Chapter Four: At the Arabic Cafe

Batman grunted as he tried to pry him off but it was futile. The man pressed his fingers harder into his cowl and pushed him against the floor. The two struggled to gain the advantage as Batman reached for anything near his hands. Batman resisted and the man continued to choke the air out of him. There was nothing to use and no way to escape the immense weight of his lanky attacker. Their bodies were one silhouette against the window's backdrop of Gotham and her moon. Batman's knees began to buckle and together they slowly began to descend towards the floor as Batman began to lose his strength.

"Bruce? Bruce…" Lucius's voice drifted off into a muffled whisper and everything slowly turned black.

Earlier that day…

"Ms. Tate, Ms. Tate! Miranda!" Bruce ran after Miranda Tate and tugged at her sleeve. They stopped in the middle of the sidewalk just outside Wayne Tower. Crowds of walking suits passed by around them as they went along with their business.

She turned around curiously and smiled. "Mr. Wayne, what are you doing down here with the rest of the world?"

"I do visit the common man every so often, Ms. Tate." Bruce felt his pulse quicken. "You left before I had a chance to discuss something with you. Do you have a minute?"

"I have an hour…lunch Mr. Wayne."

"Well then how about a bite with me? I promise it won't take long." Bruce looked at her with insisting eyes.

Miranda looked back at him thoughtfully for a moment. "I'll take you someplace and we can talk there."

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows. "I already had a nice café in mind, where'd you-"

"This way Mr. Wayne." Miranda was already on her way down the sidewalk. Bruce shooed away the limbo that was secretly idling behind them and followed her.

Miranda led Bruce to a small café several blocks away from Gotham's finer eating districts and Bruce was beginning to stick out like a sore thumb. Some of the looks he received from the surrounding Gothamites were of astonishment, while others weren't so complimentary. The café had a foreign atmosphere and smelled of different spices and herbs. Silk curtains hung from the ceilings and draped the walls and windows already decorated vibrantly. The entire café had an earthy tone to it, adorned with more earthy embellishments. Bruce's nose wrinkled at the thick smell of coffee. The entire café lit up as soon as Miranda entered the café and eyed Bruce cautiously who shuffled behind her,

"They know you well here," Bruce exclaimed.

Miranda was busy talking to a waitress in a foreign language. She noticed his uneasiness, even for an Elite, and immediately took his hand. She guided him to a small table in the corner and sat down.

"Were you just speaking Arabic?" Bruce had obviously not studied her resume well enough.

Miranda clasped her hands together and smiled proudly at herself for taking him out of his comfort zone. "Now Mr. Wayne, what do you have to talk about?"

Bruce felt no introduction was necessarily. "Miranda you've had enough time to get used to how we run our ship at Wayne Enterprises and while you already begun to settle down…I believe that I can already see potential in you. I'd like you to accept a job offer as Co-Program Director of our Public Philanthropic Initiative. You are skilled and well beyond your years to start off as just an Associate."

"Oh my…can you do that?" Miranda's voice broke with excitement.

"I am the Bruce Wayne. It may sound like to you right now but I'm positive you'll feel right at home. Do you accept?"

Miranda locked eyes with him as if she wanted to peel away the surface layer just to know what the offer was really about. In reality she already knew. Miranda smiled and nodded. "I accept."

"I'm glad. Here's your first assignment: I need you to find me hotspots in the Narrows that are being affected heavily by the escapees of Arkham. Where are there the most reports of "unique" activity? I believe we can focus our initiative there."

Bruce and Miranda received their first cups of coffee and a meal. Miranda stirred her cup gently without looking up at Bruce. She finally took a sip and bit her bottom lip as she began.

"Did you know that true Philanthropy originates from the goal to help humanity achieve the fullest self-development, of body, mind and spirit? It's not enough to write checks or even to send help. Philanthropy succeeds where charity fails. It's beyond average comprehension. It takes vision and passion."

"I…did not know that." Bruce took a sip from his own coffee and cleared his throat from the bitterness.

"I'll send you a report later today on the exact coordinates as I've already done research in a previous project with another…firm. You're going to need to pay special attention to the central and lower districts of the Narrows. It's hard for people there."

"I had a feeling you've been looking into this. Coffee's good too." Bruce noticed a hooded beggar outside on the street corner. The beggar turned to look at him through the window and lifted his hood, revealing a tall man with uniquely trimmed beard and demonic eyes. Bruce's heart stopped.

"Henri…" Bruce whispered.

"I'm sorry?" Miranda asked carefully.

"Nothing," the beggar had vanished. "Tell me more about your history with this project. I think it'll sound great when you make your presentation with the board."

Miranda's eye beamed. "You'll let me talk to the board?"

"If this plan succeeds, which I'm sure it will, there will be great rewards for everyone…including the Narrows."

Miranda became ecstatic and immediately began a long conversation about Wayne Enterprise's new direction in Philanthropy. Bruce was half listening however. His mind was also busy digging up the past hoping that no one else had beaten him to it. In his mind's eye he imagined himself pulling Henri Ducard's coffin from a hole in the ground, opening it with great disdain and finding no corpse inside.

To be continued? You're damn right it will be...as long as you keep on reviewing! How did it go? Interested you say? Want to read more you say? Only your reviews will tell! There's so much more planned. I do apologize about the LONG delay. This semester has been hectic. More to come! Thanks for reading everyone!