Chương 10: Rose in an Alley
Oswald Cobblepot sat in an expensive chair, behind an expensive desk, inside of an expensive building, looking at expensive documents.
"Mr Cobblepot, You called for me?" The star of his current pet project, Richard Fisk, said as he entered Oswald's office. The sounds of the club guests echoed quietly down the hallway outside Oswald's room as the door closed.
"Richard my boy, You came in just in time!" Oswald said before he grabbed a folder from his desk and slid it into the young man's hand, "Your job this week is a bit different than our usual deal,"
Richard opened the folder and took out the documents inside, reading them over.
"This time you're collecting debt," Oswald leaned forward on the table, his monocle reflecting light off his eye, giving him a sinister look. "The Tire Painter gang is a small-time drug trafficking group that owes us some stuff,"
Richard looked at the document on the gang, their known locations, hang-out spots, influential members, etc.
"Their previous leader, Joe Morasio, struck a deal with me, I supply the guns and he gets to bring over an experimental drug from this lab in Syracuse, Steroid B-19. That was the deal," Oswald grabbed a cigar and lit it, watching as Richard read through the paper on the drug.
"I'm guessing things went south?" Richard asked as he finished reading all the papers and set them back on the table.
"South? Things went Arctic, Kid! Three Days ago, our buddy Joe got smoked by none other than his own right-hand man, Ronald Dayton, and he cut off the deal." Oswald huffed a puff of smoke out of his mouth and pointed his finger at Richard.
"You're going to get me my guns back, I don't want that sack of shit using my guns without my permission," He took his Cigar out of his mouth and let some ash fall into a tray, "Kill him if you have to, As long as my guns are back in my territory I'll consider this job fulfilled."
"I understand," Richard made to stand, "Who's coming with me on this?"
"The boys at our laundromat down on Sixth Street, I already sent someone to notify 'em," Oswald waved him off and Richard left the room.
"Damn bastard," Oswald cursed quietly as his mind drifted to Ronald and his gang, "Hopefully I won't have to give you a personal visit," He smiled as the door to his office once again closed.
"You don't mess with The Penguin."
...........
Rose Forrest was looking at the book in front of her, math equations jumbling around her head as she studied ahead for the first week of schooling coming up.
"Urrgh, This is so boring!" She complained as she banged her head onto the wooden table, her ginger hair splaying around her like a blanket.
Her eyes moved to the door of the apartment, and a mischievous smile crossed her face.
"It's not sneaking out if I'm not hiding it," She whispered to herself and stood up from the chair, heading back into her room to grab a change of clothes.
"Now, where did Richie put my allowance... Aha!" She exclaimed joyfully when she found a small leather coin purse, opening it to find twenty dollars inside.
"It's not much, but I can get a Big Belly Burger with this," She grabbed the purse and wore a green sweatshirt to cover herself.
"Oh. and one more thing!" She exclaimed before hastily grabbing a note a writing down where she went, in case Richard came home early.
And just as she was about to leave the apartment finally, she paused and grabbed a small but sharp Garden Spade, hiding it under her sweatshirt.
"This isn't Metropolis," She whispered as she comfortably pat the hidden spade, "Need to bring protection with me,"
And after all of that, Rose Forrest grabbed one of the keys to the apartment and left, locking the door behind her.
...........
The Sixth Street laundromat was one of The Penguin's many laundering fronts across his side of Gotham.
A place where gangsters will wait for orders from above, spending their time minding their own business, smoking, or reading the newspapers.
And sometimes actually making sure the laundromat kept functioning, it might be a front but it's still a business.
So when the boys at the laundromat got a notice that they'd be doing a job with one of The Boss's own personal men, they got giddy.
"Ooh, what is it going to be?" One of them asked as he squatted on the steps to the backdoor of the laundromat, a cigarette resting between his fingers.
"Maybe The Boss finally has a plan to deal with The Bat?" Another asked leaning his shoulder onto the wall of the building, a cigarette hanging from his mouth
"I heard from Gary that we'll be working with one of The Boss's top dogs, a real higher-up," A third gangster added his thought to the conversation.
"Who cares what the job is?" A fourth gangster asked, "As long as we do our jobs we get paid, I've been saving up for a small vacation you know,"
"Shut up! A Car's coming!" One of the other gangsters in the back yelled as a low-roofed black car drove to a stop behind the laundromat, the gangster's recognizing it as one of The Penguin's cars.
"Be quiet be quiet," They whispered as they looked at the tinted windows of the vehicle.
And as the door to the car opened, they finally got a look at The Boss's new guy.
A Crisp white suit with an artistic design of roses on the wrists and underside, Purple gloves and tie, a red rose in his suit's breast pocket, and a purple mask with a pair of blue goggles covering the eyes.
"Gentlemen," The masked man said as he exited the car, "Please get your finest suits and ready your guns," He told them as he looked them over, frowning under his mask at the state they were in, "We have a job to do."
Looking at each other, the Gangsters smiled and ran back into the laundromat, notifying the other gangsters inside that The Rose was here, and that they all had a job to do.
"Hmmph. Should have been ready when I got here," Rose whispered as he took a notebook from a pocket in his suit and started writing down his thoughts on the place.
"It could also use more flowers," He added as he looked at the bland grey walls, and at the sterile off-white inside the building.
"Perhaps some Pogonia, yes Pogonia sounds good,"
.............
Grabbing the paper bag and the cup of soda, Rose gave her money to the cashier working the early afternoon shift at Big Belly Burger and started heading back to her apartment once she got her change.
It was a short ten-minute walk, just passing through a few alleyways, the food should still be warm once she got back home.
And so Rose went, passing through alleyways, turning around corners, and avoiding the street cats hanging near a dumpster.
She was almost home, just two more turns and she'll reach her street, when a sweaty hand grabbed her from out of nowhere and pushed her onto the wall, dropping her food on the dirty ground of the alleyway.
"Hey! What are yo-" Rose yelled before a second hand covered her mouth and a large hairy man stood over her, the stench from his body almost causing Rose to puke as yellow crooked teeth smiled down at her.
Her hand quickly went into her sweatshirt and grabbed the spade, pulling it out while tearing her sweatshirt in the process, Rose quickly stabbed the spade forward, injuring the large man and pushing him away as Rose started running away, hoping to reach an open street.
"Get back here you!" The molester yelled as he ran after her, one hand holding onto his gut as a red stain started growing from where she stabbed him.
Rose reached the end of the alley and quickly turned left, only to trip on an empty glass bottle and fall to the ground, her knees scraped and the spade flying out of her hand, the blood dripping from its tip drawing a line on her shirt as it landing just out of arms reach.
Rose tried to get up, reaching for the spade, when the molester caught up to her and held her down, the stink of alcohol on his breath making Rose gag as she tried to grab the spade.
"Stop!" She screamed, "Let go of me!" She started clawing at his face, his oily skin and bushy beard only causing her fingernails to skid off.
"You can't run now..." The large man said, his mouth twisting into a disgusting smile as he grabbed onto her sweatshirt and started tearing it open further, revealing the regular clothing underneath.
"NO!" Rose screamed, eyes wide with horror, "LET GO OF ME!" She screamed from the depths of her soul and shoved a finger into his eye, holding back vomit as she felt something squishy splatter under her force.
The man screamed in pain as he let go of her, Rose took the chance to grab onto the spade and Stab him again.
The man screamed in pain as blood pooled out of his ruined eye, his previously yellow shirt now a hideous shade of brownish-red.
Rose stabbed the man in the stomach again and again, over and over, eyes wide in horror as her hands moved on their own, she felt horrified as she heard herself laugh with glee as a smile spread on her face.
"EAT SHIT YOU PIECE OF CRAP!" Rose didn't say that, it was her voice and it came from her mouth, but she didn't say those words.
"THINK LITTLE GIRLS ARE AN EASY TARGET YOU FAT PIG!" She continued yelling, horrified as her body moved and talked without her input.
Rose Forrest was sitting in the passenger seat, and she was horrified by the Driver.
"That's enough," A new voice sounded out in the alley, causing Rose to look up.
And as she looked away from the Fat Man she was stabbing a feather-shaped knife struck him in the forehead, piercing into his skull and killing him instantly.
Rose Forrest looked at the person who spoke, hanging onto the side of the building above her, his body hidden by the shadows, only a small reflection of the afternoon light hitting a bronze segment on his mask was visible.
Rose thought it looked like an Owl.
"Go home," He told her, his mask looking down from his perch in the shadows, "And speak of this to no one," He flipped back onto the roof of the building he was hanging on to, his body briefly being seen as the light hit him before once again he was hidden away from view.
Rose breathed heavily as she looked at where the mysterious man stood before she looked down at the body on the floor, and at the Feather-shaped knife stuck in it.
.......
Rose couldn't remember what she did next, but as soon as she opened her eyes again, she found herself in her shower, scrubbing at her skin as dried blood washed into the drain below her.
Now in control over her body, Rose collapsed onto the floor of the shower and started shaking, looking at her hands with horror as flakes of dried blood stuck to the underside of her fingernails.
After twenty minutes of silently sitting inside her shower, Rose gently turned the water off and slowly exited the shower.
After drying herself, she entered her room to get dressed and froze when she saw two sharp objects sitting on the window sill.
A small Garden Spade, cleaned of blood, and a silver Feather-shaped knife, reflecting the setting sunlight through her window onto the ceiling of her room.
She quickly grabbed the two murder instruments and moved them under her bed, hoping Richard wouldn't start looking for them.
And after all that, Rose Forrest collapsed onto her bed as exhaustion filled her.
And promptly fell asleep.
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