Broken | Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow

IV.

Jonathan couldn't help but observe the area around him once they got out of the car. It didn't appear as if there was houses nearby, just warehouses. For a second, he almost considered that maybe this was a trick.

His thoughts were pushed to the side when she said, "Before we talk, I thought you'd be interested in seeing this." He followed her, with a bit of confusion, as she led him down an alley.

Jonathan watched as she knocked on a part of the brick wall and almost questioned what she was doing. The space opened and she led him down a flight of stairs.

"Interesting."

He nodded in agreement with the voice in his head before he stopped walking. They were in a big room full of thugs, some faces he recognized from that night.

Jonathan watched in awe as they all stopped what they were doing when Natalie entered the room. The loyalty they had for her was questionable but interesting nonetheless.

"Hi." Natalie greeted them, a smile on her face, before she turned to look back at Jonathan. "This way." He followed her, eyeing the thugs reactions as they passed by them.

Some of them stared Jonathan down, wanting to intimidate him. Others watched in confusion, considering that no outsider has ever entered there hide out. The rest of them stared at Natalie
in awe, maybe even lust.

Natalie was either oblivious or accustomed to the last group's stares, considering that she kept walking and didn't show any sign of being uncomfortable.

She led him towards the only hallway in the room while the thugs whispered among themselves - wondering what connection their boss had with the unknown man.

When they entered the hallway, Jonathan was able to hear screams coming from the end. He wondered if Natalie could hear them too, since she hasn't shown any sign of surprise.

"He took most of your drugs that night, I only had a small dosage." She explained as she opened the door to the room. They both walked in and Jonathan saw a man hunched over in a corner, crying and screaming; one of his favorite scenes.

"He had most of it alone?" Jonathan questioned as he examined the scene before him. When he heard the man scream 'get them off me' he could already assume what his fear was. Bugs, a typical fear he had encountered.

She nodded, a look of concern on her face. Natalie tried to inch closer to the man but he only let out more screams when he saw her. "What am I supposed to do?" Natalie sighed, glancing over at Jonathan. "He was one of my best workers." Her bottom lip pushed out, forming a pout on her lips at her predicament.

For a second, he actually believed that she cared about her workers but that was only proven wrong when he realized they were just workers to her.

His hand ran through his hair as he thought of what to tell her. "I am sure that with the amount he took, his mind is probably useless to you right now." His eyes fell on her. "Get a new worker."

She sighed, even though he was sure it wouldn't be hard to get someone to work for her. He followed her out of the room but quickly stopped when someone pulled Natalie to the side.

The sudden action startled him a bit but when he saw she wasn't in danger, his nerves relaxed a bit. The thug, Michael, pulled her to where Jonathan couldn't hear her conversation.

"Did he fix him?" He asked, putting his gun down out of respect for her. Jonathan stood by where he remembered the stairs where, as he waited for Natalie.

She shook her head. "Not yet, but he will." The lie spilled out of her mouth before she could help herself. Remaining truthful was something she always took pride for, but there were times where she had to bend the truth a bit. Especially since she had no idea how to tell Michael that his brother's brain was basically dead. 

Micheal had a smile on his face as he nodded. "Thank you." Natalie gave him a quick pat on the shoulder as she walked towards Jonathan. "You better have an antidote for your shit." She harshly told to him as they exited the building.

Jonathan was a bit taken back by her anger, and a bit angry himself at how she treated him in front of all her workers. "Is there a reason for your sudden mood change back there?" He inquired once they were out of the place and out of ear shot.

She didn't answer him as they both made their way towards her car. Once they were in the safety of her car, she let out a frustrated sigh and hit her steering wheel. Jonathan just sat and watched, unsure of how to deal with these type of situations. 

 "I don't even get why they get into this type of work if they know that there'll be complications." She started her car, shook her head and looked out the window. "Like, it's not my fault his fucking brother took all those drugs? He should have told him not to be such a damn addict."

Jonathan nodded, listening to her spilling her anger out. "You're right, it isn't your fault. Everybody has a brain to make their own decisions." He told her, carefully choosing his words as to not anger her anymore. "He'll be fine in a couple of days, or weeks." He offered, as some type of reassurance.

Natalie nod, hesitantly, considering Jonathan's words. "If he's not, I'll just have to kill him." She sighed and started driving off.