The Bane of Our Existence [The Dark Knight Rises]

6: Dark Places

Bría ran her sweaty hands over the fronts of her thighs as Bane turned to face her. The crew all went back to work with the fair warning that she was off limits. Approaching him, still walking as though she'd had too much to drink, she stood before him and nodded her head. This time, it didn't loll forward and she didn't stumble.

"Thank you," she said to him.

"You need not thank me," Bane told her. "You asked for sanctuary."

She dipped her head, unsure of what else to say. Then she ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it back and feeling the grime. Her attention moved towards the tunnels, she needed to get home -to Robbie's- so that she could shower, call her mum, and check in with her psychologist. If she didn't, she'd be on every cops radar, something she believed would not help Bane's cause -whatever it was.

Falling into a walk, she sluggishly moved to the tunnels to go -Bane fell in stride with her, to her surprise. Hooking his hands into the front of the vest he wore, he walked with a body-builder gait. Bría kept her eyes in front of her, but there was a tugging that made her want to look at him. Something about the protective aura that surrounded his demeanour when she was around, it sat right with her.

"Why have you come to Gotham?" she asked as they weaved through the tunnels.

"That answer will come in due time," he said. He did not want to tell her that Gotham would be nothing more than an ash heap in a few months time. "Why did you come to Gotham?"

"What makes you think I am not from here?" She inquired.

He turned his head, still walking forward. "Your accent."

She chuckled lightly, "Canadian-born, my mother is Icelandic. Never knew my father."

Immediately after speaking, Bría felt like an idiot. Why was she telling Bane all of this? He did not care about her life before Gotham, she was so tiny on a scale of things that mattered to this mercenary, this terrorist. A blush crept up on her face and she wished she could take back what she said, tell Bane to go back to the cavern so he could keep an eye on the workers there.

"You have still not answered my question," Bane said as the reached the ladder that would bring her back up to the surface. The stood facing each other, Bane's hands still hooked into his vest, Bría's arms crossed over her chest.

"I can't reveal all my secrets, Bane," she smirked as she grabbed the rung of the ladder. As she began to climb, she felt Bane's eyes on her the entire time. She had caught his interest, she'd dangled answers in front of him but would not let him grab them. Something stirred inside of her as she left the tunnels, the cold air buffeting her as she emerged. She closed the manhole, knowing Bane was still down there in the dark.

It was dark on the surface, allowing for Bría to exit the tunnels without being spotted, and blend into the night. Down the alley way, she made the familiar route back to the apartment, where she decided she would no longer return to after this time. She'd grab what little she had, leave some cash behind and never speak another word to Robbie. She'd pay her debts, and make her own way.

To her delight, the place was empty when she arrived. Packing a bag, she tossed it on the end of the couch where she had been sleeping and hopped in the shower. Hot water cascaded over her body, washing away the grime and the worry. The events of the day had left her jostled, but she did not feel unsafe anymore. A warning by someone like Bane would not be ignored, she had a feeling. The image of his strong hands snapping the neck of the man who attacked her ran through her mind, starling her.

Although she knew what Bane had done, her mind had no processed it in full until now. The headache from the concussion still lingered, but she had more control over herself now. Leaning against the shower wall, she slid down it until she was seated in the bottom of the capsule shower. Pulling her knees in tight, she realized the position that she had put herself in. Killing was something she did not agree with, and yet she had killed a man. Was a villain killing a villain a bad thing, or a good thing?

She fought in her own mind what the right course of action was while the water washed away the soap and the shampoo, the grime and the guilt. Allowing herself to open up the already repressed memories of the man Bane had killed, she remembered the sound of his neck snapping, the crumple of his body when it hit the cold concrete ground. The recalled the image of Bane carrying his corpse over his shoulder like a predator does prey. The thump of the cadaver when he tossed it to the ground, and the echo of his booming voice in the cavern as he demanded safety. Her safety.

"What are you doing, Bría?" she asked herself, feeling a darkness envelope her heart.

When she was dressed, her hair still wet but with a toque pulled over her head, she slid the backpack over her shoulder. She left a wad of cash for Robbie with no note, no other explanation. He would know that she would not be coming back. Disappearing from the apartment without any other trace that she had been there, she made her way to the nearest library. It was then that she called her mum.

"Have you found work?" her mother asked after they had covered the basic small talk.

"Yeah," Bría said nervously, hoping her tone didn't convey through the phone. She didn't need her mother worrying about her.

"And a place to stay?"

"Subsidized housing. It's not great, but it's a roof over my head."

"I can wire you money, Bría, you don't need to live like that..." her mother's worry carried through.

"Don't worry about it, mum, I've always been able to look out for myself." Bría twirled the phone cord around her finger. She thought of the people who actually were looking out for her, and how small of a list that was. Ever since she had moved to Gotham, she had been looking out for herself. It was no different now, only she had put herself in a dark place.

She didn't mind that dark place.

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