Or not?

A dash of orange crossed his peripheral. The shop bell rang again and a shadow casted over his table. Visible relief elated his eyes.

'Speak of the devil and she shall appear.'

"Vicki Vale," Aaron greeted, stabbing his spoon inside his red velvet cake. "You look great."

Sarcasm. He could see she had a slight limp. It had been a week yet she was still trying to recover from the thorough thrashing he gave her.

"I still can't walk properly," Vicki said, huffing. She had the gall to sit down before he could even respond. "Wayne Technologies. Do you know anything?"

"Straight to the point," Aaron remarked.

"I know you work there. I was at the bar, remember? Your coworkers were quite loud. Next time, you should tell them to be a little quieter."

Aaron tilted his head. "So?"

"So," Vicki said, drawing out the word. "You must know something. Anything."

"Have you been searching for me?" Aaron asked, realigning his head.

"As if. Coincidence and luck are concepts that exist, you know."

Her voice was straight and to the point with zero discourse. Vicki was telling the truth.

"No offence but if I did know something important I'd tell the police–"

She cut him off, "This is Gotham, nobody goes to the GCPD. When someone sees something odd, they keep it to themselves. I've seen it thousands of times, it's just how it is." Her voice turned husky and low. "Something you keep in the back of your mind and never tell the police. Maybe a whisper you caught in the halls. Here's the kicker though: it's not just you. There will always be another. I bet at some point I'll meet someone with the very same information as you and they will be much more willing. It's really only a matter of time or a matter of conscience–if you wish to be a good Gotham citizen. To be the few who chooses to make a difference."

Aaron squinted. Vicki was dead serious. "Is this the legendary spirit of Gotham's most famous reporter?"

"It's the intuition of Gotham's most famous reporter." Vicki's gaze flickered from his face, then down. A mist drowned her pupils. "How about this? I will give you the time of your life tonight and you tell me what I want to know."

"Even though I don't know anything," Aaron replied blankly.

Vicki smirked and leaned back cockily. "Then we'll both still get what we want."

'I fuck her and tell her nothing, we both win. I fuck her and tell her something, it's win-win for her and a win for me.' Aaron met her longing stare. He thought about it at length and weighed his options. Although the win conditions were superficial and based on sex, they were still wins. He needed something extra. Something that perhaps Vicki herself couldn't offer...

"Fine. Buy me two cups of extra-large coffee and we have a deal."