CHAPTER SIX
( prince in armour )
❛ jonathan crane ❜
†
THE SHEER AMOUNT OF PEOPLE HUDDLED around the bar was enough to make Athena regret her decisions. Even as she was coming down the stairs, she could hear them; the buzzing of excitement, the cursing over a loss of poker, the undeniable smell of spilt alcohol. But as she stepped off the final stair, the wave of thick, sticky air hit her hard enough to knock the breath out of her.
The booths were filled with people; couples, friends, business partners, all clinking drinks and laughing. The wooden floor already wet with droplets of spilt ale and wine from the uncoordinated men at the bar. Some of said men, large enough to hurl a jug of beer hard enough to knock you out, were talking in amongst themselves, huddled together against the back wall, their words gibberish as the effects of the alcohol took its toll. There were more men drooling over the bartender, leaning across the counter in an unattractive angle as she made drink after drink for the males in front of her, bathing in the attention by the look on her face. Scanning down the bar table, her eyes skimmed past a man, elbows resting on the bench as he ordered another whiskey and coke. He was kind of cute, if she was being honest, and found it odd that no one seemed to be interacting with him. It seemed that everyone else was partnered with someone, whether it be a friend, potential hook up or a rival; everyone had someone. So this man stuck out like a sore thumb.
She felt Jason's shoulder touch hers as he finished his decent down the stairs. "No drinking," he whispered in her ear.
Considering he was the one that came up with the idea, Jason was surprisingly stern about that rule. No matter how much he drinks by himself, he refused to drink on a job; in fear that it would cloud his mind, make his judgement poor. But he was being stupid—it took a lot more than one or two drinks to make Athena lose focus.
She rolled her eyes and stepped forward. "We have to blend in. If we don't drink anything then how do you expect to—"
"No drinking."
She gave him a side glance and sighed deeply. "Fine," she mumbled. But as Jason's eyes passed over the scenes unraveling before him, assessing, analysing, weighing the possible outcomes, she grinned. "But, I'm getting them anyway and we can at least pretend to be having a good time."
†
Jason was awfully good at pretend.
They'd wandered over to a group of four men standing around a table, beers in hand as Athena purposely stumbled into one, the youngest of the group, and muttered apology after apology as she steadied herself. The man, short brown hair and golden skin to match his eyes, only stared at her—until he began rambling an apology instead. Jason pulled up a few minutes later, another drink in his hand and laughed, taking a swing. Or so everyone thought. Given how often drinks were spilt, no one really noticed the constant puddle around Jason's mug, or the alcohol continuously sloshing over the sides at his clumsy, 'drunken' movements.
Jason closed in and laughed as he raised his cup. "Ain't she a beauty, gentlemen?" he grinned, throwing a hand around the man's shoulder.
The man seemed more of a boy really, Athena noted. Young, early 20's at least, with golden eyes that lacked the wisdom of age. Not that men had much wisdom to begin with with. He was attractive none-the-less and Athena found it cute when red flushed the boy's cheeks as he struggled to get the words out.
Swallowing, the boy flicked his eyes from her to Jason and back to her again before he shuffled uncomfortably on his feet. "S-she sure is. Must be amazing to have her around all the time, huh?" he laughed, more nervous than anything. Athena couldn't help herself as the edge of her lips tipped into a smile.
Jason leaned in, a conspirator's grin on his face. "Oh, you'd be surprised. She's horrible most of the time."
Athena kicked him—hard enough because she knew it wasn't entirely a lie—as one of the men opposite her snapped his head back and howled.
He was a tall man, she noticed, bulking around his arms and chest with black hair that shook as he regained his composure. But if it weren't for the thick facial hair growing on his chin up to his ears, she wouldn't have picked him to be older than 25.
The man slapped the brown haired boy in the back. "Our little Lukey-Boy here is used to handling hard women, I reckon he'd be up for a challenge."
The boy—Luke—rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Daniel. I still get more girls than you."
Daniel grinned, one that reminded her awfully of the assassin standing a mere meter away from her. She tossed her gaze to Jason and the smile she saw made her wonder whether he still was still playing pretend. "Oh, you love it. Hanging out with your best pals and all," Daniel wiggled his brows and nudged Luke with an elbow. The latter only sighed heavily through his nose, earning a roar of laughter from the two other men around the table.
Athena soon realised that she very much liked Luke and Daniel. She wasn't one to get along well with people, particularly men, when she first met them. But, these guys were such easy people to get along with that Athena couldn't refuse when they proposed the idea of a game of poker. It was Jonah's idea, Daniel's childhood friend since primary school. He wasn't overly attractive but his smile lit up the bar, and it was intoxicating. Luke, she soon learnt, was shit at poker. He was an intelligent boy, going places in life even if he hadn't realised it, but could not keep a straight face even if his life depended upon it. It was Daniel and Jason that took it too seriously, often the ones throwing their money when an ace appeared in their hand, no matter what others they held. Needless to say, they were short games, Athena often taking the glory.
The hours passed by a series of clanking glasses and perfect cards suites, group singing sessions to the loud tune of country, and as the clock was silenced by the never-ending music, Athena found herself leaning into Jason's shoulder, laughing as Daniel finished his crude and absurd story of his ex-girlfriend and her father's phone.
She banged her fist on the table, howling—and that wasn't entirely an act either. And as Jason slipped a casual arm around her waist, his touch somehow sending a bright hot flame through her, she began to wonder if he was still pretending, too.
Athena casted her eyes over at the clock above the bar. It was midnight. They'd been here for 3 hours already, and she hadn't even began her search.
"I thought you said you were good, Jason?" Daniel slurred, slamming his fist on the table and revealing his cards. A straight. If she hadn't spent years training with Jason and learning all his movements, even the tiniest of movements, she, too, would've missed the flash behind his eye and the twitch of a smile.
She had to admit, she liked drunk Daniel.
And even more, drunk Luke.
The latter had been the first to start the bar karaoke as he sung poorly to the music (terribly off key and the words became muddled into one) but nonetheless, it was extremely enjoyable to watch. He wandered off to the bathroom near half an hour ago with Jonah, claiming that Luke was going to puke on himself if they didn't hurry and get him to a toilet.
"Well played, Daniel. But you're going to have to do better than that," replied Jason as his he flipped his cards over to show a flush of hearts. Daniel's mouth hung as Jason leant back in his chair and folded his arms as a smug of satisfaction smeared across his face.
"Boys, boys, settle down with all the testosterone. If you're so picky about who the winner is, then please," she smirked, "allow me." Athena laid down her cards, revealing a hand of two sixes and three kings. A full house. Daniel groaned and Jason only laughed as she gathered the chips and drew them into her ever-growing pile. "Well, I'll let you little girls continue on while I go get more drinks. Try not to have too much fun without me," she smiled, waving her hand as pushed her way through the growing crowd towards the bar. She felt Jason's eyes on her the entire way.
Athena elbowed her way through the crowd, trying her best not to growl at every touch upon her skin until she finally reached the bar table. She sighed.
"Rough night?"
Athena snapped her head to the side and almost allowed the shock to take over her features. It was that man she'd seen earlier. The odd one. The cute one. And, fuck, he was so much cuter up close.
Athena loosed a lazy smile, a grin she hoped would come across as intoxicated.
"You could say that," she lied, placing her elbow on the bar top and landing the side of her head on her fist. The man smiled and took a sip of the whiskey. He set the glass down and twisted around on the bar stool until he was facing her. He ushered the bartender over and ordered another 2 whiskeys and coke.
"Who said I wanted a drink?" She cooed.
"Who said they were for you?" He cocked an eyebrow and she clicked her tongue. I'm going to enjoy this one. She staggered over so she was next to him, 'accidentally' stumbling and brushing her hand against his arm to keep her upright. He had immediately gone to catch her as she fell and it was at that moment, she knew she had him.
"My Prince Charming in shining armour, coming to save the damsel in distress. How bold," she purred, standing upright. Her hand remained lightly on his shoulder. "Does my handsome saviour have a name?"
He chuckled and she fought off the growing sly grin from her features. "Jonathan. Jonathan Crane."
Athena almost choked.
Holy shit.
This was it. This was him. The man they were looking for. Jonathan Crane. The buyer—this was him. She had found him. First. She had found him first.
Oh, she could not wait to brag to Jason that she had found him first. Fuck, she would never let it down. Because she did it. She did it first. Bruce would finally see her for her worth, see that even though she was female, she could get the job done 2–no, 10 times faster than any man. No longer would she have to drag around that pathetic idiot. Bruce would finally see that she was competent enough to do things herself, do then her way. The smile that appeared on her face then was not fake. "Crane, huh? Cute name."
Jonathan scoffed as the bar tender placed the drinks he ordered in front of him. "And does m'lady have a name, or shall I just call you princess from now on?"
Athena snickered and casually casted her gaze around the room—only to lock eyes with Jason, his brows furrowed together in an emotion even she couldn't decipher. She only winked in reply and turned her head back to Jonathan before she had time to notice the flash behind his eye. "As much as I do love to be called princess, my name is Jane."
Jonathan smiled, "Well, Jane, it appears you and I are in a similar situation."
Athena hummed, the lazy smile growing larger by the second. "And what's that?"
"It seems that neither of us have a drinking partner." With a quick slight of hand, Jonathan slid the glass of whisky over to her—which fitted perfectly into her already waiting hand.
Athena laughed. "But if only I was here for a drinking partner, then my luck would be at its peak. However, that is not the case."
Jonathan said, "Then what is it you are looking for?"
Athena glanced down at her hands, an attempt to make her seem vulnerable; just an innocent girl looking to have some fun. And, damn, did she play that role well. "Well," she whispered, quiet enough for him to lean in. "I was looking for something. Something fun. I heard it makes you wild. And I heard I could get it here."
Jonathan raised his brows. Athena continued, raising up slightly and darting her eyes across the room in a feeble attempt to make her come across as weary to the ears around her. Jonathan seemed to buy it. She cuffed her hand around his ear and spoke quietly, "It's called Scarecrow. It's a drug...I think. I was told by one of my friends that it's amazing. That if I want to have a good time, that's the shit I need."
The man before her didn't seem to move. He sat oddly still for a male with an attractive girl sitting this close to him. Unless... unless he knew something. Unless he knew about her, about what she's doing. Shit. Her heart began to race. Shit, shit shit! He knows. She was too careless. Too reckless. She shouldn't have gone straight in, she should have waited for Jason. She ruined it. He knows. He know. He knows—
"I can help you with that."
Her heart stopped, only for a second, but that second was enough for her to look up at him and see his eyes glowing. Maybe, just maybe, she hadn't fucked it up. "Really?"
"Really. Except, I don't have any on me at the moment. But, I do know how you can get some. I'm meeting with the supplier 3 days from now, at the abounded parking lot on Richmond Avenue. Meet me there at 8pm sharp."
Athena knew she was good. But this good? This had to be some sort of record. Not only had she tracked down their first lead in a matter of hours, but now she had already located the supplier and even made an arrangement to meet them without having to kill anyone. God, she was good.
"But you must come alone. If he finds out that I told anyone...god, he'd have me killed."
She feigned the shock that appeared on her face. "Then why did you tell me?"
Jonathan smirked as his eyes travelled down her body and back up. "I'm sure he can make an exception."
Athena giggled, the sound alien in throat, poison to her ears. She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and pushed off the bar stool. She began to skip herself away when his hand shot out and gripped her by the arm, hard enough for her to stop skipping and for panic to seep in. She turned around slowly, the grin twitching. He only stared at her, directly into her eyes, as if he was searching. Then—"you forgot your drink."
The tension in her shoulders she didn't even realise was there, suddenly released as he grabbed the shot of whisky from the bar and handed it to her. She laughed. "Oh, sorry, I completely forgot! Silly me." Nervous laughter followed.
But he didn't let go. He was waiting. At least, that's what it looked like. So she took it. Brought the glass to her lips and downed it in one quick motion. The grip on her arm faded and she waved back to Jonathon before making her way back through the crowd, back to Jason.
But, she didn't get very far before the world tilted. She stopped moving, the floor slipped out from underneath her and she felt herself being thrown around the mob of people, bouncing off on another like the ball inside a pinball machine. The walls began to close in, a dark cloud circling her as her knee began to quake. She reached out, desperate to grab something—anything—to help her keep upright, but it was only air that greeted her open hand. The cloud became larger, the grey growing darker. She spun around, her eyes darting from person to person, the plea of help voiceless in her mouth. And as the dark cloud began to consume her, he eyes found Jason. Jason with a look so foreign on his face that it that it drowned out the darkness that swallowed her.
The last thing she remembered was hearing Jason's yell from across the room as he scrambled to his feet, leaping over furniture and shoving past people so violently that some fell to the ground and cursed at him. And as the darkness fell, it was Jason's outstretched hand that made her think that everything was going to be okay.
authors note
my bday is in 17 days yeet. and that's how old ill be too. COINCIDENCE I THINK NOT.