...” For the first time that evening, the Batman smiled. Duwyane wished he hadn't. “I'll be watching you.”
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Date: 2010-01-11 01:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-12 09:03 am (UTC)This stupid project I have going is getting ludicrous.
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Date: 2010-01-12 09:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-12 09:17 am (UTC)Love your work, you cover a lot of ground and carry a lot of meaning in sensible sized stories lol
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Date: 2010-01-15 12:14 am (UTC)mjkj
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Date: 2010-11-07 03:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-07 09:47 pm (UTC)