"Two weeks. I'm going stir crazy. Why hasn't he called us?"

Trigger set his beer bottle down on the worn kitchen table of the shabby apartment he shared with his partner, Benny. The taller man raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"I'll bet it's that girl. Word is she's as crazy as he is," Trigger said.

"Shh! Y'know how he feels about us saying that!"

"You're a wimp, Benny. He ain't here! We could call him a pussy and he wouldn't hear us!"

Benny's anxiety at Trigger's words was obvious. He looked around the room, expecting their boss, the Riddler, to appear at any second. The boss was clever with listening devices, and at appearing when least expected. Even if the odd man didn't appear, there was the possibility that he was listening in on his two trusted helpers.

Laughing, Trigger threw his bottle cap, hitting Benny square in the middle of the forehead. "You're an idiot." Shaking his head, he flipped open the pizza box in front of him, taking a slice. "We should call him. This cheap pizza and beer is getting old. I want a steak. He owes us, anyway."

"Think this one will stay more than three months?"

Another bark of laughter erupted from the larger man. "Doubtful. She'll get some notice, some money, and then move on. They all do. Remember those last two? Tried to make it on their own in crime. Couldn't do it. Seen them back on the streets, only now they charge a lot more because they was famous for a while."

"I heard some of them took off to other cities and managed to start little gangs of their own."

"Yeah. The ones that were smart enough to use the connections they made while working for the boss."

Benny paused. "Why don't we go work on our own?"

Trigger sighed. Between the two, he was the brain, which wasn't saying much. They had been over this a hundred times before. "Because, Benny. Nigma does all the hard work. He handles the research, the planning, buys the equipment, and deals with the proper fences, making a ton of profit. All we have to do is be his muscle, and run a few errands now and then. Plus, he pays better than almost anyone else, and lets us travel for free with him when he goes places."

Long ago they had come to the conclusion that it was more profitable to work for Edward Nigma than on their own. Both also realized that neither one of them was the businessman Nigma was.

"You're right." Benny sighed and stared blankly at the wall for a minute. "You call him. He likes you better."

With a roll of his eyes, Trigger pushed out of his chair and propelled himself toward the phone. Dialing the boss's number, he waited, counting the rings. On the fifth ring, the phone was answered.

A feminine voice said, "Hello?"

This was not expected. The number was the private line in the Riddler's study. She should not be answering it!

"Put Mr. Nigma on." Trigger didn't bother with pleasantries to the new girl. He didn't care if he offended her or not. Here and gone. She was just this month's flavor.

There was a static-y sound as she covered the mouthpiece, followed by a long silence. As the silence stretched, Trigger realized the boss had put him on hold. He gritted his teeth in anger. The chance that the girl had manipulated the Riddler into giving her Benny and his share of the cash from the benefit was all too possible. No matter how much they respected their boss in matters of business, a pretty face could always wiggle money out of him. Just as he was about to slam the phone down in anger, the Riddler picked up.

"Hello, Trigger. Is there something I can help you with?"

He had to take a few deep breaths before answering. "Yeah. Benny and me was wondering when we'll be getting our money. Did you sell that other stuff yet?"

"No. I'm working on that right now. If you'd like, you're welcome to come and pick your shares of the cash up today."

The boss sounded strange, distracted and relaxed. Too relaxed. Last time Trigger had asked for his share in the manner he just had, the Riddler had nearly bitten his head off.

"Any specific time?"

"Oh, any time before seven is fine. Query and I are going out tonight." There was a pause, and then a light chuckle before he cleared his throat and continued. "Do come as soon as you can. There's a matter I wish to discuss with you as well."

"Sure thing, boss." Trigger hung up and snatched up his beer.

"Well?"

After a long pull, Trigger wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Boss says we can come anytime and get our money. He also said he wanted to talk to us about something."

"Did he say what?" Benny asked, looking nervous once more. He knew the Riddler had bugged the place! They were going to be fired. Fired from the easiest job they had ever had.

Trigger shook his head. "Just said he wanted to talk. Sounded strange."

"She probably got her hooks in him. How much do you think she's gotten out of him so far?"

"Better not be any of our share, or she'll have to answer to me," he growled. Pulling a jacket on, he grabbed up the car keys. "Let's get out of here and find out what he wants."

~ ~ ~

A very cheery Query, dressed for working out, greeted them as they entered. While both men appreciated her lithe figure in the tight exercise clothing, they eyed her warily as she led them to the study.

Trigger was 6' 3", towering over his friend who was 5' 10" on a good day. Benny was the slower of the two; his dull brown eyes matching his dull mind. Trigger, on the other hand was the sharper one; his hawk-like yellow eyes always darting and taking things in, even if he couldn't always utilize the information. His dark brown hair always looked neat, compared to Benny's mousy brown tangle. The Riddler kept the two in his employ for the fact that they were loyal to him, and could be trusted. Neither one was very smart, in the Riddler's eyes, but both were excellent at what they did, and therefore very useful to him.

"Eddie, the guys are here," she said, poking her head into the room.

"Come in, boys," he said. As the two entered, Nigma waved at the two chairs in front of his desk, indicating that they should sit. His eyes, however, followed Dee's movements as she filled three cups with coffee, mixing cream into one and serving Edward. A smile twitched at his lips as he watched her hand the other two coffee, black, as they preferred it. He loved how she took note of small details like that. "Thank you."

"Anything else, Eddie?" she asked. The giddy undertone in her voice was evident, and she was nearly wiggling with excitement.

"No, thank you, Q. Please close the door on your way out," he requested, blowing across the hot liquid.

"Sure, Eddie."

The men missed the wink she gave the boss, along with the playful smile. Right now her only reason for going to workout was because Eddie was having this meeting with the boys. She wasn't told what it was about, and really didn't care. If it was about something she should know, then he would tell her.

Dee half walked, half danced down the hall to the little gym. When Trigger called earlier, she had been comfortably curled in Edward's lap, kissing him at his desk. As Eddie had spoken with Trigger, Dee had remained in Eddie's lap, playfully unbuttoning his shirt. His announcement that he was taking her out had been met with a delighted hug and kiss. Since breaking out and the dinner at Third Degree Swing, the two had gone to the Iceberg a few times, but spent most of their time discussing what had happened at Arkham in the privacy of the warehouse hideout.

Edward had taken it upon himself to teach her enough dance steps to make her feel comfortable. In between they had discovered the joy of heavy make out sessions. After their first dinner, they had simply kissed for a while, before curling up together and going to sleep. Though she wanted to have sex with him, her fear kept them moving at a slow pace. Because they were taking things slow, he found his own fears easing.

Dee had been so shy of him seeing her naked body, even if he had been touching her through her clothing, that she had curled up and hidden herself. Much assurance and talk had gone one as he attempted to make her relax. He, himself, was a trembling mess at the beginning, but found that turning his nervous energy to curiosity made things easier. By treating his time with her as a puzzle, he quickly got over his uneasiness, appearing to her as confident in his actions. Now his favorite game with her was seeing how she would react to a certain touch, playing with both location and pressure.

A shiver ran through Dee's body, giving her goose bumps. She blushed deeply, though she was alone in the gym. Eddie had shocked her the more time she spent with him. He was one of Gotham's most notorious villains. Plenty of times she had seen pictures or film footage of him with blazing guns, throwing a punch, pelting the police with explosives, or any number of other violent acts. She had never expected to find him to be so...

"Gentle," she murmured aloud, flowing through her warm-ups. Another involuntary shiver knocked her pace off. "Pay attention, Dee!" she snapped.

But she couldn't. Coming to a stop, she stood in the middle of the room in a complete daze. Yesterday she had been fine, but today she couldn't concentrate on anything other than Nigma. Her skin flushed and her breath quickened as she re-lived the night before.

Off and on she had taken to sleeping in his bed at night. Most of the time they ended up naked, playing little games and exploring one another's body. They were new to this, and were acting like giddy teenagers. Dee was quick to grasp her intense enjoyment at their warm, bare skin touching between the cool sheets. There was nothing she enjoyed more than lying next to him, stroking his chest and kissing his neck and shoulders, while he ran his fingers lightly up her back.

Last night had been so much more though. The noises she had made had shocked her, and delighted him. Dee wanted nothing more than to suppress the moans and groans of pleasure she had made. Edward, on the other hand, increased his attention the more she held them back until she had no choice but to release the noise. When they had both felt tired enough to sleep hours later, she had held and kissed his hands. Eddie's ego had received a tremendous boost when she had praised his body; kissing him in places no one else had ever kissed him before. He floated higher on his cloud when she had told him that his hands were "as clever and dexterous as his beautiful brain." He had jealously held her as if another man might enter and sweep her away from him.

"Query?"

Dee jumped and spun to the door. Benny stood there holding a box out to her. Though the box was opaque, she recognized it as the type from a florist.

"Hey, Benny. Did everything go ok with you and Eddie?"

He nodded. "Boss told me to give you this."

"Thank you. What is it?" she smiled, taking it from him.

"Dunno."

Benny was confused. The others had never said thank you. And the only time they smiled was when they were about to smack him. He took a couple of steps back. Dee merely untied the string on the box and opened it expectantly. Inside was a dozen long stem roses, so dark red they were almost black.

Roses? Something is definitely up with the boss. Benny thought. "Roses, huh?"

"Looks like," said Dee with a hint of disappointment. "Help me find something to put them in, would you, Benny? You know what's around here better than I do and I'd really appreciate the help."

"Benny! Let's go!" snapped Trigger, appearing in the hall. He tucked away two stacks of bills similar to the ones Edward had offered Dee.

With a backwards wave Benny followed Trigger out. Dee simply shrugged and went to find something on her own. Once she put the roses in a makeshift vase, she went to her room to decide just what to wear tonight.
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