Gotham Nights - Don't Say a Word

"Hey."

Davey didn't look up from his camera, but he knew Gem had sat down in his vicinity. He had wanted to speak with her again, but his work couldn't be looked away from. He had some hope she would respond, though he understand the anxiety.

"Late night?"

Gem jumped a bit at the greeting. Again? Really? She glanced around, making sure that she was indeed the one he was addressing before shaking her head. She generally went to bed well before the average of what most teenagers these days seemed to, and last night was no exception.

Realizing that he probably couldn't see her while he was focused, she responded verbally as well. "N-no. I, uh, h-had a weird dre-dream."

"Oh, that sucks to hear."

Davey set his camera down, finalizing the adjustments he had hoped to make. He leaned back, his face finally coming into view. He gave a soft smile to the girl who wasn't actually looking at him, hoping it would take attention away from the black eye he sported on his left side. Those stage props were so tricky, and they sure hurt when they connected.

"You know, you don't have to be so nervous. You're a nice girl, and I don't bite."

A quick chuckle came to him.

"Much."

Gem frankly felt as if someone had punched her in the gut and dumped her into a lake full of ice water.

Was he...? Was that coincidence? Could it be? Surely it had to be! But was it? Cheshire had said something so similar...but wouldn't they have used the device for this? Were they the kind to do this? They had seemed cautious about themselves. Or was she looking into this too much? It was a perfectly normal thing to say. Wasn't it?

Noticing that she was panicking and leaking it too, Gem tried to force herself to calm down. It didn't work too well, but it was enough to make her stop leaking the panic at least.

Her throat felt so tight that she was having trouble breathing, so speaking was out of the question. Gem gave Davey a quick nod in response as she clenched her hands tightly, willing herself not to think of what was currently sitting in her pocket and people with painted grins.

"You should chill out, Gem. There's too many crazy people in this city, you don't need to be another one. Already have to come to grips with Derek Powers robbing banks. Don't know what one of the richest men in Gotham needed with stocks he already owned. Good thing they got him."

Davey shrugged, slipping one hand into his pants pocket, leaning back in his chair. He spoke under his breath as the teacher up front continued with her lecture. Teachers were always so angry when you spoke during class, they needed to calm down too. Just then, an idea popped up in his head so quickly his head actually moved forward, and he turned to the strange, shaking girl.

"We're putting on Macbeth tonight. It should be awesome, I get to work the camera. You should go!"

Chilling out was easier said than done. Still, Gem nodded to him and continued to try and keep herself calm.

She decided that it would probably be best to think of Cheshire as simply Cheshire, and not as an actual person, until she could think about them without panicking. It was very mean and very rude, and she realized that there had to be a person behind the mask, but thinking about that sort of thing now would do her no good. She didn't want to know who the person was. Especially if it was someone she knew.

Someone like Davey. If Davey was Cheshire, Gem felt as if her heart would break a little.

Gem made a note to research that Darrin Powers person later before answering her classmate. "Um, I-I don't know. I m-might have something t-to do later. B-but I will if I c-can." She really liked plays, but she really didn't get to see them that often. Usually she had to help her da, and now there was Cheshire..."Wh-what time is it? A-and how mu-much?"

Davey chuckled slightly at her stuttering. It was kind of cute, actually, but it was still kind of sad that she wasn't used to speaking to others.

"It's at eight. Don't worry about admission, I can get you in for free."

He smiled to her lightly. They owed him some favors down in the theater anyway, so he could pull off a ticket or two, it was no big deal. He stood and picked up his bag as the teacher dismissed them, throwing one strap over his shoulder.

"Hope you can make it, but if not I'll try and get some of it recorded and get you a copy."

Gem nodded and smiled a little. "Thank you." She told Davey. The girl really hoped she would be able to watch Macbeth. It was awfully nice of him to go out of his way to do something like that for her. Davey really seemed like such a nice person...she knew it wasn't smart to get close to anyone, and now even more so but...maybe just for a little while. While Gem knew it was for the best, no one ever really liked being lonely.

With that, Gem gathered her things and headed to her next class. She hoped that Gym and English would come sooner than they felt like they would. It felt like it was going to be one of those never-ending days.

Time flew by, as it commonly did, and the sun had set on the city of Gotham. The clock ticked away the time, seven fifty-seven. It appeared as if everything was going to go right, and that Gem would have her peace after all. That is, until the device in her pocket began to rumble lightly. A voice muffled by the radio waves spoke out, sure that she was alone.

Some way or another, he knew she was.

"Gem. Be at the Ace Chemical Plant down town in an hour. Over."

The cat had come calling.

Gem felt her heart stop for a moment and then sighed. So she wouldn't get to go see Macbeth after all. Boo. Should have seen it coming, but still. She mentally debated going to see a bit of the play before dismissing the idea. Knowing her, she'd lose track of time and be late. That would likely be very bad.

At least she hadn't gotten to the school yet. She'd have felt bad seeing Davey there and then having to leave right after. That would be mean.

The girl quickly climbed back up the fire escape she'd just started to go down (Roof-running was the fastest way to get to school...Cheshire sure had good timing too, she'd almost been there...) and began dashing towards the chemical plant. She'd get there early, but there certainly wasn't anything else to do now.

Cross-hairs scanned over the facade of an old apartment building, left to rot with the rest of the old Gotham quarter. Nothing here would be able to meet up with the new, flashy and sleek designs that came in 2040. Bricks had been set here to stand the years, and now their age had begun to show. The boards set up over the windows had all but blocked out any view from the outside world, but even the slightest crack would be enough. The view of the building quickly switched, going into infrared vision. A crimson hue came to the entire world through his eyes, and through a crack in two boards no larger than an inch, a mass of heat moved.

"Gotcha."

His view returned to normal, well, the HUD system that had become Cheshire's normal as he pulled back from the scope on his sniper rifle. The gun was much larger than the typical sniper, painted with a dark gray and black checkered print up until half-way to further fit the theme of it's owner. How anyone could fire said weapon was enough to warp to one's perception, the very recoil would be enough to shatter one's arm, but stranger things had and will happen. It was then that the girl he had called for would appear on the horizon.

"Heh, so she showed after all."

It was a shame he needed her help. It made him look stupid, and Macbeth was such a good play.

Gem slowed down a bit to look around when she reached her destination. She hadn't really come to this part of the city often. It reminded her a bit of her own home, the building being about the same age, but thankfully in much better shape.

After a bit she spotted Cheshire and went up to him. She bit her lip at the sight of the gun (Why did they even make them that big?), but took a deep breath to calm herself, figuring that she have to try and get used to them.

Yeah, that would happen...

"Hello." Gem said to Cheshire, not sure exactly what to say in this situation. To be fair, she doubted many people would know.

"Why the long face? You look so lost. Kind of like....Alice."

He chuckled under his helmet, but only for a quick moment. Tonight was a night for work. He turned to the old apartment complex, which looked just as dead as the rest of the buildings left untouched. The shadows around them lifted away and returned in hues of bright green as the large neon sign spelling out "ACE" overhead flashed on an off.

"You see that building?"

He turned back to her, but not before settling his rifle down on the edge of the roof, leaning it lightly against the barrier.

"I need you to tell me how many people are in there, and if you by some strange stroke of luck they begin to feel sleepy, that'd be great."

This person really had a thing for Lewis Carroll, didn't they?

Gem did a quick head/heart count, and after making doubly sure that she was not counting herself or Cheshire, determined that there were two people nearby, and that they were in the building that the Carroll fan was referring to. She sent them a feeling of lethargy, the closest she could get to making people feel sleepy.

"I th-think there are two people in there." Gem told Cheshire, and then she glanced at the sky. "I-it's getting a bit late, so they're pro-probably tired."

Think what they may, Gem certainly wasn't going to tell Cheshire she had powers.

"Yeah, right."

He placed his foot up next to his sniper, and then stepped up onto the ledge. He pulled back on both of his gloves, making sure to get a firm fit. nothing was going to go wrong doing this, or else there was going to be chaos.

"I'm sure you remember the robbery last week. They say they caught Derek Powers, the CEO of Wayne-Powers' finger prints all over the crime scene. I'm even pretty sure I......saw his face under the bandages. It just doesn't make sense. He stole stock to a company in which he holds the major share, there's no need for more power when you essentially have it all. Powers is a immoral, devious man, but he's not stupid. He's not hands-on, either."

A slight sea breeze picked up from the shore just a few miles away, pushing Cheshire's jacket into a flowing motion, but he did not move. The eyes of his mask were fixed on the apartment complex.

"Somehow I don't think Powers is at fault. The Police won't listen, they think silly things like faces and finger prints are solid evidence. They don't remember that they too were robbed just a few days ago. My tracker tells me that the rest of the Royal Flush Gang, confirmed by you, are in this building. They tend to act alone, but this time just feels different. I'm going in there, looking for any clues I can find. Like it or not, Powers is innocent on these charges. I can't let the real culprit walk. I don't get payed that way."

He leaned his head back, taking a look at the newly shown moon. There were no alarms set in these old buildings. The Bat would lay asleep for now.

"So.........care to join me, or would you rather wait out here?"

Gem decided to throw the idea back at them.

"Wh-what do you think?" She asked Cheshire. "I-if I go in there with you...I can fight. I-if they're really bad people...I can fight them. I'm rather str-strong for my age. And I've b-been training for fighting pretty much m-my wh-whole life. And if I go with you...they m-may act weird again."

She took a deep breath and kept going. "B-but I'm not you. G-guns scare me. I panic easily. I haven't e-ever d-done whatever you're about to d-do. And if you t-try to..." Gem had to pause here. "T-try to k-k-kill someone...I'll try to stop you. I d-don't know how successful I'll be...but I will try."

"S-so..." She glanced towards him and shrugged. "C-care to have me join...or w-would you rather me wait out here?"

Because she had no frickin' clue what she should do.

Cheshire chuckled lightly under the mask. This girl was stuck in her values. That was good, anyone willing to fall for anything would end up dead on a mission like this.

"If you try to stop me, I'll have to stop you, though I assure you death has no place in this mission. A little robbery, yes, but what's that when dealing with criminals?"

He turned back to her.

"I think the....luck that the two asleep inside will not wake up will be much greater with you in the building. As long as you don't make much noise or leave a trail behind you, you could be useful. So, come along."

He laughed one more time.

"But don't say I didn't offer you a chance to stay behind."

"Okay." Said Gem with a nod, relaxing a great deal with the thought of no killing. She wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of thievery, of course, but one had to pick their poisons. Or potential criminal activities, as was the case. "I-I won't complain. I promise."

She put on her gloves and tilted her head towards the building. "R-Ready when y-you are. Lead the w-way."

"Let's begin."

Cheshire took off without another word, cartwheeling to the edge of the old building and back-flipping over the side! He landed on his feet on a lower building, rolling through and leaping back to his feet, running closer and closer to the target. He looked up to the old apartment complex, his scanners running it over for any weakness in the structure. A few boards had been worn away on a window three levels down from where he had spotted the shadow on the inside. That would be their entry way, offering up the least amount of sound possible.

Cheshire thrust his arm out, popping his hand back and allowing the spear-like grappling hook to emerge from hiding before firing directly at the center board of the window. It pierced through without much issue, and with a quick tug split in half and fell down dozens of stories to the abandoned streets below. Cheshire retracted the line, and fired as soon as he was able to, ripping the top board off in one quick motion, actually catching the bottom board and breaking it clean off in the same move.

"We enter through there. Once we're in, expect the worst. I can't promise that they didn't hear that, or that they don't have.................something expecting us."

Once more, the line was fired, this time connecting into the wall under the window. Cheshire tugged once, making sure the line was secure, then held out his hand.

"Unless you feel like climbing, I'd suggest holding on."

Gem took a moment to reach into her pocket and pull out a necklace. It was a simple one, a small piece of stone on a silver chain, nothing that most people would bother making into jewelry. Still, the girl gave the stone a kiss and whispered something under her breath before putting the necklace away and following Cheshire.

She grinned when she reached the bottom. Going down buildings was just as much fun as going up or across them.

When prompted to take Cheshire's hand, she glanced a few times between the window, the cable, and said hand. "Are you sure that thing is going to hold both of us?" She asked quietly. She wasn't sure if it would even hold the person attached to it. "I could climb up it, if it's not safe for you..."

Still, she took his hand anyway.

"This cable could haul a small plane."

Cheshire said with an aura of confidence to his voice. He took a good grip on the girl's hand, then turned his attention back to the cable. With a quick motion they left their feet in a flash, the torque of the mechanism whisking them through the air, closer and closer to the window. If this were for any other reason, the view would be nothing short of stunning, but the looming infiltration would snuff out any joy in the moment.

Cheshire whipped into the room like a shadow passing through a night hallway, and just as silent. After pulling back, his hook was retracted, returning back to it's home on his wrist, hiding under his sleeve. He motioned to Gem, placing one finger over the painted grin on his mask.

Silence would be their friend.

The redhead honestly had to bite her lip so she wouldn't go 'Whee!' while going through the air on the cable. This was kind of exciting in its own terrifying way. Still, the girl had to wonder just how it was that she got into this whole mess.

Gem nodded at the cat, understanding what was meant. She got down from the window as quietly as she could, which was not silent as Cheshire's movement was, but considering the teen had no training in sneaking, was still very close to silent. She tilted her head while looking at the gunner, asking without words what to do and where to go next.

She'd like to get this done as soon as possible, thank you very much.

Cheshire examined the room that they had entered. Though very dark from the years of neglect and the lack of electricity, this placed him directly into his element. The tattered drapes swung in the night breeze, playing with the shadows in the rest of the room. The apartment seemed as if it was just left during an active day, magazines still on the coffee table, dishes still in the sink. Cheshire silently moved across the room, placing his hand on the door knob with the utmost care, turning it without setting off a squeek. He nudged the door open, peering out into the hall. It remained empty, a good sign.

He turned to Gem and motioned with his head toward the hall, disappearing out into it right after.

Following as silently as she could, the girl wondered in the back of her mind what this Royal Flush Gang was doing. She'd heard that what they'd been trying to steal (successfully it seemed) was 'synthetic skin machines'. Whatever those were. The things that were being made these days...

Anyway, she wondered what they planned to do with those. And if it had anything to do with that Powers person. The two incidents seemed too conveniently close together for her liking. But then again, what did she know? She might have her hunches, but in the end there was nothing but speculation on her part. Her idea would just have to wait in the back of her mind to see if she was right or not.

She shook her head, ridding herself of those thoughts for the time being, and concentrated on following Cheshire.

Cheshire slid against the wall like he was one among the shadows, as near silent as possible. The stairs complicated things. They always creaked, but he assumed the King and Queen weren't sleeping by the steps. He made his way up and to the next level, staying as low to the ground as possible. His heat sensors didn't pick up any traces of life in the hall, outside of the stray hand print or two. The royal couple would be just upstairs, easily determined by the scars left by unskilled renovation on the ceiling overhead. Cheshire's mind fired like the detectives in the movies, numbers, facts, and experiences all meshing together until he put the pieces into the puzzle. They had cleared the level above them into a giant open space, giving them full-view of whatever and whoever entered their layer. It would make infiltration much more difficult for the girl who followed him.

He turned, motioning once with his hand for Gem to follow him in a quiet manner, then stepped into the hall, still thinking on what would come next.