#ttlb 2

Being such a reasonable and intelligent person, she didn’t complain when Calum said he would walk her to her car, then follow with Alfred and meet her again at the DA’s office. She just nodded, bundling her work into her bag and letting him lead her out without any shenanigans. They probably didn’t have time to get wound up before the meeting, and as much as she wanted him to push her up against a wall again she was willing to be patient. Since it wasn’t yet 5, the elevator was empty all the way down to the parking garage, and in the cube she leaned into Calum and rested her head on his shoulder. 

She had never met with a DA or anything - hell, she’d never stepped foot into a courtroom. Calum had told her when Carl Finch had first gotten in contact that he was probably going to ask her to testify in person at Liam’s trial, and possibly Falcone’s, too. Calum hadn’t explained that it could put a target on her back. He hadn’t needed to. Aspen was pretty sure it wouldn’t matter, anyways. She was a loose end for the mob, but she also had the protection of the Bat on her side. If she didn’t speak up, who would?

Calum forgot himself as they left the elevator, and kept his hand on the small of her back as he walked her towards her car. It took him almost twenty seconds to remember himself. That didn’t sound like much, but Aspen would take whatever she could from him. By the time her car was in sight, he had dropped his hand, but the backs of their knuckles brushed as they paused and he reached out to open the door for her. She was always counting touches.

“Wait for me at the front door, and I’ll be by a few minutes after you, alright?” Calum said as she settled into the driver’s seat.

“Sounds good. See you soon.” She nodded as professionally as possible. He closed the door, but he didn’t walk away until she had pulled out and rounded the corner, cutting him out of view.

She took a deep breath as she wound her way through the looming Gotham streets. Every so often she forgot that she had been attacked by Liam and put through - through that whole thing. But every so often she’d catch someone staring at her scar or she’d work late and get nervous dropping down into the parking garage and it would all come back. She couldn’t unbecome who she was now, she knew that, but forgetting was a gift every so often.

She put on some nice 80s pop to lift her spirits, which Calum didn’t like. The memory of the first time she’d jammed out to it in front of him made her smile, and that helped her get to the DA’s office without sinking into her head too much. She only wondered about the possibility of some hired gun waiting for her to flutter into his crosshairs as she entered the courthouse briefly, just while she was waiting for Calum to show, and she considered that a win. And she didn’t get shot, so it didn’t really matter in the end.

She had half-expected Calum to nod and smile to every cop and receptionist they passed by, but he was in entitled-millionaire mode as the front desk directed them to Finch’s office. It made sense when she thought about it; neither Calum Hood nor Batman would have been rubbing elbows with the paralegals down at the DA’s office. She remembered being on the receiving end of that behavior. It had made Calum so hateable back then. Now, she felt a little special that his softness was reserved for her. 

Once they reached Finch’s personal office, they had barely mentioned their names to the secretary before the DA was on his way out, straightening his tie and grinning warmly at Calum. Cal immediately eased up too; when they shook hands, he even patted Finch’s shoulder. “How’ve you been, Finch? Surprised I didn’t see you at the children’s fundraiser.”

Carl Finch shook his head almost sheepishly. He didn’t look ruthless, but Aspen tried not to think about him going toe to toe with Falcone. Maybe he could be formidible when he needed to be? She hoped so. She knew what that was like. As it was, though, he looked like he should be at the stands of some little league game, not wrapped up in... this. “Someone had to keep Gotham running while the commissioner was mingling. I didn’t expect you to come by.” He shrugged, waiting for Calum to laugh politely at his excuse before turning to Aspen. “Ms. McMichael, right? Pleasure to meet you face to face.”

It was Aspen’s turn to shake hands and make pleasantries. At least his handshake was firm. “Likewise. Don’t worry, I was at the gala, you didn’t miss much.” She said, smiling.

“Oh, were you? Well, I suppose - given what brings us here today, I should have figured.” Finch’s polite smile suddenly didn’t reach his eyes.

Oh no. She could feel how that had sucked the air out of the room all of a sudden. They all knew what had happened after. Should she try to acknowledge the elephant? Change the subject? She didn’t know how to recover from this. “Right, I guess you would know all the details, huh? I should have made that connection. But, uh, in case you were wondering the party really wasn’t that impressive anyways.” She tried to joke. It didn’t quite work.

“Glad to hear it. Well, shall we head into my office?” Finch said, looking at Calum.

“Oh, I’ve got some work to finish up at mine, I just thought I’d swing by and check in.” Calum said, and gave Aspen the tiniest of glances. Then, almost without a pause: “If you think there’s anything I should know, of course, I’d be happy to sit down with you two.”

That bastard! It took everything Aspen had in her to keep from glaring at Calum or stomping on his foot. He was going to try and get himself invited into her meeting so she couldn’t get mad at him for it. Well, if he thought he was being smart, he wasn’t. She wasn’t spineless, she could take care of this herself. She’d get him out of there if she had to fake a breakdown for it.

“That’s probably a good idea, Mr. Hood.” Finch was already walking towards his office, leading them both in. Calum was such a fucking dickhead. She didn’t look at him as they entered; she wouldn’t acknowledge his temporary win. “You’re both at least somewhat involved in this, so I think we should all, you know, be on the same page in this.”

“I couldn’t agree more. I think it’s only natural that I should want to be here.” Aspen could hear an almost playful edge in Calum’s voice, which she knew was meant for her, but she kept her eyes focused on Finch. She knew this was his delayed rebuttal to her argument earlier that morning - Liam and I are just unfortunate employees of yours. I think it might be a little suspicious - and she was only a little bit amused at his tactics.

If he wanted war, he’d get war.

Her mind was buzzing as she sat down at Finch’s desk. How could she get Calum out of this? Could she claim conflict of interest? Let herself cry and ask him if he could leave, she didn’t want her boss to see her this way? She was so busy trying to think up a way to subtly kick Calum out she almost forgot to be nervous.

“First things first, let me put you in contact with the case agent for the case against Liam Payne. His name is Raymond Flat, he grew up in Gotham but joined the national attorney's office rather than join his family firm, and he’s a great liason. He’ll be contacting you directly when you’re subpoenaed - well. Let me explain.”

Now the lawyer came out. Finch’s voice lost the boyish edge as he leaned in, elbows on his desk. “As it stands, Mr. Payne has been indicted by a grand jury trial for kidnapping, second degree assault, breaking and entering, and trespassing. However, his lawyers are seeking a plea bargain, and given the case the city is building against Falcone it… it would be in everyone’s best interest if he accepted it.”

“Given the danger he placed my employee in, that’s ridiculous.” Calum butted in. “How is Ms. McMichael supposed to believe that he won’t do it again?”

Finch didn’t look phased. “We believe that without the influence of Falcone, Mr. Payne never would have attacked your personal assistant. He’s not unstable, he doesn’t belong in Arkham, and after serving his time I personally believe he’ll be able to reintegrate into society quite well.”

“He was integrated into society when he attacked Aspen. He was holding down a good job at my company and doing regular things, and then he sedated my assistant, threw her in the trunk of his car, chained her to a chair, dangled her out a window, slapped her around, and stood by while she was tortured.” Calum was getting mad. The switch to her first name made Aspen nervous; Finch would probably notice that. She couldn’t even put a hand on him to calm him down without making the situation look worse, even though she could feel the anger radiating off him. She had been right to try to ban Calum from coming, but the confirmation didn’t feel satisfying right now.

...wait, he what? Aspen hadn’t known about the trunk of his car. She had never really thought too hard about how she got to the construction site, only - fuck. Her stomach twisted.

Finch was rolling with it well enough - he barely looked startled by the outburst. “In another world, you would have made a damn good prosecutor, Hood.” He said, shaking his head. “You make some excellent points, and I hope that you can pass them along to Raymond. Ultimately, since he’s being tried on felony charges, Liam Payne is being prosecuted on a national level and as a district attorney, I can only try to influence that. I can’t control it. I’m just trying to prepare you both for what’s to come in the next few weeks so you’re not surprised.”

She dared a glance over at Calum. His jaw was working, but his breathing was even. After a minute, he nodded. “Appreciate that.” He said, after another pause. “It’s just that it happened under my nose, at my company headquarters, targeting me. I want my employees to feel safe at work, sure, but beyond that I should have seen it coming. I should have fired Payne outright when he first started acting suspiciously. This shouldn’t have happened and I blame myself.”

“I don’t.” Aspen said. Both men turned to look at her. Fuck them both. Shaken or not, they had forgotten about her opinion in all this, and that pissed her off. “I don’t blame anyone but Liam and Falcone. Um, with that being said, I’d also be comfortable with Liam getting a plea bargain.”

“After what he did to you-”

“After what he did to me I’m in the best possible position to judge this situation, Mr. Hood.” Aspen repeated, not without force. “I…”

For a split second, she thought about the trunk. About Liam lifting her ragdoll body into it, tucking her gently into a fetal position before closing the door on her. His coworker, his friend, like a piece of luggage in the back of his car. Even the floor of the backseat would have been better. She looked up and realized she had paused just a second too long. “I - sorry - I think that if I had talked he wouldn’t have hurt me and he would have done everything in his power to keep me from getting killed. I think that Falcone is more dangerous and also, given how corrupt this city is, no offence, more likely to get off with a slap on the wrist. We’re lucky he hasn’t been released on bail. Maybe Liam won’t even take the plea because he doesn’t want to snitch, but I definitely support an offer.” She said, finishing strong. Thank god.

Calum didn’t look happy, but he settled back into his chair, relaxing slightly. Maybe he’d write off her little freeze up as a manipulative move. “...if you say so.”

Aspen almost physically bit her tongue to keep herself from firing back a response. She didn’t want to fight with Calum in front of Finch. She didn’t want to fight with him at all, really, but he had to get used to the fact that she had as strong a will as he did and she wasn’t going to let him dictate her life, no matter what he thought was best. She was gonna make the hard choices for herself. That was no one’s job but hers. And the quality of mercy was not strained, ok? Liam had tried to spare her, she was almost sure, and the least she could do was try to return the favour. Even if it was hard.

“Well, I’m glad we’ve had the chance to go over that.” Finch said, standing up. “Now, Hood, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go over testimony with Ms. McMichael for a minute. If you don’t mind stepping out - obviously, confidentiality and all -”

“Of course.” Calum said. His eyes tracked over to Aspen for just a second before he stood up. “I understand completely. Thanks for the chance to go over some of these details. I’ll let you know how it goes with Raymond.”

“Absolutely. I’ll walk you out of my office.” Finch said, giving Aspen a quick “wait here” look. “I meant to mention, I never see you at the club. How’s your short game coming along?” Calum laughed stiffly, and then he was gone and Aspen was left alone.

She had to settle herself. Talking about that night didn’t bother her so much anymore. She had told it so many times - to the cops, to her roommates, to her family - that it felt almost like something she could joke about. You think your deskmate stealing your pens is bad? She didn't know why that one detail was suddenly throwing her.

Her burner phone buzzed in her bag. Will u come to mine once ur done? x

Was she in trouble? Whatever. At least this way she could have dinner at the Manor and not have to go home before the night's watch started.

Finch was back. He noticed her leg bouncing anxiously at her side, she saw his gaze pause on it. "Thanks for waiting. I'm sure while you were working with Hood you got used to people vying for his attention."

"Yours was fairly dignified vying, Mr. Finch." Aspen smiled thinly.

He chuckled. “Thank you. You can just call me Carl, by the way.”

“Anytime, Carl. So, um, I just wanted to say that I’d be comfortable testifying in both cases. Falcone’s especially.”

Finch looked surprised. “Of - of course, and we’ll make all the necessary arrangements for your safety during that process. I hope you don’t feel pressured to do so, because - and if I can be honest, Aspen - it’s very possible that he will make attempts to keep you from testifying, one way or another. It’s not selfish to consider your own safety.” Parts of this speech seemed prepared; evidently, he had expected to need to convince her in this meeting. She had never given him permission to call her Aspen.

She bit her tongue. “Yeah, well, I’m already a loose end. The way I see it, he attacked me when I was of no consequence to him, so I don’t see why me not testifying would change much.” Not to mention that with Calum looking after her, she had the best bodyguard in the city. He saved her life once, he could do it again no sweat. She was tougher, now, too. If Falcone wanted her dead, he was really gonna have to work for it this time.

“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re willing to help us out.” Carl said, and then paused in a way that made Aspen very nervous. “There was another thing I was meaning to ask you about, if that’s alright?”

The “can I ask you a question” question. Aspen hated when people did that. What was she supposed to do, say no? Knowing that she couldn’t deny a request to request, but also knowing the question’s content was gonna suck? She girded her loins. “Ask away.” 

“We’d like you to encourage Liam to take the plea deal.”

Aspen almost had to catch her breath. “What, like you want /me/ to try to convince him personally?” She said slowly, dread mounting.

“His testimony would help us build a really strong case against Falcone. He hasn’t said two words together to anyone so far, he’s refusing to cooperate with his council, and we think that given your personal history -”

“That’s not fair.” She interrupted, shaking her head. “You want me to - what, send him a letter begging him to do less time for what he did to me? I mean, I support the offer and all, I just - I can’t be the one to ask him that.” She rubbed her eye. There was too much nervous energy in her to keep still. Fuck, she was not getting enough sleep for this.

Finch waited for her to finish before he spoke back up. “Actually, we were hoping you’d talk to him in person.”

“...You can’t be serious.”

“Aspen -”

“Don’t call me that.” Aspen snapped, and she didn’t feel bad when Carl flinched. “I don’t care if this is special circumstances or whatever. The fact remains that - that he did what he did to me and I don’t want to go near him. Or hear his voice.” She realized her chest was heaving. Wow, this made her mad. In the stunned silence she could feel them both realize exactly how far she would go to avoid this.

Finch licked his lips, taking a moment for them both to collect themselves. “...Understood. I appreciate your candor in this. You know I had to ask.”

You didn’t. “I know.”

“As long as there’s no hard feelings -”

Aspen shrugged. She wanted this over with. “You’re just trying to do your job. You’re the DA, not my therapist. It is what it is.”

“I know this whole process has been hard for you, and I just want you to know that I appreciate your cooperation in all of these areas.”

Despite herself, she smiled. “You can give it a rest. I’m not gonna tattle on you to Hood, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I -” Finch stopped, and looked at her, and then he smiled a little too, like he felt like it was safe. “I won’t deny that’s a factor.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Aspen shook her head. She was just tired. “He’s been, uh, fun to have in my corner. I did not know he was going to be coming today, so that was fun.”

All she got in response was a confused look. “I know I didn’t invite him to the office.”

Shit. Was that suspicious? “Oh, yeah,yeah, I know, I mentioned it to him in passing when he was checking in on me at work. The man invites himself.” She said casually, waving her hand like it could hide her pounding heart. “Anyway. Is there anything else you wanted to go over, or…”

“No, that’s about all I had. Reach out to Raymond Flat - I’m sure he has your info but I think it’d be best for you to have a closer relationship with him. Liam’s case is obviously going to go to trial before Falcone’s, so when we meet next that’s what we’ll focus on.” Finch stood to show her out, reaching out to shake her hand across the desk. Aspen subtly wiped her hand on her thigh first. She didn’t want him to get an idea of how nervous this had made her.

“Sounds good. I’m glad I met with you today.” She said, and to her surprise she wasn’t really lying. It was good that this had happened. Even if it had dragged all that stuff up, they’d also moved forwards.

“Likewise, Ms. McMichael.”

Ha. He almost made it sound natural.

Aspen bit her tongue as he walked her out. Figuratively, of course. She made small talk, wished him a good evening, all that shit. Inside, though, she was bursting with things unsaid. She really didn’t mind him calling her by her first name, but she did mind him using it only when he was trying to manipulate her, and of course she wanted to tell him that so he didn’t think she was some kind of asshole, but that would involve acknowledging his ruse, and she was pretty sure that wasn’t polite? They both knew what he was trying to do, and she was pretty sure he knew that she knew, and - fuck. This was like Calum all over again. She had to stop playing these mind games with herself.

On the drive to the manor, she tapped her thumb on the steering wheel at every red light. If she wasn’t driving, she would be bouncing her foot, too, trying to get the anxious energy out. She didn’t know why being unknowingly shoved into a car trunk - fuck - made her get this way. She couldn’t even remember it, so why - why did she feel like she had to pull the car over to retch?

She wanted to speed, but she kept herself in check. Driving like a maniac wasn’t gonna be a good coping mechanism, at least not in this traffic. Maybe Calum had a private race track under the manor she could borrow one day. There was room for one, anyways. Who knew.