The Bane of Our Existence [The Dark Knight Rises]

3: No Place For a Woman

To Bría's surprise, it was not hard to find. Through word of mouth and being pointed in the right direction, Bría found what she was looking for before the sun had set. After buying herself a drink at a shady pub, she gained the liquid courage to lower herself into the sewers. The darkness consumed her and she could not see a thing. Her hand grazed the side of the tunnels, concrete against soft fingertips, until she walked far enough to see a glimmer of light.

Taking a left, and remembering the directions she was going should she need to run, she saw a string of crude lights long the ceilings of the tunnels. Stray wires hung loosely, ugly but the light was something she welcomed. It was also a dangerous sign, that there was actually work in the sewers of Gotham, and what that would mean. Gotham was riddled with villains and crooks, even the worst people who wished to blow Gotham from the map.

Although Bría didn't particularly like Gotham, especially as of late, she did not like living amongst criminals and crooks. But now that she was one, she had no choice. Venturing further into the underground of Gotham, she heard voices. Her heart hammered in her chest as she began to contemplate going back. If she was seen, there was no going back from this.

Two men with guns rounded the corner and spotted her. They paused, hands on the butts of their guns, and they spoke to one another quietly.

"Why are you here?" One asked.

"Looking for work, I heard that there was some no-questions-asked work here," she admitted, hands hanging loosely at her sides to show that she was not a threat.

"This ain't a place for women," the other told her, the tone of his voice both a warning and lingering with something else. Something foul.

"I'm just looking for some cash to keep my head above the water," she admitted. "That's it."

They contemplated, the two men, and then they nodded. One with dark hair strode over to her with a confident gait, grabbing her arm forcefully and making her gasp. She had not expected him to be so hands on, and she did not appreciate it either. Jerking away from him, she stumbled slightly.

"You don't have to manhandle me, I can walk on my own, thanks," she snapped.

"I don't think you understand, we said that this wasn't a place for a woman, we meant it," the dark haired man said.

Her heart sunk; she did not know what they were planning on doing to her, but she wasn't planning on sticking around. There were likely only two options here; rape and murder, or both. She turned to bolt down the tunnel that she had come from, but the other man with blonde hair fired a gunshot at the ceiling. Bría ducked instinctively and raised her hands, standing frozen here she was and listening to the men approach her again.

"Not so fast," the dark haired one said as he approached, grabbing her wrists and bending her arms behind her back. "We can't have you talkin'."

"Fuck," she mumbled under her breath.

They brought her down the tunnel, the same direction from which the men came from. Down a few more, Bría losing count of how many right or left turns, she was shown something marvelous. A huge opening in the tunnels that reached fifty feet up, a few dozen men were welding, chiseling, working. Her mouth opened wide as she stared, wondering what they were doing, why they were underground, what new terror had been brewed inside of Gotham while she had been away?

"Bane, sir, we have a problem," the blonde said to the back of a shirtless man.

The man had been crouched, and he rose, standing tall. His strength showed in the bulk of his muscles. But what caught Bría's attention was the strange contraption strapped on the back of his head. When he turned, she recoiled; a mask covered his mouth and nose, only his cheeks, and piercing eyes showed. Though he was intimidating, he kept a neutral expression in those eyes, the only part of his face that Bría could read.

"What seems to be the problem?" His mechanical voice was not what she had expected. There was a bright element to his voice that felt out of place, and Bría was unsure if she should shake in terror or trust this man before her.

"This little mouse was snooping-" the blonde began when Bane cut him off.

"I was not asking you." Bane stared at Bría. "I was asking her."

Bría stood still in shock, her arms still pinned behind her back, thus not allowing her to remove the strand of hair that was covering her eye. It was one of her nervous ticks, to run her fingers through her hair. Sweat was beading on her forehead, and she felt a twist in her stomach.

"I-" she failed to speak.

Bane waited.

"I was just looking for work... I won't say anything about this place. I promise, I don't know what you're d-doing here and I don't care either..." she tripped over her words but managed to get everything out. The whole time she looked into his eyes, trying to read them but finding herself blind.

"What is your name?"

"Bría Rós," she told him.

"Tell me, why would you look for work here?"

She swallowed back bile, then forced herself to speak. "Gotham sees me as a villain, a murderer."

"You seek sanctuary?"

"Yes," she breathed, finally seeing something in his eyes. Understanding.

"Release her," Bane commanded.

The two men backed off, lowering their heads as if in shame. Bría rolled her shoulders in the sockets to stretch them out. Able to stand tall now, she looked directly at Bane, waiting for him to say something for she was at a complete loss of words.

"Would you like to know what we are doing here?"

She knew if she answered 'no' she would be sent away.

"Yes," she made sure she did not blink when she said it.

Finally, introduced to Bane! I'm having a lot of fun writing this story. Comments are appreciated, votes too! There is a good chance I'll update this daily.