Chapter 153: The Enclave

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"My job consists of basically masking my contempt for the assholes in charge, and, at least once a day, retiring to the men's room so I can jerk off while I fantasize about a life that doesn't so closely resemble Hell."

– Lester Burnham, (American Beauty)

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<(Bruce Wayne POV)>

"I still can't believe that I am royalty. During all those years in the orphanage, not even a single person from my family ever visited. I understand that my father... Alfred didn't even know about my existence until a few days ago but that excuse is useless for my mother, right? She could have at least sent an anonymous letter or something. I didn't need to know that my mother is the Queen of England, and my father is the right-hand man of one of the world's richest people. All I needed to know was that I at least had a mother and a father who was still alive somewhere, that I had not been abandoned." Julia lamented with a deep sigh. 

We were currently in my limo heading towards one of the Wayne Solutions R&D buildings in Gotham. Julia was sitting beside me with a tired look on her face while Alfred was sitting opposite us with a face full of regret and guilt. He looked like a troubled father who really wanted to give his daughter a tight hug to comfort her but was afraid that he would be brutally rejected.

"Alfred is not just my right-hand man. He is basically the person who raised me after my parents died." I corrected before placing a hand on Julia's shoulder in an attempt to soothe her. "Believe me, if either of us had known you are his daughter, you would have certainly had a father while growing up... In fact, you still can. It's never too late to connect with your parents." I advised with a slightly measured voice, hoping that she wouldn't feel too pressured by the situation. "Anyway, if you need some time for yourself, to clear your mind, we can turn the car around. You don't have to accompany me on my... extremely busy schedule." I uttered with a sheepish smile, earning an eye roll from Alfred. 

"No, this is my job. I was given this assignment and even though I now know that you were the ones who arranged it, I still want to see it through. So, I will accompany you... However, I'll need some time to process this. I don't know what to feel now that I know I am not an orphan like I always thought I was. Of course, I am not going to whine and cry about it like a spoiled hormone-filled teenager, but I still need to get my thoughts and feelings in order." Julia replied, making it clear that she didn't want to continue the conversation any further for now.

"Of course, Julia. We are here for you, and I'll continue to be here for you until you are ready. Take all the time you need." Alfred forced a smile, opting to call his daughter by her formal name so as to not spook her. 

It seems neither of them wanted to rush things. They were happy to take it slow and allow their relationship to develop naturally rather than forcing it.

Nevertheless, the journey that followed was mostly silent, as no one felt like talking, and frankly, I appreciated the silence, as the situation was becoming somewhat awkward.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, our car finally arrived at the destination, a vast complex housing numerous facilities focused on the research and development of diverse technologies and products across various fields by Wayne Solutions. The complex was deliberately located on the outskirts of Gotham City to make sure that the different types of top-secret research being conducted here stayed out of the public eye as well as to discourage the general run-of-the-mill criminals who see vandalizing fancy buildings as a way to make a few bucks. Of course, it also had state-of-the-art security including highly trained guards, automated drones, autonomous turrets that could release sleeping gas as well as self-targeting tranquilizer guns based on AI, and facial recognition technology to protect the place from the more dangerous criminals. After all, I never liked the possibility of criminals stealing my stuff, destroying my property, or hurting my employees. 

"Mr. Wayne, welcome to the Enclave. We are so happy that you could finally join us here. We have been expecting you to visit since the construction finished last year." Lucius Fox, my current CEO of Wayne Solutions walked up to us with a huge smile on his face before welcoming us to the place with a small bow. "I was over the moon when I first heard that you were finally visiting us. Even though I am thankful that you have not been too much of a miser when it comes to funding our projects, unlike the previous board of directors, I still need your opinion on some of the more advanced products that you want to release on the market. At the end of the day, I might be the CEO of this company, but you are still its owner, and your vision needs to align with the long-term goals of the company if you really want it to succeed." he said while shaking my hand. This was his way of subtly indicating that he was overworked and would appreciate it if I got involved in the direct management of the company more, thereby lessening his burden.

"Don't worry, my hardworking CEO. I trust in your judgment and am very much content with leaving my company's management reigns in very your capable hands." I nodded with a straight face. "Also, if you are really feeling overburdened with your responsibilities, you can always hire more people," I advised with an innocent shrug. "Anyway, it seems like you really love this place, so why don't you give us a small tour of this 'Enclave' and show us around." I proposed.

"... Fine, follow me." The Morgan Freeman look-alike caved after a few moments of intensely glaring at my face before gesturing at us to follow after him. "The Enclave is built on a site totaling 1.46 square kilometers or 360 acres and houses more than 12000 employees in its various buildings, most of them focused on R&D of course. In fact, we have too many R&D departments here to cover in a single one-day tour, so we will be visiting the more important ones who have made considerable breakthroughs in their fields. Honestly, our R&D teams are leading almost every sector and industry with our company registering the highest number of official patents for the last two years. However, there are mostly three departments who have done things that can be considered almost... game-changing." Lucius Fox explained while leading us into the biggest building of the complex. 

"R&D means nothing when those extremely advanced products don't sell in the real world or earn revenue, Mr. Fox. Make sure to let the researchers know that they should work on stuff that is functional and will actually be useful for people. I don't want more jetpacks or exploding pens, no matter how cool they are." I reminded him after noticing a team working on an extremely huge jet pack behind one of the glass-walled labs. 

"Don't worry, Mr. Wayne. We don't spend money unless the sales department gives us the go-ahead. Only when we get confirmation that we can actually sell the products later, do we start working on their physical models. Of course, industrial and defense contracts are different. Sometimes, we get commissioned to make particular stuff for our bigger customers and since we get paid some quite hefty cash for it, we have no reason to deny it. The jet pack that you just saw was one of those designs." The CEO patiently explained. "Anyway, we have reached our first destination where you will meet two of our best and brightest engineers/researchers, Mr. Winslow Schott and Dr. Victor Fries." Lucius Fox proudly announced, signaling towards one of the more luxurious laboratories as if they were his greatest assets.

"You, ice prick fucker, how dare you call my wife apathetic? She is twice the woman your wife is. Have you seen just how beautiful my wife is, how well she cooks, and how kind she is? You can only dream of having a wife like her in your next life, you piece of shit." A slightly chubby ginger-haired man yelled while hitting a bald man on his head with what looked like a thick roll of documents.

"Are you deaf as well as stupid? I didn't call your wife apathetic, idiot. I said that your wife is as apathetic as a machine because she is literally a robot that you designed for yourself. At least, my wife is a real human being unlike yours. You took those nerds from Japan and Korea marrying their sex dolls and video games to the very next level, you creep." The bald skinny man who could be identified as Victor Fries shouted back while using the knuckles of his fingers to twist the chubby man's unnaturally long nose in an attempt to get the man off of himself.

"SHE IS REAL IN MY HEART WHICH IS THE ONLY PLACE THAT MATTERS, YOU DAMNED BALD FUCKER!" The ginger-haired man, aka, Winslow Schott had tears in his eyes as he violently shook Victor's head like there was no tomorrow.

"... Not again." Lucius Fox released an exhausted groan before finally marching towards the pair to break up their fight.

"..." 

"..." - Alfred

"They are the top scientists in this company?" Julia broke our awkward silence with confusion evident in her voice. "It's a wonder why Wayne Solutions hasn't gone under already." She exclaimed. "I guess Mr. Bruce Wayne works even harder than I originally thought," Julia muttered before nodding to herself with a look of sudden realization on her face.

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