Authors Note: First off I don't own The Dark Knight Rises and I'm not profiting from this story in anyway apart from the enjoyment of writing it. I hope you enjoy, sorry ahead of time for any grammar issue I've never been very good with comma placement.

The stairwell was a hot and dark place, quiet except for the sound of slightly labored breathing. Jogging up eight flights of stairs can do that to a girl thought the girl in question. She had a large black backpack that did nothing to ease the ascent. The roof access door opened with the unhappy groan of disuse.

She walked out into the cold crisp morning air. As the weak rays of the newly risen sun hit her face she took a long calming breath. She moved slowly to the edge of the building crouching low to peer down at the street below. There was a small city park about a half city block wide in front of her and beyond that the grand Gotham courthouse.

There was the hint of a southeastern breeze that would have ruffled her shoulder length brown hair if it hadn't already been tucked, pinned, and tied up so that not one single strand was free.

"Can't have anything getting in my line of sight." She thought.

After she scoped out the area below she swung the pack off her back, sat in the white gravel covering the roof with her legs stretched out in front of her, and her back up against the ledge she had just been looking over. She had to get busy because even though the streets were empty now soon they would be full of people going in and out of the courthouse demanding justice.

But she had no concern for those people, she has waiting for a very particular someone. As she waited she pulled her bag close and began to unpack it. First came the stock, next the receiver and upper assembly, then came the barrel, and lastly and most importantly the scope. She gently handled each part while putting the pieces together.

Once the riffle was assembled and she laid it to the side she reached into her pocket and pulled out a worn bit of ribbon. It was cornflower blue and it flowed like water as she placed it on the ledge and anchored it with a pile of the roof top pebbles. Everything was set up now all she had to do was wait, and as she did she focused on her breathing, long and steady breathes.

She heard him long before she saw him, not much traffic passed down this road and in her relaxed state the rumble of motorcycle engines rang clear above the growing chatter of the people that moved below. She watched the man and his dogs ascend the grand courthouse steps and enter the building. He gave off a feeling of power, menacing, and confidence that she felt all the way up in her roof top perch.

Now that he was in the building she got into position and once she was there she would stay that way until he immerged, wither it would take minutes or hours. Breathing, always breathing while her eyes flicked from the ribbon to the courthouse, time passed slowly ever so slowly but he finally came out.

It took everything in her to keep her heart from racing as she looked at his tall figure in her sights. As he moved down the stone steps he paused, standing alone surveying the city around him like everything that his eyes fell on was his. "It's time for that to change" she whispered as her finger gentle pulled the trigger.

The crack of the riffle reverberated of the walls of the surrounding buildings. She paused for just a moment, one leisurely second she allotted herself to take in the effects of her actions. Then she was moving, repeating her mantra again and again in her head, "Shoot, Move, Shoot, Move." She broke down her riffle and packed it away in her bag.

Then she was on her feet swiftly striding over to the northeast side of the building where the fire escapes gave a direct path to the ground. If she'd been paying any attention she would have heard the screams and chaos in front of the courthouse. She swung herself onto the ladder leading to the fire escape platform and slide her was down. "Just like in the movies," she thought with a smile to herself.

When her feet hit the platform she propelled her body down the escape stairs with practiced speed and accuracy. In just a few minutes she'd gone from her roof top nest to the grimy back alley. She turned and headed east down a connecting side ally at a fast pace.

She wound through a few more streets until she found her bike. It was one of her most valuable possessions second only to the riffle strapped to her back. It had a utilitarian design but she loved its straight lines and most importantly it was reliable. She had parked so far from the courthouse with the hope that her pursuers wouldn't hear her kick starting her bike and they'd have no idea what she looked like or how she got away.

"A ghost, the goal is to be a ghost" she thought to herself as she reeved the throttle and motored on to the main streets of Gotham.

"There were a lot of terrible things about New Gotham," she thought "but I got to say I don't miss the traffic."

She headed up town a few miles keeping as low a profile as possible until she pulled into the alley adjacent to her apartment building. She rolled her bike onto a cellar elevator platform. Her building was so old that it was crank operated so she lowered herself and her bike into the basement of the building. Not for the first time since it all happened that she was glad for this low tech device. It kept her bike off the streets and it didn't require power, which was spotty at best since the city was thrown into chaos.

Once she was sure her bike was safely locked away she climbed more stairs up to her apartment. She unlocked and relocked her door and placed her bag on the kitchen table so she could clean and oil her riffle after dinner. Her place was small and old fashioned but she fit there and there was one feature about the place she wouldn't give up for the world. She heard the telltale cry of said feature and looked to her window. On the ledge outside was a male falcon, one half of the breeding pair that called her wide window ledge home.

"Hey Freddie, see anything interesting today?" she asked. The falcon squawked low in response. "You know Freddie, I counted coup today."

The Falcon looked her way with a tilt of his head.

"I counted coup on the big man today, on big bad Bane, and you know what Freddie I think change is on the way for New Gotham, I've got a feeling things are about to get interesting."

Hope you liked it, reviews are appreciated. Also I know for sure there's another chapter to this story so I'll try to get it out soon.