I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas or holiday. For those in the snow, congratulations, I envy you. For those like me stuck in 42ºC heat, I feel ya.
Note: Please, I need you to trust me about something that happens in this chapter
~
There is Telysha. Sweet, loving Telysha. I am at the head of the conference table with her to my left. On my right is Kalie, who seems to think she shouldn't be here, but is entirely wrong.
Down the rest of the table are four other people. Each was selected with great care and detailing by myself, Kalie and Telysha, the Mayor and even Harvey with a bit of a push and a couple of Arkham visits.
Jonah is my campaign manager. He will boss around the other five and organise basically everything through delegation and knowledge. He knows who I need to see, when I need to do things, where I need to be, what I need to do and how to do it.
Colleen is my social media co-ordinator. Yeah, it's a thing. She has a certificate and everything. Anyway, she'll handle my accounts on places like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. I've never had an interest in any of those so she can have at it. In her opinion it will be a battleground between my opponent and I.
Teresa is my digital designer. She'll be creating the billboards and the signs and the adverts and the badges. Basically my merchandise.
I dread to think of people walking around with my face attached to their shirt. Hopefully I can compromise my initials and slogan.
Jeremy is my speech composer and information guide. He checks the facts, knows the people and understands their dynamics. I know he's straight out of crime alley. For that I am thankful and for that he was chosen.
"We need to discuss your slogan," Jonah says, turning a page in his file and prompting everyone else to.
"You said you wanted it to be about the new justice you're bringing to Gotham," Jeremy adds, "So I brainstormed some ideas and came up with my best."
"And I finished off your logo. The initials, VM, like you wanted, on a silhoutte Gotham skyline." When Teresa flips her tablet around, I can't believe my eyes.
It looks amazing. Just as she described. Against a gradient blue background is the Gotham skyline, white, with the initials VA over it.
"I thought it worked like, you protecting all of us," she smiles. I can see that it has another meaning behind it. It's a familiar look, one that the people I have helped give me. "When you choose a slogan I'll add it beneath the skyline."
Jeremy shuffles around in his chair to face me, chubby hands facing his own tablet towards him.
"We have 'The justice Gotham deserves', 'The first to defeat the worst', 'The hero Gotham really deserves,' The equality Gotham has been waiting for', 'Justice, equality and honesty'. Or, if you'd like we could take from any of the groups you support. I thought 'The future is female' would work for you as well."
I take a few seconds to mull them over. They're all pretty good. I like the message most of them send. Honestly, I don't see myself losing this, but I need a slogan either way.
"I like the first two," I tell him, "the third...Is that a swipe at Batman?"
Jeremy flushes red and glances down at the table, "It wasn't supposed to be disrespectful or anything. You just do more for us concerning the legality of everything."
I nod, looking back on the wall where the choices are being projected.
"As true as it is, I don't want to use the word equality. I feel that remains very strong in other arguments. I wouldn't want to take from that. I like the three-word one very much, but I don't know if I like the words used. Justice, definitely, but perhaps something different after."
"Kindness," Telysha suggests.
"Loving!" Shouts Colleen.
"Conviction!"
"Trustworthy!"
"Unwavering!"
"Brave!"
"Sympathetic?"
"No no, that won't work."
"I think I know the DA better than you do."
"Is it really the time for that?"
"Will you three stop?"
Jonah starts shouting when Jeremy, Colleen and Telysha begin arguing about the words that should go in the logo. Teresa makes feeble attempts to put a stop to it.
I'm about to flip out, because we're in an attorney campaign meeting and instead I feel like I'm back in court, until I hear it.
"Compassion. Diligence. Justice."
Kalie, who has been silent almost this entire time, is the one to say it.
"Shut up!" I snap at the group, immediately halting the noise. "Kalie, what did you say?"
She gives me a calm look, "It's what my dad used to say about you. That people liked you, because they could see you were compassionate to the lesser Gothamites. They could see you were diligent and hard-working, for them. And most of all they could see that justice was finally being served. Someone remembered Gotham wasn't just criminals and rich people. Compassion. Diligence. Justice."
A silence settles over the room, the group obviously in deep agreement. I smile at Kalie, who returns the sheepish expression.
"I'd like to use those three slogans. 'The justice Gotham deserves', 'The first to defeat the worst' and 'Compassion. Diligence. Justice.'"
Jonah makes some sort of choking noise, "DA Meadow, it's simply not-"
"Let me rephrase; I am going to use all three. You can handle that, right, Teresa?" I ask, looking at the redhead. She seems surprised but honoured at the challenge. "I don't want them to be different or anything. I just want multiples. I have four billboards, correct? So use the three paper ones for each slogan. On the digital one, have them swap every five minutes. I want three different versions of badges and signs."
"Yes ma'am!" Teresa grins, making notes. "Once you get your photoshoot done the billboards will be sent off weeks before deadline!"
"Perfect," I smile.
The thought of Jason seeing my face everywhere he looks in the city is both sickening and enticing.
The thought of Rose seeing it is hilarious.
~
Walking back to my office with Kalie, she seems distracted.
"You okay? You were pretty quiet in there," I ask, ignoring the AADAs desperately waving at me.
"I'm fine," she murmurs as we reach our large chunk of the floor. She pushes the door open having been ahead of me. "Oh, the files you requested are here."
She's fine? ...She's not fine. It doesn't take a psychotic, rodent-dressed detective to figure out that something is up. Perhaps her parents' death anniversary is coming up?
Silently, she helps me carry the file boxes into my office. They're old, I know, because they're not digital. I'm digging up some information about a suspect's past before they can make a legal deal with me.
When I relay that comment she still doesn't say anything. I try another approach.
"Are you mad because I'm not speaking to the Waynes anymore? Missed your chance with Dick?" I joke, slipping off my blazer and throwing it behind me.
She scoffs, "Dick. Dick's not..." when she places down the last box and straightens up, she stops speaking. Her hands rub against her black pants. "It's not like I thought I had a chance or anything. He's just very pretty. I wan't something more, I don't know, regal?"
Well, that's knew. She doesn't sound enthusiastic. More timid than anything.
I shrug, "I prefer the more leather-clad, asshole type but whatever floats your boat." I tie my hair up, preparing to get down with these files and sort this out. I push out of my mind that once upon a time, Jason did actually float Kalie's boat. Which is not supposed to sound as crude as it does.
But she doesn't say anything, again, which is weird. I take a few steps towards her, with no other choice. Using my powers on my friends was never something I particularly enjoyed, but it's not like she's going to tell me.
"Hey," I call out, making her stand up from where she is bent over the boxes. When she straightens up her expression is wary, but I stare at those dark brown eyes, looking for something.
I could throw the enticement at her- I do it accidentally sometimes, like I had in the car with him. He wanted to slap me, not that he would unless hypnotised to do so. I can't use it on command, really.
Besides, if she conflicted over something like killing me and I entice her to do it...yeah.
So instead I rely on my reading.
At this proximity, I can see her pulse is up, breath almost laboured. Her breathing stops all together when I take a step closer. There is a slight sheen to her dark skin, like she's sweating nervously.
I blink three times rapidly, on purpose, and she passes the test by doing the exact same unconsciously. Mirroring. The part that closes the case is her pupils, widening until brown is almost consumed by black.
Affection. Enamoured. Attraction.
"Oh."
That's the first thing I say and probably the worst thing I could have, because immediately I see panic in her eyes.
"Sorry," is all she can say, in a defeated tone, before moving around me and walking to the door. I hear it open and close.
"It's okay," I whisper, but there's no point.
I'm not blind. When we first met and she talked about how much I had helped her dad, it was my first clue. I remember telling myself that in crime alley, she looked like a gem surrounded by rocks.
Her little crush on Dick threw me for a loop, but I guess I was right in the first place.
Hell, maybe I wanted to be right. After all, I'm I ever going to find another guy like him?
Hairs lifting at the back of my neck and a chill running down my spine prompts me to go into a full-alert mode. Someone is watching me. Someone is watching me from outside the window.
Jason?...I thought he only watched me at the apartment?
After all the attacks I had my office changed; the floor-to-ceiling windows were reduced so that I couldn't be shot at easily. I calmly approach my desk to the control pad in the corner and press the grey button on it that moves the shutters over the windows.
Lights automatically switch on and, at the same time, my phone rings.
It's a foreign sound to my office because normally a phone call goes through Kalie first. She'll relay it in here but will let me know on speaker. I suppose she doesn't want to talk.
Sighing, I move around to my chair, sit down and pick up the phone.
"This is DA Meadow."
"...Is that really how you start a phone conversation when I bypass your secretary?" An unfamiliar male voice says.
"Who is this? Is this the guy who's watching me?" I ask calmly, tempted to press my distress signal to Batman. Not that he'd be willing to help me.
"They did say you had good senses."
"They? I'm the talk of the city. You'll have to be a bit more specific as to who they are."
He chuckles, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to hear how you talk, without cameras in your face. I've been meaning to meet you, I'd just been busy. I'm not your enemy or anything either."
"Oh? Then what are you?"
There is a long gap, before he makes some sort of humming noise, "He was right, you do have a sexy voice."
"That's nice, but if you want to hear it it's all over the news. You could watch it instead of wasting my time here."
"True, true."
Neither of us speak. I could ask about the people he's with, or why he wanted to hear my voice. I go with the other option, "So, are you going to tell me your name?"
His rough voice chuckles again, "Congratulations on your pregnancy, Venus."
~
It's limestone, she thinks, running her hands across the wall. It has to be, right? No one has ever really asked the question.
What is the HQ of the Warriors of Red made out of?
It was stone, yes, a light colour. Was limestone an Australian thing?
"Flora."
At her name, the young girl turns around to look up at the three council members sitting at the head of the table. Around them are several other Warriors, not council members, but ranked enough to be present when talking about the Greatest.
Flora takes a deep breath, folding her hands in her lap when she takes her own seat, "As you know, it is my duty to make sure all ex-members of our association are well. I pay particular attention to The Empress, as well as her ex-apprentice, Mira Swan. I have looked into the mind of Mira Swan and seen that she is part of an elaborate plan with Ra's Al Ghul."
Everyone in the room seems to take the same sharp intake of breath. The Demon's Head and mention of him was almost forbidden.
"I am sorry to bring him up, but he has been conspiring with Mira Swan. Their plan all points to one thing and one thing only; The Empress herself."
Mutterings fill the room and Flora feels forgotten. In matters concerning the Empress people always got excited, or scared.
"What could Ra's al Ghul possibly want with our Greatest?" A warrior asks.
Flora gives a soft shrug, "For that exact reason. She is our best. He is using her ex-student to get what he wants."
The eldest council member, Lady Moon, folds her wrinkling hands beneath her chin.
"We need to warn the Empress. We all know she can protect herself, and those around her can do the same.
"Yes," the woman who sits beside Lady Moon known as Estelle Thrall says, "This is a decree of the council. The only issue is, we need to send the right people. The Empress turned her back on us. If we don't send someone worthy of her time, we may lose our chance to help, as well as the person sent."
Lady Moon sits back in her chair, letting out an exhausted breath. A servant comes over and helps her stand. "It should be someone she won't ever hurt. When the Empress left us, she declared that we were not to step foot in her city, or they would suffer."
The sound of the old woman's heels against the stone floor echoes through the council room. All stare at her retreating back, waiting for her further guidance.
They do not see the sad expression donning the woman's face at all.
"Perhaps if we send someone she trained with?" The final council member, Rosalie Hart suggests.
Lady Moon stops at the chamber door, looking over her shoulder at her fellow Warrior. "Do not take her threat lightly," She says, foreshadowing everyone's emotions.
Warriors share nervous looks at the deadly expression.
Before the woman turns back around, she leaves them with one last, vital piece of advice.
"Venus Meadow means what she says."