BAE Chapter 68

Gotham is brutally overcast. Winter will be here soon.

Barbara Gordon touches her ear as she climbs out of the Rolls in front of Wayne Tower.

“Any movement?”

“Still sleeping,” Kate reports. She’s watching Lotte’s place. “I would be too.”

Barbara buttons her coat and walks briskly across the wide sidewalk and up the shallow steps to the many revolving doors, mingling with the other professionally dressed people. There are more direct and discreet ways into the building, including the helipad on the roof, but she needs to be visible.

Ten minutes later, she’s in Lucius’s office and an assistant is pouring coffee for them both.

“Get ready, Ms. Gordon. Things are about to move very quickly,” Lucius warns.

Barbara nods. She’s gone out dressed as a bat, fought costumed villains, and jumped off rooftops. She still feels powerful anxiety about what’s coming.

The assistant is looking at her.

“Yes?” Barbara asks.

“Sorry.” The assistant looks away. “I just wanted to say that I appreciate what you’re doing. With the Seed thing. Um, my niece was a victim of the attack. She’s only fourteen. It’s going to mean a lot to her if you can find a way to fix it.”

“Thanks,” Barbara says with a smile. “I needed to hear that.”

Blushing, the assistant pushes her cart out of the room.

“God help us if we can’t deliver,” Lucius says, going to the window with his cup and saucer.

“Ivy will deliver. Is she up yet?”

“Still asleep. How long do we give her?”

“Let her sleep a little more. We have to talk about next steps. Trials are set, but we need to talk messaging,” Barbara says.

Lucius shakes his head. “Not until we have something to show. We’ve talked enough. Talk is cheap.”

“It started yesterday, Lucius. Every minute that goes by, there’s more potential for damage. I saw a girl in the hospital last night with a penis the size of an Easter ham. It hasn’t really sunk in for people yet. What happens when you OD on this? What happens when you give it to a man? Bad things are going to start happening, and people are going to freak out. Wayne Enterprises can be out in front if we do this correctly.”

“And if you stick your neck out, Aki Aramaki will not think twice to chop. She wants her wife to be mayor. Every political candidate needs a boogeyman. Do not allow Viti Saxena to make Wayne Enterprises into that boogeyman,” Lucius warns.

“Aki would be burning herself,” Barbara replies.

“I don’t think she cares. Look at her CV. She never stays in one place for long.”

“She is odd. I’ll give you that,” Barbara admits.

“Funny words from you of all people.”

“Cheap shot,” Barbara mutters, taking a drink of coffee. “Any coverage?”

“So far, all good. Going to the hospital last night was a good move. People don’t trust us much, Ms. Gordon. But you’ve brought a personal element to this that helps. It makes the company seem genuine. And the board has noticed,” he adds. “Aki does not have the advantage unless you give it to her. What do you think of Viti Saxena?”

“She’s no Harvey Dent,” Barbara replies at once. “But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

“The smart play is to back Aki and Saxena. And that’s exactly what Wayne Enterprises intends to do. That’s the business perspective. What’s the perspective for people with pointy ears?”

“Are you worried about Saxena?” Barbara cocks her head.

“Something’s off about Aki Aramaki. It’s taken me a while to see it. And what you said about your meeting with her isn’t putting my mind at ease,” Lucius admits.

“She could just be a narcissist with some kinks.”

“Let’s hope that’s the case. Bottom line, Ms. Gordon, that’s the way that the wind is blowing. If you don’t want to see that happen, you’ll have to act.”

Barbara nods. Lucius is strongly hinting that he thinks that Viti Saxena should be investigated and informally vetted by Batgirl before Wayne Enterprises formally backs her.

“How’s Hill going to take it if we change sides?” Barbara asks.

“It won’t come as a total surprise. The DA’s wife is on our board,” Lucius replies with a shrug. “Hill’s not popular and he knows it. There’s a chance that he comes to us for help. That will give us the opportunity to make demands.”

“What kind of demands?”

“That’s the trouble. The sort of things that the board would ask for are not the sort of things that Lucius Fox and Barbara Gordon would ask for.”

“So there’s no advantage in trying to keep Mayor Hill where he is.”

“Maybe there is for the company. Not for you or me personally,” Lucius confirms.

“OK.” Barbara finishes her coffee. “Let’s go wake up Ivy.”

“I’m going to let you handle that alone, Ms. Gordon. Dr. Isley isn’t shy. Even knowing that she’s on camera.”

“Walking around naked? I guess we should’ve seen that coming,” Barbara says with a yawn. “Thanks for the coffee.”

BAE

Ivy’s floor is completely locked down. The elevator is heavily guarded, but Ivy’s workspace and living quarters are just for her. The Katana thing has everyone on edge, and Barbara has never seen so many Wayne Enterprises security officers in one place. Some of them wear tactical gear and carry long guns.

Barbara hopes that isn’t making the rest of the building too uncomfortable.

She steps off the elevator with a tray of pastries and coffee, going straight to Ivy’s living quarters, where there are a few frosted-glass walls up to give her privacy in her bedroom and her bathroom. Those walls are full of sensors that will detect any pollen or plant matter that doesn’t belong.

Barbara stands outside the doorway and knocks politely on the glass.

There’s a rustle of sheets and a murmur from within.

“Pam,” Barbara says briskly. “It’s not summer vacation.”

“You aren’t my mom,” Ivy replies.

“Can I come in?”

“It’s your building.”

Barbara rolls her eyes and enters the bedroom. Ivy rolls onto her back, rubbing her eyes. Her wild, red hair is everywhere. Weirdly, seeing her bare arms and shoulders while knowing that she’s naked under the covers is more stimulating than seeing her in her crazy costumes. Or maybe it’s that Barbara has a penis now.

“Want breakfast?” she asks.

“Not in bed,” Ivy replies, making a face. “I don’t want crumbs in my bed.”

“You don’t have to change your own sheets here. This isn’t Arkham.”

“Oh my god.” Ivy stretches, arching her back. The sheet slides down, revealing her bare chest. She’s bustier than Barbara realized, or maybe it’s just that she’s paying attention to things like that now. “And I love it,” Ivy admits, embarrassed. “What time is it?”

“About eight.”

“You let me sleep in.”

Compared to Arkham, yes.

Without hesitation, Ivy throws the sheets out and swings her legs out of bed. Barbara tries to find something to look at other than her body. Something about Ivy’s wild, red bush just draws her eyes. Barbara clears her throat.

“We have some meetings today and we wanted to be able to talk timelines. It looks better if you’re out of bed when we’re having those conversations.”

“Your shareholders are creeping my cameras?”

“No. Nobody’s watching your cameras except a few executives in Applied Sciences and security.” Barbara sets the tray down.

Ivy shrugs and gets to her feet with a yawn. “I don’t care. Timelines? For what?”

“A prototype.”

Ivy spreads her arms horizontally and rotates her torso with a groan, stretching even more flamboyantly. She’s not even doing this on purpose; she’s only half-awake.

“Oh. That’s already done. On the table out there,” she says.

Barbara blinks. “I’m sorry?”

Looking more alert now, Ivy puts on a slightly pitying expression. She places her hand on her hip and finally looks straight at Barbara.

“Miss Gordon, I can make killer plants that are a hundred feet tall. I can make people fall in love with me. You think I need weeks and weeks to make an antidote to a joke project? Who do you think I am?” Ivy asks.

“Oh. Uh…” Barbara shakes her head. “Tell me more.”

“It’s just a reversal agent. Not a sterilizing vaccine. It hasn’t been tested clinically,” Ivy says with an eye roll, making finger quotes. “But it’ll work. That’s what you wanted, right? Or were you wanting me to start with the vaccine?”

“No. No. This is perfect,” Barbara says quickly, waving her hands. “I knew you were good. I didn’t know you were this good.” This is enough to make Barbara set aside being distracted by Ivy’s body. “OK. I need to think. We weren’t ready to move this fast.”

“Gonna do it?”

“What?” Barbara blinks.

“You said you’d take it,” Ivy says, a slightly challenging look on her face. “To rush your messaging and show your faith in me, a noted eco-terrorist.”

“You’re a noted villain,” Barbara reminds her. “You don’t get much credit as an eco-terrorist, and we’re going to keep it that way. You’re going to be a noted eco-activist.”

“Are you stalling?”

Barbara is. She did say that she’d take the prototype before clinical trials. And if it works, she can literally be on TV tonight with Summer Gleeson. If it goes right, she can not only bring comfort to a lot of women, but she can send Wayne Enterprises stock through the roof.

Barbara swallows. It’s also an enormous risk. Ivy could be giving her literally anything, and there’s no guarantee that examining it in a lab would make a difference. Ivy is that good. This is a matter of trust.

Take the prototype reversal agent?

Or hold off until Lucius can have a look at it?