Blue Robin | S. Lang

Chapter Eight

With still an hour and a half till she had to go to work, Rowe called Kace and they sat on the fire escape and he waited patiently while his best friend paced back and forth. He knew that there was something on her mind and that she was struggling with how to say it. Kace knew that the only way for her to get it out was for her to figure it out herself. Several times she looked at him and opened her mouth before closing it again and resuming her pacing.

"Okay, I'll let you keep figuring this out but first, how many things are you trying to figure out right now?" Kace asked her.

Rowe debated this for a moment. "Two."

"May I make a suggestion?" Rowe nodded, "start with the first one that happened."

"Alright," Rowe said, nodding. She took a deep breath and leaned back against the railing. "So I had a meeting with the guy who knows who I am and I'm going to work with him. I told myself I wouldn't get you involved in all the details, but this little bit of information is something I think you need to know."

"Then tell me," Kace prompted.

"I'm going to be working with him. I'm meeting his boss tonight."

"What will you be talking about or doing?" Kace asked, uncharacteristically unexcited.

"I don't know," Rowe admitted honestly, "I assume that's what we'll be talking about tonight."

"So what's the other thing?"

"My mom called."

"Oh, god." His eyes were wide, almost horrified. "What did she want?"

"Just to remind me that my father's birthday was coming up and they're doing something special."

"I thought your dad's birthday wasn't for another- Oh, she was talking about Isaac."

Rowe nodded. "She thought that after everything she and Isaac have done to my dad, I would actually want to give them something? Reward them for that behaviour?" she scoffed, "she always thinks that I will attend these events. She always assumes that just because she and my dad aren't together anymore and she's moved on that I have as well."

"I know she does, Rowe," Kace said.

"And she's wrong."

"I know that too."

Rowe huffed, folding her arms across her chest. "You know, it's times like these that make me wonder if maybe I should target Isaac next..."

"No," Kace said, "that's beneath you. Be the better person."

"Sometimes I just wish that I didn't have to."

Kace laughed and it made Rowe smile.

Whether or not she liked it, Rowe had to go to work that evening. Not only did she need the money, but it was this night that she was going to meet with Scott's boss. She was intrigued by what he might want, but that alone was not all that was convincing her to attend this meeting.

It was what he might do if she decided that she didn't want anything to do with them and their mission. He could reveal her identity to the world, tell everyone. She was sure if that happened that her "victims" would confess to being stolen from, and she would be persecuted.

The shift that night at the diner did not go quickly. The entire night, she went about her duties anxiously. Regular customers seemed to notice her anxiety, the constant bouncing of her leg or tapping of her foot. No one said anything about it to her face, but there was no doubt that they whispered to themselves when she was out of earshot.

By the time the clock was nearing eleven o'clock, Rowe's anxiety was building to its culmination. She dropped a glass, and then another. Two plates joined the fray and one of the other waitresses, a kind girl named Grace, told her to go take a breather outside and come back when she was ready. Rowe took her advice.

Outside in the alley, Rowe checked her surroundings to be sure she was okay and shifted into a small domestic cat and decided to work out some of her nerves by destroying some of the garbage and other unimportant items in the alley.

When the brunette shifted back into her human form, she found that she felt better. After making sure she looked presentable, Rowe headed back into the diner and looked at the clock. Ten minutes till eleven thirty.

Anxiety once more bubbled up in her stomach but she took several deep breaths and was able to calm it. Grace welcomed her back and gave her back her notebook with a smile. Grace was kind, and it was people like her that Rowe worked so hard to help.

Eleven thirty came and passed. Something like disappointment filled Rowe, but she remembered that Scott had said it would be eleven thirty-ish. She sighed and hid her disappointment as she talked with the chef, Simon.

When the sound of a bell tinkling reached her ears, Rowe turned to the door to see who the new customer coming in the door was and saw Scott. A smile spread across her face. He gave her a smile too, once he saw her and she reached for her notebook.

Then her eyes landed on the person coming in behind him. He was older than Scott, with white hair and wire-rimmed glasses, a goatee and analytical eyes. He was dressed in a white button-up shirt, a pair of crisp beige pants, a matching blazer, and a navy-blue tie.

Rowe recognized the man, but she couldn't seem to place his name. Her eyes narrowed, trying to place his face, to match it to a name. But at this moment, it just wasn't happening.

"Uh," Rowe turned to Simon, "I'm gonna take my break now, okay, Simon?"

"Sure, Rowe."

She gave him a smile and hopped over the counter, not ashamed since there were no other customers inside the restaurant. She slid into a booth next to Scott and across from the stranger. Grace watched with curiosity, but she came over to take the new customers orders.

"What can I getcha?" the blonde asked them.

"A milkshake and some fries for me, please, Grace," Rowe told her.

"Whatever it was I had last time," Scott said, looking to Rowe for the answer.

"Scrambled eggs, bacon, coffee, and white toast," the brunette answered with a roll of her eyes.

The three young people turned their attention to the stranger. He glanced up from the menu at the blonde waitress. "A burger and fries, vanilla milkshake."

Once Grace had gone to the kitchen to give the order to Simon, Rowe turned to Scott. "So, are you going to introduce your boss?"

Scott smiled, "Rowe Montgomery, meet Hank Pym."