Silence is the New Riddle

【36 prt. 2】

"Okay," Selina said, tossing the empty bags into the back of the nondescript black van we'd be using as our transportation and getaway car, "why don't we get going. Jon, you ride in back and tell Ridley how things are going to happen."

We were all standing in a smaller warehouse that must've been their "garage" of sorts, surrounded by at least a dozen cars or so. Wondering if they'd been obtained illegally (they probably were), I scrambled into the back of the van and sat down next to the bags against the side.

"Why do I have to be in the back?" Jon scowled.

"Because," Selina said impatiently, "You can't expect to drive with that thing on your arm, can you?"

"Fine," Jon humphed, tossing his bag in before climbing into the van and sitting across from me.

"Let's get this show on the road then!" Selina got into the driver's seat and shut the door before turning the engine on and backing out of the warehouse.

"The bank that we're going to be robbing is one of the smaller ones here in Gotham," Jon said as Selina drove. "Small enough that it will most likely fly under the radar, it big enough to warrant our interest. You got that?"

I gave a curt nod, tapping my fingers on my leg.

"We only take what we need," Jon continued, "no more, no less. It's the same with our other robberies and heists. Unlike some of the other Rouges, we don't mindlessly loot and raid places. That's what's been keeping us out of Arkham, mostly."

What's your purpose for robbing the bank tonight then? I signed slowly so I could give Jon a better chance of understanding me.

Jon furrowed his bore and thought hard before replying, "The whole point of this mission is to get you introduced to our lifestyle."

That's not really a good excuse, I signed with a frown.

"Well there's the money aspect of it as well," Jon admitted, "you can't really get a normal job once you become one of the city's most wanted criminals. You have to pay the bills, you know?"

I give him a surprised look and Jon rolled his eyes, "Give me a break. We may be criminals, but we're not savages."

So nothing like Robin Hood then? Taking from the rich and giving to the poor? Obviously, it was nothing like that, but someone had to make sure, right? Maybe a small part of me hoped that they really were nice people? They had been treating me decently enough this whole time, surprisingly enough.

"God no," Jon snorted, "it's more like taking from those unfortunate to have bank accounts in the banks we rob and giving it to ourselves. Or more accurately, giving it to people to bribe them to keep their mouths shut about various things, really anything we need it for."

He lapsed into silence and I was all too happy to let it stay that way. I didn't have to kinks about the Rouges questionable business dealings, at least not yet. The light from the street lamp glinted off of Jon's glasses as Selina turned down a street before the van was filled once again with a shadowy darkness.

I couldn't help but feel kind of sorry for Jon. He had it fairly rough, but didn't all the Rouges? Pushed to the edges of society because of their misgivings. Not saying that there weren't the ones that just did it because they could. I recalled what Bruce had told me about him. Jon had another, more deadly personality that had led the public to know him as Scarecrow. While it wasn't as bad as Two-Face, Jon's alter-ego was just as prominent.

What was it like to have a part of you, something that was and wasn't, separate? It must've been hard for Jon to deal with it day in and day out. Maybe that's why he was always in a crappy mood. A part of me knew it was just that though if it was at all. Ever since I'd figured out that Jon liked Edward, his mannerisms and attitude made more and more sense. What was I thinking though? It couldn't possibly sympathize with someone like him. Out of all of those I've been around, he was probably the most dangerous.

"What is it?" Jon snapped. "You're staring."

I blinked slowly, having not realized it until he'd called me out.

Nothing, I signed, shaking my head, just thinking. I tapped the side of my head.

"Well, can you think without staring?" Jon scowled. "It's irritating."

Better than you thinking, I replied, you'd just lower the IQ of the whole street.

Jon scowl deepened, "Now you're sounding like Edward. He's a bad influence on you."

What's your deal with him? I ask. Did he do anything that causes you to act this way?

Jon opened his mouth to speak only to lurch forward as the van came to a halt.

"Sorry about that," Selina said, cutting the engine, "but we're here."

"Finally!" Jon said before rummaging through his bag. "Here, look at this."

He spread out a piece of patter on the floor of the van and shined a flashlight on it.

Leaning forward, I saw that it was a floor plan of the place we were going to rob.

Jon pulled out another map and placed it beside the floor plan, "We're here." He pointed to an alleyway that ran between two buildings. "The bank is here," he pointed to the building that was directly across from where we were. "And then the floor plan..." he pulled it back out so that it laid on top of the map. "Entrance is here, it's the closest to us, and the vault, which is here..." he tapped an outline of a room in the far corner, "is the farthest away."

So just try to get to the vault as soon as possible without dying? I asked.

"You're not going to die," Jon rolled his eyes, "mostly only get hurt."

Cause that's so much better.

"You can die if you want to," he snapped.

"Nobody's going to die or get hurt," Selina said twisting around to face us, "not on my watch."

How are we going to get into the vault?

"Well that's the tricky thing," Jon said. "Edward's going to shut down the power in this sector of the city so the alarms don't go off. That's good for us, but on the flip side, we won't be able to see as clearly, and the vault will be pretty much impossible to open."

Then what's the point of robbing a bank you can't even get money out of?

"That's where this thing comes into play." Jon pulled out another thing from his bag and it took me a split second to realize what it was.

A bomb!? I signed wildly. Why would you— that's a national offense! Terrorism!

"Why are you surprised?" Jon said. "Besides, it's measured out exactly to cause the minimal amount of damage but still open the vault. Terrorism isn't that big of a deal to me anyway," he smirked, "I am The King of Fear after all. All forms of terror are my specialty."

"Enough chit-chat," Selina said, "let's get this going. Edward should be cutting the power in about five minutes."

"Perfect," Jon said, slipping his mask on and opening the back of the van, before grabbing his bag. I followed more slowly, apprehension coiling in my stomach.

"Don't forget to put your mask on," Selina told me, getting out and walking over. "And what about your weapon?" she chided. "Do you expect to walk in there and survive without one?"

I shook my head, cheeks flaring in embarrassment. I climbed back into the van and grabbed my weapon, which was currently in its dormant phase; a canister type thing about the size of a large canned good, with a handle and trigger.

Holstering it, I climbed back out and slipped my mask over my head. It felt a bit strange, definitely something I would have to get used to, like everything else that would happen tonight. I just had to now be careful to not have my mask fall off, considering that the only thing that was holding it in place was a thin elastic strap.

"Here." Selina tossed me a pair of gloves and one of the duffle bags.

"This is so far below us," Jon complained as I pulled on the gloves before shouldered the duffle bag and twisting the strap slightly in my hand. "Why couldn't we do something more interesting like crashing a ball, or even having something more interesting to do other than walking in? This is so stupid."

"Just shut up and go along with it," Selina snapped. "I'm in no mood to argue with you. While I might agree, this is for Ridley. We can do something more extravagant some other time."

Jon grunted and tapped his foot; waiting.

"Jon will take care of the people inside of the bank," Selina said to me, pulling on her own cat-like mask. "That leaves us to open the vault and get the money."

Jon handed Selina the homemade bomb just a nearby streetlight flickered out.

"That'd be our queue," he said as more lights continued to go out.

"It won't be completely dark in there," Selina said as we crept out of the alley and stole across the street, keeping low. "The bank likely has generators. You'll do fine."

I only hoped that I would.