#continued;

+. The temptation to simply walk away and let the dispatcher settle this over the phone later was great. But Chiaki knew there was still a job to be done here; no matter how it grinded his gears to have been called out somewhere he clearly wasn't needed in the first place.

With a sigh, he followed inside the apartment right before closing the door to the outside. Thick eyebrows curled upwards in a slight frown.

"...----You are aware that calling 911 on false pretenses is a punishable crime in this state, correct?"

The guy obviously had a little too much to drink; that much was clear; so at least Chiaki had somewhere to start doing an assessment of the intoxicated man's health.

"...--- So how much have you had to drink tonight, sir?"

Seeing the inside didn't really help his case either. While it was better than most places Chiaki had seen where people had been in their worst of days; the place was sort of a mess.

"...And as much as I appreciate the invitation, I am on the clock. So it's my job to make sure you're doing alright, and you haven't had too many drinks."

So far, the man seemed to be handling the slurred speech and difficulty of walking straight just alright. That much told him that he was going to be okay, but he still couldn't just up and leave until everything had been done by the book.+

>. The black-hat hacker fought the urge to ask why the larger male didn't have their phone number or any other means of contacting them -- so she simply accepted her role as the one responsible for communication. She was, after all, his right-hand woman -- and should act so accordingly.

Just for tonight, however. And just because Bane was so damn polite -- something that didn't come as often when it came to the other criminals of Gotham. It was refreshing, to say the least.

"Sure, I can set you three up for a meeting. I'll just have to make the arrangements -- But I'm pretty sure they can meet you tonight already unless you have other plans..."

Still keeping an eye on him, her eyes darted down to the phone as she texted Harvey.

"How large is the shipment anyway--? What exactly are you bringing in?" .<

~. There really was no winning here, was there?

Harvey had no clue why he even had bothered to reach out again in the first place. It sure as hell wasn't sentiment or attachments-- it was something else. A sense of obligation, perhaps? Respect?

But here they went again. Proving them wrong. Harvey shouldn't be so surprised, this was Crane after all.

"Sure, thanks. It really helps." Sarcasm dripped over their words like venom. "You do that and you won't have to worry about us doing the same. That's all."

That's it. Business concluded. Everything over and done with. Harvey had given Scarecrow the most respectful of warnings and he had no other reason to stick around.

Yet...

"...--- And as for what happened in the bar..."

Harvey paused. Two-Face gritted his teeth. Both of them unsure if they enjoyed thinking back to what had transpired or not.

"We'd appreciate it if you keep it to yourself.".~

“I just wanted some fresh air. Couldn’t sleep myself...”

Sleeping was always difficult for Clare for one she could never get comfortable and secondly her mind was always running a muck. But she could understand why her old friend came up here to sight see the view was rather breathtaking and even relaxing.

>. Of fucking course Harvey would pull this shit. Like finding Nygma and helping him recover wasn't enough. Now he had to live in his safehouse, too?

While Binary thanked herself for keeping her own place running despite spending more time over there, because this simply wouldn't do. In fact, ever since finding out Two-Face had allowed Edward to stick around, she had avoided this place like the plague.

"...---Ugh. Good Morning. There? Happy?"

Her tone was one similar to a snotty brat -- but she couldn't help herself! Simply being near him was driving her up a wall.

--- "So what did you do this time? Whatever it was, it seems to have wrapped Harvey around your little finger because he feels so damn sorry for you."

Could she ask him to leave? Even when this technically wasn't her place? Probably not. But damn, she wanted to; so bad.<

>. As soon as his kneeling height came to level with hers, Binary immeditely looked away. Almost like she was afraid that if he saw her close up enough, he'd be able to see through her very soul. Instictively, a hand reached out and was gently placed upon his very large shoulder. Keeping him at arm's length.

"It is -- indeed. And let's just say I've been burnt enough times by those monsters to know better than to go throwing myself out there..."

How odd. She hadn't expected letting her guard down -- even if it had been quickly shoved back in place again. There just wasn't enough strength left in the day to talk about her past experiences in detail.

"...---I'm sure you understand."

>. As deadpan as ever, Binary placed a pondering fingertip to her chin. Tapping the plastic with a hollow thunk-noise as she observed him -- up and down, side to side. Twisting and turning him like she was playing real-life Barbie. Or in this case, Ken.

"---- Just gotta replace the mask with a mask, yeah? We'll just get something from my wardrobe that fits you, some cute nails on -- Oh, and we can't forget about a wig either."

Then, a beat. All before she stood back down, placing both hands on her hip. Her expression illegible under the black-and-white colored plastic.

"...I'm joking. ---Obviously." Another pause. "You know that I was joking, Right...?".<