10 Reconciliation

Saturday 21st March 2009, 11:30.

New Jersey,

Gotham City,

East End.

Looking into the mirror, Esau traced the outline of the bruise that had formed upon his chest as a result of Robin's kick from the night prior. He had checked it last night and could have sworn that it was much bigger, but perhaps that was a trick of the light, or maybe he had suffered a head injury. The last one wouldn't surprise him as he had received a number of head blows because there was no way the bruise reduced to half its original size over the course of the night.

'Maybe I have a healing factor? A superpower that allows me to heal quicker than a normal person?' He chuckled lightly at the thought, absentmindedly pressing down upon the healed skin around the bruise to test whether it was real or not. 'There's no pain, guess I really did just overestimate how big the bruise was.'

Moving away from the mirror, he heard toward his bed and grabbed ahold of a top he had laid out, pulling it over his head. His sore muscles protested at the movement, but he ignored the pain as he had learned to do since he was a child.

Right now, he was out of commission for a couple of days.

That was both a good thing and a bad thing.

After last night, Esau had come to the realisation that his earlier strings of victories had led to him growing too overconfident. The blonde knew he had overestimated his own abilities and underestimated his enemies and it had nearly been a fatal mistake that cost him his life. He should have known better than to think Black Mask would go down without a fight, nor would he have exposed himself so openly without a plan in mind.

The next couple of days would allow him to not only recover, take stock of his current situation, but also plan on how to finish what he had started. As of yesterday, he had about three assault rifles, two submachine guns and four pistols with other five hundred rounds of assorted ammunition.

Definitely enough to take out Black Mask.

But, as he had learned last night, Black Mask was far from defenceless and definitely not stupid. He had no doubt made it to a more secure location and would be using money to pay for new men to replace those that he had lost.

He didn't know what, but Esau knew that when he went after Black Mask, the man would have a few surprises up his sleeve.

It's a good job that he had already reached out to a few people to keep an eye and ear out for anything remotely related to Black Mask. Already he had a few men and women reporting mysterious activity in one of the abandoned warehouses just on Gotham's outskirts in the territories of the Cosa Nostra. Far out of the way, giving him plenty of time to sneak in and kill Black Mask before Batman or someone else arrived to interfere.

Now though, Esau would make sure he had some contingencies to use should something go down.

Opening the door to the main room of his apartment he was shocked to see Barbara standing there waiting for him. She was dressed like she normally did when coming around to his house to convince him to come out with her.

A short skirt, a white blouse and a small handbag slung over her shoulder.

Her hair, the pale redness of it always being something he liked to look at, especially as it seemed to get darker or lighter in certain lights was pulled back into a loose ponytail.

"Hey." She greeted awkwardly with a wave and a small, shy smile.

"H-hey." He greeted back, equally as awkward, confused as to why she was here. "Erm, not to sound rude, but what are you doing here?" He distinctly remembered her saying that she didn't want to have anything to do with him because she didn't know who he was. That had hurt the most out of everything she had said.

Barbara's eyes scrunched up as she looked anywhere but at him. "Yeah." She muttered lowly, remembering the harsh words she had said to him and the argument they had. "I-I, I came to apologise."

"Apologise?" Esau moved forwards, Barbara never once looking up to meet his eyes.

"Yes, I need to apologise." She looked up at him and raised one hand up to stop him from speaking when he opened his mouth. "I need to do this Esau, I know that you always like to take the blame even when I'm in the wrong, but what I said." The redhead nibbled on her lips lightly and despite the tense situation, Esau couldn't help but notice how attractive that was.

It was very distracting for his teenage mind and he couldn't help but want to kiss her.

He didn't, yet the desire to do so was there.

"There is no excuse for what I said." Barbara finished after a few seconds of silence. "At the time, well I was just appalled by what the vigilante, Black Hood had done." Thankfully Barbara wasn't looking at Esau or she would have seen him flinch slightly. "But looking back at it now, I know that you were just scared and angry at what happened to you."

She reached out and grasped one hand in both of her and he couldn't help but marvel at just how soft her hands were.

Yet he could also feel the callouses on them.

'What did you do to get those?' He wondered.

"And I'm sorry." Barbara continued with her apology. "I should have known that you were lashing out at Batman and the others because they save people and when you needed saving, they weren't there. So I'm sorry and I'll keep on saying that until I make sure everything is right."

Esau stared at her, looking at the sincerity in her eyes and he couldn't help but smile. "You don't need to apologise." He said back, equally as quiet and she looked at him in surprise. "I know how much you look up to Batgirl and I admit that you were just defending her."

Barbara shook her head fiercely. "That doesn't make what I said to you right." She denied it stubbornly.

"No, it doesn't." He agreed and she winced slightly, he always had been blunt and to the point. "But Barbara, I'm not going to stop being your friend or caring for you just because you said a few hurtful things. You're my friend, my best friend and nothing you do will change that, okay?"

"Okay." She smiled up at him and he returned it.

Just seeing that smile of his seemed to make her feel ten times lighter and she realised just how much she had missed her best friend in the short time they had been separated.

"So where you off to?"

"I was going to go get something to eat and then go to the gym." He stated, realising that she still hasn't let go of his hand and he had no intention of letting go of hers. "Do you want to join me for something to eat?"

"I've already had something to eat, but I'll come and get a drink." Nodding his head, Esau indicated towards the door and while she removed one hand from his, she kept her other firmly gripping hold his hand. "Where are we going then?"

"Gotham Heights." Barbara nodded and after locking the door to his apartment, Esau and Barbara made their way out onto the streets. It was relatively quiet, Black Hood's attack on Black Mask had caused quite a stir amongst the criminal circles of Gotham, especially in the East End.

Already the two of them could see that the number of people on the streets openly was only a small number in comparison to the people that would have usually been out at this time. "It's quiet." Barbara pointed out to try and strike up a conversation between her and Esau.

It worked.

"Yeah." Esau agreed with a nod of his head, his eyes narrowing on a group of young men that leered at Barbara. They noticed his glare and only scoffed, but still turned away. "After last night most are trying to keep their heads down."

"Well, I for one am glad, even if they are overreacting a bit."

"What do you mean?" Esau asked as he looked down at Barbara who shrugged.

"I mean, Black Hood's only focused on Black Mask and those working for him. So as long as they aren't working for Black Mask I doubt Black Hood will come after them. Even so, I'm glad they're overreacting because it makes your life easier." She explained and Esau nodded his head in thought.

While what Barbara said was true, he still didn't like it.

Sure it would give him time to fully recover from the beating he got last night at the hands of a Robin, but nonetheless, it meant the criminals were still out there and bidding their time. He didn't want that in the slightest because it meant they were preparing to strike, but right now, he needed to focus his attention on Black Mask.

The crime lord was already on the run, his influence all but gone and Esau wasn't about to let up now. It was the equivalent to take his foot off the accelerator before driving up a ramp to clear a large distance.

Take it off too early and he would fail.

Esau wasn't going to fail, not now when he was so close.

"Hey, you okay?" Leaning back away from Barbara's hand which was waving directly in front of his face, he looked at her in confusion. "So, you're back with me I see."

"Sorry, I've been distracted." Esau shook his head. "You were saying?"

"I was asking if you were ever going to return to school. Are you?"

Esau hummed in thought, even though both that his decision on the matter had already been made. "I doubt it, never really liked school in the first place and it's not like I'm gonna be able to do much with the grades I get. The numerous times I've tried and failed at working have proven that the East End doesn't have a good reputation. Nor does anyone from there."

"You do know that you could still try, right?" Barbara questioned and Esau shrugged his shoulders.

"Possibly, but I don't see the point. Might as well try to get a few jobs here and there, earn some money and then move out of Gotham. Travel the world, and see the sights. All that shit." To be completely honest, Esau could do that now.

While fighting Black Mask and tearing down his criminal empire, Esau had helped himself to some of the money there as well. Not loads as that would draw too much attention if he suddenly was transferring millions into his bank account. But a few thousand every now and then wouldn't raise too many eyebrows, especially with Jim knowing about his history in the Underground Fighting Rings. John, the owner of the Underground Fighting Arena had even set him up with an accountant that would take the money and transferring to his bank account, no questions asked. However, that was only for a few thousand, a few million would draw questions from all the wrong places and Esau didn't want that.

Even then, he may or may not have a couple of thousand stashed in various places in his apartment for emergency needs should the time arise.

"So you're gonna do it then? Travel the world?"

Esau nodded his head. "Yeah, eventually. I don't want to spend my entire life here in Gotham, I want to see what the world has to offer and not just…this." He indicated to an alleyway where they could see a prostitute getting railed by a middle-aged, skinny guy. "I'm sick of it here, all this shit everywhere."

Barbara quickly looked away from the sight in disgust.

There were just some things she didn't want to see; ever. "Yeah, I always knew that you were talking a load of shit about how you liked it here. You didn't need to lie to me about that, you don't need to lie to me about anything."

'Is she? Does she?' Esau wondered, taking a few moments to stare at her warily.

Did she know that he was Black Hood?

Or did she only suspect?

Or was he simply overreacting and she was talking about something else?

"I know." He replied with a smile on his face, despite the moment of worry he felt. "And you know that you can tell me anything as well, don't you?"