ANGELS WEEP || bruce wayne

the fourteenth

🦇

Fuck fuck fuck fucking fuckity fuck fuck

Stacey strode up to the Iceberg Lounge in long, confident strides, suaveness dripping off of her like dew in the fresh morning fog.

She knocked once, than twice, than three times on the huge, thick metal door in a complicated pattern that she remembered her father doing quite distinctly.

There was a whispering behind the door, then a man- short, scruffy, underworld-type- opened it.

"We haven't heard that knock in a-" he halted himself, taking in the tall Italian woman in front of him. "Maria?!"

"Good try, Min." Stacey bumped his shoulder as she toed in, whispering: "You call me by my mother's name again and I'll have you skinned" into his ear and watching him go tense, smiling wickedly at the reaction.

Min's posture straightened and he held the door open as she finished stepping inside, glancing over to his twin brother- who was staring at her, slack jawed.

Her head whipped over to look at Max- Min's twin- and extended her pointer finger to snap his mouth closed.

"You'll catch flies," she drolled lazily, letting the crowd part before her as she started her ascent up the metal staircase.

The club was crowded with people, red lights and intense techno music being pumped into the once-warehouse with such focus that it wormed it's way into Stacey's body, making her match her steps to the rhythm.

People turned to face her as she wiggled through the crowd, attempting to reach the edge, but consequently being pulled back in with handshakes and kisses on her hand.

The people around her dripped with sweat, their skin brushing and slapping and sliding against her's, making her want to throw herself off the balcony she was currently on. She shuffled towards the elevator to try to see over the bloody red din.

"Ey yo, Maroni!" Someone shouted above her, and she lifted her head, swatting the now-damp hair out of her eyes. God, it's hot in here.

"That's me!" She shouted back, squinting up into the lights to see a hazy silhouette leaning over the railing above her.

"Stay there!"

Stacey started to say something back but the person had disappeared, leaving her to try not to give in to the swaying waves of the crowd.

"If you ever need my help, Donna, don't hesitate to call," someone said next to her, slipping what seemed to be a business card into her pocket.

"Maroni, I thought that was you! Back again so late, huh? Haven't seen you since you were this little!"

"Hey Maroni, remember me? I was on good terms with your pa. If you need sum anytime you let me know, I'm not too expensive."

Stacey looked to the sweaty man currently talking into her ear, ignoring the other eyes around her. "Not expensive, or not worth paying? You gotta know your worth, buddy, or you're not worth my time."

The crowd watching her every move roared in cruel laughter and the man hung his head in shame, letting the crowd carry him away. Stacey knew how this went, the rumors would circulate about how the head of the family had insulted him and he would then be shunned for a good long while, at least, until the boss needed you again. She hadn't meant to ruin the man's livelihood, but there was nothing she could do now.

It hurt her how powerful her words had become. She would have to be more careful in choosing them.

A hand grabbed her and she tore her arm away, searching for the perpetrator in her limited field of vision.