DCM Volume 2 - Chapter 20: Dinner with the Madame Part 2

The house they pulled into the driveway of, was a quaint looking two story construction. It had an even coating of white paint that didn't look as though it was going to chip anytime soon and a picketed fence a few shades lighter surrounding the entire property. Properly trimmed hedges and bright green grass encompassed the entire entire of the yard. A simple stone pathway led off the driveway and up to the simple brown door.

If Albert didn't know better, he wouldn't have expected some underworld figures lived here right next door to the normal accountant or dentist. It was just that 'normal' looking. Reminding him more of the types of homes outside his tax bracket but was hailed as the goal for any American. Grow up, get an education, find a job, settle down, have a few kids and hopefully die surrounded by all his loved ones. The dream shoveled in the minds of all youths starting at a tender age through movies, TV shows and books.

'And they wondered why everyone was depressed.'

They were fed a falsehood, they learned once going out into the real world. There was white picket fence, no suburban house large enough to support two kids growing into adulthood. No home to spend their dying breathes in with the person they loved. A nightmare for some and a paradise for others. It didn't really matter in the end, did it? Whether the dream is bad or not, it doesn't change the fact that it was just an illusion in the end.

He could see a few curtains through the window shuffle in an unseen breeze, telling him all needed to know. Fleeing now was useless, their arrival had already been announced.

"Not what you expected, huh?" Willow said as she silently slid the vehicle into place, the already smooth surface becoming more akin to ice as they crossed that invisible barrier. And when they finally did come to a complete stop, his body didn't even rock from the motion.

"Not at all." He knew it would be the highest degree of foolishness to make a safe-house distinguishable but still, this was the world of DC. A verse well known for it's wacky and over-the-top hi-jinks. Like Superman hiding his identity with nothing more than a pair of glasses as though a jaw that chiseled wouldn't get him signaled out in a second. Something so….mundane was not on his bingo-card. Maybe there would be a few secret compartments or rooms for him to poke his nose in but if this was the precedent for how his night would go, he certainly wouldn't be holding his breathe.

"A-lot of the girls have the same reaction when they shown one our safe-house, it's like they expect them not to look normal? Like sure, we could do some things to make it seem like a house for a bunch of prostitutes but I don't think any of that would fly with the HOA. You know we got a notice just last week about our mailbox being crooked? Demanded we get it fixed or be fined. Nosy busy bodies with WAY too much time on their hands. Go outside and do something, anything that doesn't involve telling people how to live their lives. And don't even get me started on how annoying they were over the grass..."

Albert only nodded silently at the woman as her tirade began to ramp up, none too eager to break that particular spell. He knew how the HOA worked, and how it could be often abused by people who never had a lick of power in their lives. Petty displays that only truly worked in a society where personal safety was a right than a luxury or by simple merit of them being considered a senior citizen.

Taking a cursory around at the few lit windows around the neighborhood, only one had a rather thin figure seemingly trying and failing to gaze outside. The house in question was nearly at the end of the street, their law looking bright green even under the yellowed streetlights, a small quaint red car a few decades out of place.

"..at little devil dog-rat thing of hers snarling at me like it wasn't the perfect size to be made into a shitty fanny-pack. I can't stand that thing! It shits and piss everywhere and suddenly I'm the bad guy for demanding she keeps that thing on a leash! Just like it's owner!"

"…." Breathing for a few moments, the woman quickly fixed the loose of strands of hair that slipped out of place from her tangent. "Sorry. I just can't stand that lady. Enough about her, lets get you all set. Do you have any weapons on you?"

They both knew he did, she was there when the teen first acquired his weapon. There were two potential paths he could go down. Lie directly to her face and shatter the thin thread that was the trust between them, only for him to be disarmed when the lie inevitably came to light. Humiliated and chastised, it would leave him already on the back-foot in whatever dealings Madame Clements had in store for him. While the other path still saw him disarmed, but with his dignity intact. He wouldn't be searched and wrung dry like those cartoonish depictions of bullies in old comedic televisions shows. The trust, thin but still intact wouldn't be touched. He took it as the olive branch it was.

"I do."

"Then I'm going to ask you to put it in that little compartment near your feet, while you're down there also place your phone there as well. Please don't make me regret not doing it myself."

It was weary and well practiced, Albert couldn't imagine how many times she had done this to sound that robotic. It would be a fools errand to try something now and so, he gazed down at the small box-like compartment that silently popped open at his feet. The space was just large enough to fit a few trinkets but nothing else. Running his fingers across the interior, it was met with a smooth, metallic surface.

After his inspection was done, he slid his gun out of place with a bit of trepidation leaking onto his face. There were very few places he went without this bit of metal to keep himself safe since first acquiring it that night. Hell, ever since that time he had left it upstairs that one time, even leaving his room without it wasn't something he did anymore. If Harley was to be believed, the handgun had fused with his body on some level.

But now, here he was about to leave such a loyal companion alone in a small black box for an indeterminate amount of time. This might even be the last the two ever saw each-other.

'See you later, partner.'

And before he could change his mind, Albert unloaded the weapon and placed in safely in that black compartment along with all his loose ammo. Patting himself down once more, he finally place his phone alongside everything before closing the door with a soft click that ran through his body.

Now, since first waking up in Gotham, he was truly helpless.

"Thanks." Willow consoled with but a single word before stepping out the vehicle and opening his door with a single wave on forward. "Lets go, they already know we're here."

With a sullen nod, he stepped out of the sleek black automobile. And immediately, it was like he was no longer in Gotham. The air, the very stuff they all breathed in on a daily basis, was something completely different. While it still had the slight smoggy taste, it was only that. A slight thing. Nothing like the absolute sewage he and every-other denizen of Downtown had all grown accustomed to. No burnt rubber, no disgusting exhaust from nearby cars that clearly skipped their driver's test and none of the combined differing body odor that came from late night drinking, smoking, or sex. No, it was more like he had scented a rather unpleasant smell from a far off land and it's remnants could just barely be perceived.

For someone like him, it was the freshest natural air he'd experienced since coming to this world. He could actually smell the grass, freshly cut. Smell the crisp night air, smell the scent of grilling meat from down the street. But most of all, it was quiet. Not the near cemetery silence that he had grown accustomed to as his norm, but the peaceful silence of people much too exhausted to muck around the night before going into work the next day. It was a silence that spoke of the surety of their safety and well being.

It was almost enough to shatter his previous promise to himself, the pure comfort such a life could provide. A life he had tried to work his entire work to achieve, it was all right there. All bow-tied and gift wrapped.

But sadly, it was never meant to be. All this perceived safety and tranquility will be stripped away from these people so many times that they would be become use to the uncertainty. Especially if Gotham was to get more chaotic than ever in the coming years. These streets would burn and along with it, this dream would shatter into an innumerable pieces.

"It's peaceful, isn't it?" Willow spoke up from besides him, taking in the view that captivated him just a few moments before. "I complain a lot about that devil-dog and it's bitch of an owner, but it's petty stuff in comparison to Downtown. Most of the people here do have some form of self-defense but I don't think their anything more than for show. And you know what? That's normal. It's not normal to be so ready to shoot another human. Over what? The last few dollars in your pocket?"

"Why'd you come back?"

"I was born here." She shrugged, running her hands over a nearby bush. "I left the city to go to college...but I returned. Despite everything, I came back."

'It seems they were right.' Albert looked on, a bit of pity making itself known. 'Gotham is truly a whirlpool, drawing all those unfortunate to be involved deep into it's depths. No one truly escapes this city… me included.'

The pair walked in silence up the stone-path, each lost in their own thoughts as that wooden grew larger in the distance. And now so up close, he could even hear muffled voiced coming from within. The exact content of the conversation was impossible for him to hear fully, but the cadence was more than enough to tell some sort of argument or heated discussion was going on.

The voices seem to be coming from the large curtained window besides the door and before he could get close enough to actually get some meat to those potatoes, his escort knocked loudly on the door. Instantly drawing the unseen trio up short.

They both stood in silence as more heated whispered could be heard before a series of heavy footsteps faded off in the distance and the door swung open on well oiled hinges. Before them stood a rather striking pair.

On the left stood a woman so pale that it was like she had done nothing but stay indoors for years at a time, with short cropped black hair that angled over her hawk-like features, prominent cheeks bones and dark brown eyes mixed well with her lithe figure that made her seem like a model of sort. She wore bright blue dress that hugged tightly at her skinny frame along with a bright smile that looked much too photogenic not to have been practiced many times in the mirror. Everything about her was pristine and nearing the level of perfect. From the fact that not even a strand of hair was out of place, nor did the light bits of make up seem uneven, hell there wasn't even a single wrinkle in her dress. Whoever this woman was, she was meticulous as could be.

Besides her, the other woman was like someone used a sort of inverted mirror. She was truly the complete opposite of her counterpart. She had long blonde, nearly white hair that fell in droves behind her back with a series of differently colored beads place sporadically in her impressive mane. Skin looking as though she had just come from the beach that day and bright blue eyes that would assuredly draw the attention of any who looked in her direction. The woman wore simple jeans and a much too large white top that hung off her shapely figure in just a way to tease the world with an actual peek before ultimately being disappointed by the pitch black crop-top underneath. Her smile, seemed a bit more...how could he put it? Real? This one didn't have completely straight teeth, there was even a snagged tooth here or there but none of it did anything to take away from the woman's beauty.

"Welcome," The blonde spoke up first, her voice well refined and a bit aristocratic. That blue gaze sweeping over him in a heartbeat, dressing him down with the efficiency of a butcher on meat. "It is a pleasure to meet you, you may call me Alder."

"Howdy." The black haired woman stepped forward with rather stiff looking wave, her eyes not exactly looking at him but instead just over his shoulder. She had a slight drawl to her speech, probably remnants of a time long behind her. "Nice to meet you, just call me Cedar."

'So they're all tree themed?' It kinda made sense why they insisted on using alias's, putting yet another layer of protection for everyone's safety was smart. But that still didn't make it any less weird for everyone to name themselves after trees. 'Let's just hope they don't expect me to change my name to match the theme.'

"Thank you for having me, you all have a very nice home. I go by Lovecraft."

*******

The interior wasn't very large, like one would expect from those modern miniature mansions that had become all the rage back in his old life. There were four separate doorways from where he was, one seem to lead off to the kitchen if the sound of pots and pans were to be believed. While another doorway lead to a series of couches aligned in such a way to face a large boxy television with it's stand built into the screen itself. While from another doorway, all he could see was a corner of a rather large table with a two chairs sitting across from each-other.

Besides all this, a single stairway went up into a pool of inky darkness. It was certain there would be some good secrets to leverage in this upcoming negotiation but Albert wasn't even given a single moment alone.

"So…" Alder began, the trio leading him right into a brightly lit dining room. If there was one thing he wouldn't complain about, it was how soft the rug felt on his sock covered feet. With his place being frigid most of the time, walking around without shoes would already put him at risk of hypothermia. But here? It was toasty enough that he hand to temporarily hang up his coat. Leaving him in a simple pair of jeans and a white-ish button up long-sleeved shirt for the night. "Madame Clements will be a bit while more, would you like something to drink? We have coffee, juice...or milk if that's too your liking?"

"Don't ask for alcohol, you're not getting any." Willow shrugged her muscled shoulders as she claimed a nearby chair. Collapsing fully into the rather small cushion. "I personally don't give a damn, but our resident doctor here would have a cow."

"Alcohol is not meant for developing young people." The blonde huffed, wiping a few strands of colorful beads out of her face with a rather loud clatter. "Especially not those who haven't hit their final growth spurt yet. I apologize Lovecraft but for tonight, you won't be drinking any alcoholic beverages."

"It's fine." Albert had never been much of a drinker even in his past life, it had just never been his thing. And if he had it his way, it wouldn't in this life either. Despite the rather insane benefits getting drunk would have, being in an impaired state of mind in someplace like Gotham was like asking for trouble. What if he got so smashed and started wandering the streets? With his luck, he would somehow bump into some crime bosses kid and wind up feet up in a dumpster the next morning. "I'll just take some water."

"Then I'll be back," She stood back to her feet, before turning to the other two occupants. "Do you girls want anything?"

"Get me a be-" The tall woman sent a side-eye in his direction and changed tact. "Some soda."

"I'll take a water."

Cedar for the first time since her greeting, mumbled out. Half distracted by her current actions, her long fingers fidgeting as they tried to straighten out a few unruly locks to some unknown grading scale. From his perspective, the strands were already as straight as could be.

'Maybe she's nervous?' It was a common tactic to hyper fixate on something when one's routine was interrupted but the theory didn't seem to hold ground. 'Unless she's not all too close to the people here?'

Normally, friends or even acquaintances would notice the rather odd behavior and either take them off to the side to check up on them or even sometimes directly ask them what was up with them. But that wasn't what happened here, instead the other two just continued on with their own activities. He couldn't even see a single furtive glance exchanged between them. Leaving only a few reasons as to why.

One, maybe it was just a play. Something to make him believe everything was fine until he left and maybe then they would swoop into check up on the woman.

Or it could be that they truly weren't close in the slightest even though they all seem to work under Madame Clements for an indeterminate amount of time.

Or, more likely given their apparent apathy, this was just how the woman was and they had all simply grown use to such a thing.

"Here you go," A single glass was place before him as he was lost in his thoughts, clear liquid filled nearly to the top with a few cool drops dripping down it's side. Looking up, he met eyes with a brightly smiling blonde framed by a multitude of colorful beads. So up-close, it was impossible not to catch a whiff of a strong earthy scent. "Please use the coaster, Madame Clements is rather fond of this particular table."

"Thank you."

Albert nodded, gaze turning to the heavy looking table and really tried to look at it. In all purposes, it seemed like a normal table. The wood wasn't something rare, nor were there any markings or symbols etched into the side. He didn't even need to lean on Appraise to tell this table wasn't some ancient or rare piece, it was more like something that could be found in any furniture store if one looked hard enough.

'Maybe it has sentimental value?'

Whatever the reason, none of it changed the fact that he was a guest.

"So Lovecraft," Alder began as she took the seat across from him, her companions each nursing a drink. From the way her eyes fluttered and zeroed in on him, he just knew an interrogation session was in store but thankfully, something else took up the spotlight before anything else.

The sound of heavy footsteps stomping down from overhead was more than enough to halt any conversation that might've occurred. Alder in all her sunny disposition barely kept the grimace to her expression but that too was washed away. Pretending to be oblivious to the change in atmosphere, Albert only kept his gaze locked on the glass before him.

He was just glad he didn't have his back directly exposed from that darkened hallway, Willow had gallantly taken up that position. From the darkness, a single person stomped into view with a scowl so pronounced that it could be felt. Like a spike crudely sharpened into a splinter cover mess being repeatedly jabbed into his side by a malicious bully all too aware of the limits they could go without getting in too much trouble.

The look made him feel small and inadequate, a bug to be stepped on. Shit at the bottom of an old shoe, the random bit of gum stuck to a reckless sleeve.

"Laurel." The blonde's voice came out stiff, completely devoid of that slightly natural warmth that he hadn't even had the chance to enjoy. "How nice of you to join us."

Instead of replying, the still unseen woman only noisily took up a chair besides Willow. Maybe it could be considered the furthest seat from him but given how small the table was. It was merely a futile gesture, just a means to rebel against whatever they were previously arguing about.

Finally glancing over out of the corner of his eye, he finally got a semi good look at the person he felt was probably going to be trouble this entire dinner. An openly hostile antagonist. Laurel was a small women, barely looking taller than him and that was saying something. She had a round face framed by a nest of brown hair thrown up in a messy bun that did nothing for the loose strands that formed bangs over her green eyes. Wearing a simply sweatshirt that nearly engulfed her, it would've looked a bit cute if that nasty scowl was permanently etched on her fading tanned skin.

Flickering his eyes over the table, he took in the other changes this new character influenced. Like a heavy rock being thrown into a still pond, her entrance caused turbulent ripples. The already fidgety Cedar didn't even try to hide her unease and seem to go into overdrive fixing her appearance, even going so far as to flip out a small silver mirror to straighten out flaws so minute that even the most anal retention person wouldn't be able to find anything wrong. While Willow looked already done for the night, whatever argument must've been a recurring thing if her exasperated look was anything to go by.

Whether Laurel knew or cared how detrimental her entrance was, he didn't know. All he did know was this.

'Maybe I should've just declined the offer.' While the lost of talent provided by Madame Clements would be pretty crippling, it certainly wasn't worth the outright hostility. Plus besides, all this seemed like a lot more drama than it was worth. 'I'm sure I could just walk out that door and no one would stop me… Getting my stuff back might be a bit of a hassle but if it means getting away from here then I certainly don't mind being forced to replace everything…'

But there was a glaring problem to that plan, a blonde, crazy problem. If he really did abandon his phone here, it was likely she would cause so much chaos that it might even cause the caped crusader to come knocking on his door...Who was he kidding, the man was known to knock. Only breaking in and standing in some dark corner to intimidate his prey.

'Maybe it won't be so bad?'

It was a foolish hope and he knew it, but there really wasn't a lot else he could do here. Just walking out would essentially be the clear nuclear option but that didn't mean he was willing to just take the abuse without saying something at least.

"It is nice to meet you." Albert turned fully to the glowering woman, a small polite smile on his lips. It was a common tactic, a means to trip up overly hostile people. Sometimes the best way to deal with people is to simple treat them with kindness. "I will be going by Lovecraft for the night."

(A/N: Hey guys! Happy New Years! First let me just tell you, originally I was going to end this little arc with the Madame this chapter and get into Willow's past before going right back to the case. But as I went along the chapter, I realized introducing 2 (3) new characters in one chapter wouldn't leave a lot of room for anything else. Not a lot happened this time around and honestly, I'm okay with that. There were times I was just going to outright delete the chapter and start over, ignoring the characters and just getting along with the plot. But then I began to think about it, all these characters will have some prevalence later on in the story. They shouldn't just be their roles, I wanted to flesh them out into actual people and not just convenient plot devices to make Albert's life/case easier. Ignore me honestly, this is just me rambling a bit. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you all next week!)