Chapter 5: Ride with A Bat

When Selenna woke, she knew it was bad. She didn’t need the bars covering the windows on the walls, nor the bite of the restraints that were holding her wrists behind her, to know she’d been captured. Not only that, but betrayed, too.

“Ugh, what hit me?” She groaned, her head lolling from side to side as her vision returned. She took in her surroundings in more detail. The sensation of movement underfoot told her she was in a moving vehicle. Possibly a police transporter. That wasn’t good. Not only that, but as her vision returned, so too, did her sense of smell. And she knew she was not alone.

“That was quite an exit you almost had, Selenna.” He said, bringing his cowled face from into the shadows into the light.

“Ah—how are you always doing that. The sneak-out-of-nowhere-thing?” She gasped. He grinned.

“I don’t suppose this is the point where I say, ‘I’m sorry’, you unlock me, and I go free?” She raised an eyebrow hopefully, but his scowl was back.

“Hey—worth a try.”

He grunted and leaned back, disappearing into the shadows.

They trundled along in silence for what felt like an hour, Selenna always the one to fill the void.

“Hey, how did you manage to stay alive after Evie plugged you with that nasty shot of plant juice? No? Not going to tell me, huh…”

(silence)

“You know, you’ve got really pretty eyes…”

(silence)

“Hey, I don’t know if this police van has microphones, but I still remember that time you caught me on that rooftop…all alone…in the rain…remember we’d—”

“They do have surveillance equipment in this van, yes.” He said from the shadows.

“Really? Want to give ‘em a show, for old time’s sake?”

(silence)

She leaned back and licked her lips and knew He’d be blushing from underneath that rubber cowl.


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The van slowed down, its hydraulic brakes hissing as it came to a stop. She heard the sound of a door opening and closing followed by the heavy scrape of a deadbolt being drawn back. She knew they were about to get out. To wherever ‘there’ was.

If she had a fleeting thought of freedom, it was stymied, as she felt her upper arm being grasped in His vice-like one as he came out of the shadows.

“No tricks.” He said sternly.

The doors of the armored transporter flew back and several armed guards, replete with tactical gear, riot shields and electrified batons formed a line. Selenna didn’t need to ask where they were, for as she hopped down from the truck, still in His grip, the head of the facility was already there. She knew that face all too well.

“Ah, Selenna. Welcome back to Bluegate Penitentiary.”

She swallowed. She’d only been here once, and once was enough. The warden, Reginald James, who today was wearing a blue-black suit greeted her with a smile she did not trust. When she did not give an answering gesture, his smile turned even wider, unnerving her. He turned on the heel of his expensive shoes and led the way inside for processing.

Selenna looked up at the Bat, hoping that maybe he’d just this once play nice and let her go. But she knew there was no point in asking, their history notwithstanding, He was a hero and she—the career criminal.

When she did not immediately follow the warden, the line of tactical men surrounded her, batons at the ready, just waiting for an excuse. They need not have bothered, for His grip on her upper arm was all that was needed. He gave her a none-too-gentle squeeze and they proceeded down towards the central processing building. And despite the radio chatter over their radios, the drone of large powerful generators and the whirring of helicopters, the clunk of His black boots was the only sound she heard.


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As they entered the building, she spied all manner of electronic surveillance equipment as well as innumerable guards and locked doors, electronically sealed. She became confused as they walked passed the area of the building that lead to central processing. Instead, she was taken through a different set of doors, marked by higher security. Her armpits were damp with sweat. With every slide of a keycard, fingerprint scan, retinal scan or pin-code entry, Selenna as getting more apprehensive.

“Ah, Selenna, do sit down.” Said the warden, after a time, as she was taken not to the processing building, but to his private office. She was, of course, accompanied by a new set of guards, this lot looked no less lethal than those whom she met outside, but she was still being carried by The Bat. She chose to stand.

“And guards, yes—you there. Remove her restraints. I don’t think this one will be giving us any trouble while He’s around.” One of the guards looked tentatively from his superior to Selenna to The Bat.

“Uh, excuse me, Mr. Bat, ah, sir.” The Bat grunted as he moved slightly for the man to remove the handcuffs.

He’d lessened his grip only slightly, presumably, she thought, because there was a less than zero chance of her being able to make any sort of escape, restraints or not.

The warden had sat down behind the large expansive desk, its surface covered in several files. He pulled from the inside pocket of his suit jacket a pair of glasses and put them on and reached for the nearest file. Tilting her head to the side, she saw the file bore her name.

“That was quite the caper you pulled this evening. Quite a lot of damage you caused, too.” He looked over his glasses at her, like a headmaster reprimanding a pupil. She pulled a face as he licked a finger and opened the file and skim-read.

“Breaking and entering…electronic tampering, significant property damage, grand-grand larceny...and several deaths. To fellow criminals, but murder is still murder.”

“Hey—that wasn’t me! That was Evie’s doing!” She leaned forward, still restrained by The Bat as several guards leaned in reflexively.

He gave her that piercing stare over his glasses once more and turned yet another page. “Yes…I do see something here in the police report about that.” He looked over at The Bat, “Apparently ‘He’ vouches to that fact in the statement he gave to the police earlier. Still…”

The warden closed the file gingerly and folded his hands atop it as if in evening prayer. He looked at her and then around the room. His eyes fell to a portrait on the wall. Selenna couldn’t help herself, she looked too.

“Do you know who that noble man is? No? That is Dr. Nigel Cross, my predecessor. A great man.”

He stood up and made to walk around the large desk and stand before her. Despite herself, Selenna tensed her muscles.

“And do you know why he remains on my wall?”

Selenna stoically lifted her chin, “I dunno, because you like dudes?”

He smiled and took off his glasses and stood mere inches from her face. His breath smelt of coffee and cigarettes and she was pretty sure alcohol, too. It was a vile smell.

“He is there as a reminder—” his hand shot out quick as lightning, catching her by surprise and grabbing her forcefully by the chin. Despite his age, he had a vice-like grip. Selenna wriggled and winced as he continued, “—yes, a reminder of what can happen when complacency can kill. You see, he started off as a hard-nosed warden, subjecting the inmates to the legal limits of physical torture. But then he developed a soft spot for one of them. Not romantically, but intellectually. And do you know what happened then? One evening when the warden brought that criminal up to his office—yes, this very one—he turned his back on them for only a moment, but a moment was all that was needed and. Well, let’s just say he’s enjoying early retirement without the use of his sight.” She brought up her hands to defend herself, pushing against his jacket, but his grip on her face was so strong, she yielded.

He sneered as he continued to squeeze into her face, then released her, pushing her head back.

“And so, I do not intend to make that same mistake. This is the final time we shall meet until your release date, which looks like it won’t be for—dear me—another 15 years. I may, myself, be retired.” He gave a chuckle as he strode lazily back behind the desk. His back was to her now and he was looking out a large window, seeing nothing and everything.

“But make no mistake, I will be keeping my ‘eye’ on you—both of them.” He gave a dismissive waive of the hand.

“What! That’s bullshit! Where’s my phone call? I want a lawyer! Bats—you gotta help me out here, buddy!” She cried out as she wiggled in his grip; the guards now clustering around her, handcuffs out once more to restrain her.

“Oh, and start her off in solitary—for her insolent outburst. I will not stand for it. I think a month should do.” He gave the order like one would do at a fast-food restaurant.

“Hey, easy lady. You heard the warden!” Said one of the guards, wrestling her hands behind her back and frog-marched her out the room.

The warden turned his head a fraction and smiled at an irate Selenna, who could be heard unloading obscenities all the way down the hall.

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