bgates87
Waiting for a train
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Wasn't sure where to put this but I've been working on a short story that is meant to be a stand-alone story that takes place in the Nolanverse.
The story is tentatively titled The Dark Knight: Vengeance but I'm not really happy with that and am throwing around some other ideas. Anyways so far I've got a basic plot outlined and have written a short prologue. It reveals who the main villain is and sort of sets up a small back story and motivations for the character. I'll put it in spoiler tags, read it and let me know what you think. This is my first time really delving into writing other than a few school assignments, so be gentle!
Also sorry if this isn't in the right thread.
The story is tentatively titled The Dark Knight: Vengeance but I'm not really happy with that and am throwing around some other ideas. Anyways so far I've got a basic plot outlined and have written a short prologue. It reveals who the main villain is and sort of sets up a small back story and motivations for the character. I'll put it in spoiler tags, read it and let me know what you think. This is my first time really delving into writing other than a few school assignments, so be gentle!
Also sorry if this isn't in the right thread.
Sweat rolled down Roman Sionis' forehead as he leaned back in his dark leather chair and took a sip of coffee. He paused for a moment and inhaled the rich aroma of hand-roasted Arabica. The steaming hot vapors almost relaxed him enough to take his mind off the situation at hand. He placed the mug on the table and ran his fingers slowly across the engravings that decorated the border of the long oak table, admiring the Italian craftsmanship and the rich cherry finish. Enough stalling, it’s time to get down to business. Sionis let out a quiet sigh and looked up to meet eyes with the 13 men seated at the table around him. It was a sight a classroom teacher would die for- everyone sitting patiently with one hand raised in the air. Sionis calmly closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and held it for a moment.
“So that's it then?”
Sionis slammed a fist onto the table and erupted from his chair.
“Ungrateful. Put your hands down, you cowards. You're a bunch of ungrateful pigs and sellouts. Christ! What the hell's a Board of Directors for anyways?”
One by one the men began filtering out, except for one man seated at the opposite end of the conference room. He sat calmly with his hands folded, staring back at Sionis. He was unimpressed.
“Sit down Roman, you're making a fool of yourself.”
Sionis picked up the small plaque sitting on the table in front of him and slid it violently across the table.
“You see that? What the hell does that say?”
The man didn't flinch as the plaque slid past him and fell to the floor with a thud.
“Chief Executive Officer.”
Sionis collapsed back into his chair and put his head in his hands.
“Chief. Executive. Officer. You know what that means?”
Sionis peered back at the man sitting across the table from him.
“That means I make the decisions. That's what you told me pops. I decide what's right and what's wrong for this company. I knew this had to be a joke. I knew you wouldn't really trust me.”
His father stood up from the table slowly and deliberately. Sionis scowled.
“Where the hell are you going?”
“It wasn't a joke, Roman. I thought you could handle the responsibility. Obviously I was wrong. The board has voted and that's the end of it. You'll still have a job with Janus Cosmetics after the buyout is finalized."
His father picked up a briefcase and headed toward the door. Sionis followed after him.
“I'll never work for that pretty-boy Bruce Wayne. I'd sooner live on the streets.”
He stopped and turned, halfway out the door.
“Wayne is a good business man. Beyond that I know nothing of him, but that alone earns him more respect than I have for you. You'd do well to learn from him.”
Sionis paused and watched as his father left and closed the door behind him.
He stood quietly for a moment, and then turned toward the large window that spanned the entire west wall from floor to ceiling. Gotham looked to be ablaze as the hot orange glow of sunset illuminated the towering skyscrapers and left long shadows streaking across the city. When his father showed him this room for the first time, he told him it was the best view in Gotham. As Roman Sionis stood looking out over Gotham now, however, the only thing he could notice was Wayne Towers, a new monument to his failures as a business man and a son. What the hell does Bruce Wayne even want with Janus Cosmetics anyways? Does he have any interest in the company at all? Or is Janus Cosmetics just another throw-away property in his life-sized game of Monopoly? Sionis grabbed his black coat from the back of his chair and threw it over his shoulders as he stormed out of the room.
The parking garage was startlingly dark as Sionis exited the elevator and stepped out onto the cold concrete. His footsteps echoed throughout the spacious parking lot and his pockets jingled as he pulled out the keys to his black Maserati GT. Something seemed strange as he began to make out the faint shadow of his car in the vast darkness. He couldn't be sure but it looked as if a man was standing there. As he got closer the silhouette of a man became clear.
“Who the hell are you? And why are you touching my car?”
The man took a step forward.
“I'm guessing the meeting didn't go well,” he said in a rough voice.
“You could say that. That doesn't answer my question though. Who are you?”
The man chuckled and took another step forward.
“I want to make a proposition.”
Sionis stopped a few feet away from the man. He tucked his hand inside his left breast pocket and felt the handle of his Mark XIX Desert Eagle.
“What kind of proposition?”
The man noticed Sionis slip his hand into his pocket and took a step back.
“What if I told you I could prevent the buyout of Janus Cosmetics by Wayne Enterprises?”
Sionis looked at the shadowy figure suspiciously and removed the gun from his pocket.
“I'd say start talking. Get in."
Sionis unlocked the car with a remote and motioned toward the passenger door with the gun still in hand. The shadowy man walked around to the other side of the car.
“You're not a very trusting man, are you Roman?”
They slid into the car and shut their doors. Sionis turned to the man and pointed the gun at his face.
“You don't get to the position I'm in by trusting a lot of people. Now tell me who you are and what your plan is.”
Sionis put the keys in the ignition and started the car. The headlights illuminated the wall in front of them and light poured into the interior of the vehicle, revealing the passenger's face. He was an elderly man with blonde-gray hair and thin round-framed glasses. He smiled and looked Sionis dead in the eye.
“My name is William Earle, and we share a common enemy.”
“So that's it then?”
Sionis slammed a fist onto the table and erupted from his chair.
“Ungrateful. Put your hands down, you cowards. You're a bunch of ungrateful pigs and sellouts. Christ! What the hell's a Board of Directors for anyways?”
One by one the men began filtering out, except for one man seated at the opposite end of the conference room. He sat calmly with his hands folded, staring back at Sionis. He was unimpressed.
“Sit down Roman, you're making a fool of yourself.”
Sionis picked up the small plaque sitting on the table in front of him and slid it violently across the table.
“You see that? What the hell does that say?”
The man didn't flinch as the plaque slid past him and fell to the floor with a thud.
“Chief Executive Officer.”
Sionis collapsed back into his chair and put his head in his hands.
“Chief. Executive. Officer. You know what that means?”
Sionis peered back at the man sitting across the table from him.
“That means I make the decisions. That's what you told me pops. I decide what's right and what's wrong for this company. I knew this had to be a joke. I knew you wouldn't really trust me.”
His father stood up from the table slowly and deliberately. Sionis scowled.
“Where the hell are you going?”
“It wasn't a joke, Roman. I thought you could handle the responsibility. Obviously I was wrong. The board has voted and that's the end of it. You'll still have a job with Janus Cosmetics after the buyout is finalized."
His father picked up a briefcase and headed toward the door. Sionis followed after him.
“I'll never work for that pretty-boy Bruce Wayne. I'd sooner live on the streets.”
He stopped and turned, halfway out the door.
“Wayne is a good business man. Beyond that I know nothing of him, but that alone earns him more respect than I have for you. You'd do well to learn from him.”
Sionis paused and watched as his father left and closed the door behind him.
He stood quietly for a moment, and then turned toward the large window that spanned the entire west wall from floor to ceiling. Gotham looked to be ablaze as the hot orange glow of sunset illuminated the towering skyscrapers and left long shadows streaking across the city. When his father showed him this room for the first time, he told him it was the best view in Gotham. As Roman Sionis stood looking out over Gotham now, however, the only thing he could notice was Wayne Towers, a new monument to his failures as a business man and a son. What the hell does Bruce Wayne even want with Janus Cosmetics anyways? Does he have any interest in the company at all? Or is Janus Cosmetics just another throw-away property in his life-sized game of Monopoly? Sionis grabbed his black coat from the back of his chair and threw it over his shoulders as he stormed out of the room.
The parking garage was startlingly dark as Sionis exited the elevator and stepped out onto the cold concrete. His footsteps echoed throughout the spacious parking lot and his pockets jingled as he pulled out the keys to his black Maserati GT. Something seemed strange as he began to make out the faint shadow of his car in the vast darkness. He couldn't be sure but it looked as if a man was standing there. As he got closer the silhouette of a man became clear.
“Who the hell are you? And why are you touching my car?”
The man took a step forward.
“I'm guessing the meeting didn't go well,” he said in a rough voice.
“You could say that. That doesn't answer my question though. Who are you?”
The man chuckled and took another step forward.
“I want to make a proposition.”
Sionis stopped a few feet away from the man. He tucked his hand inside his left breast pocket and felt the handle of his Mark XIX Desert Eagle.
“What kind of proposition?”
The man noticed Sionis slip his hand into his pocket and took a step back.
“What if I told you I could prevent the buyout of Janus Cosmetics by Wayne Enterprises?”
Sionis looked at the shadowy figure suspiciously and removed the gun from his pocket.
“I'd say start talking. Get in."
Sionis unlocked the car with a remote and motioned toward the passenger door with the gun still in hand. The shadowy man walked around to the other side of the car.
“You're not a very trusting man, are you Roman?”
They slid into the car and shut their doors. Sionis turned to the man and pointed the gun at his face.
“You don't get to the position I'm in by trusting a lot of people. Now tell me who you are and what your plan is.”
Sionis put the keys in the ignition and started the car. The headlights illuminated the wall in front of them and light poured into the interior of the vehicle, revealing the passenger's face. He was an elderly man with blonde-gray hair and thin round-framed glasses. He smiled and looked Sionis dead in the eye.
“My name is William Earle, and we share a common enemy.”
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