The Wayne Legacy: Rise
By BetterInTexas
Chapter 07:
Wayne Tower
A quick knock on the CEO’s door and Kara was walking into the office.
Dig had seen pictures of her in magazines: a beautiful, young, blonde woman in expensive dresses at fundraisers and galas so he was not expecting what he saw.
She appeared to be a healthy, twenty-one-year-old girl, her bright, blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, glasses on her face, wearing a t-shirt that had a mushroom with the words ‘Super Mario’ on the front and jeans that were well worn.
“Hey, Diana. Who do we have here?” The younger Wayne had a bright smile on her face, not the mysterious, exotic smile Diana wore but one that seemed open and honest.
“This is Mr. John Diggle. He is your new bodyguard and head of security. The two of you will be spending much time together.” Diana replied, the affection for her sister obvious in her tone. “When it comes to your safety, unless I say differently, what he says goes.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Wayne.” Dig greeted her, smiling and offering his large hand.
Kara shook it with a surprising grip for someone her size. Her hands were not the hands of a debutant who never knew work. It was obvious her hands were used to physical labor.
“If you survived the gauntlet that is my sister, then we are going to be new best friends, so please, call me Kara. I don’t think I could take hearing Miss Wayne all day and night.” Kara told him. “Are you moving in with us?”
“Yes and I’m…” Dig started before being cut off by the shining bundle of energy.
“Sweet! It will be nice to have more people around. Diana’s man candy has moved in recently. It’s starting to feel like a full house again. ”
“I look forward to it, Kara.” Dig told her, his smile reaching his eyes now. “I’ve never lived in a mansion before. It will be a unique experience I’m sure.”
“Well, come with me and I will introduce you to my friends. I’ve already had lunch so if you need something, we can stop by the cafeteria on the way. You will need to grab something from there most days because I don’t usually leave the building… too much to do. You would not believe the crap I have to eat and drink. Sometimes, I think I would literally kill for a soda.” She told him, rambling from one topic to the next. “Anyway, bye, big sis! I’ll be working all afternoon so see you at home.”
Kara kissed an amused Diana on the cheek then grabbed Dig’s hand, pulling him out of the office and toward the elevator. He followed quickly, a bit stunned at her reception.
His brother told him most clients resented bodyguards or did their best to act as if they weren’t there. Kara seemed to be the exact opposite.
Once they were inside the elevator, Kara called out for the forty-fifth floor. “Okay, Mr. Diggle, I think you will enjoy our first stop. After this, I’ll introduce you to my besties who are department heads here.”
Dig nodded slightly. “You can call me John, or Diggle or even Dig if you want.”
“Which do you prefer?” she asked.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Then I am going with Dig.” Kara told him. “It’s a cool name… and unique.”
The elevator door opened, and they walked down a hallway into a large, open area. For the second time that day, Dig’s mouth almost dropped to the ground. If there was a heaven for a special ops soldier, he had just entered it.
The floor was populated by men and women at benches, working on firearms… all calibers and types of firearms… every shape and size, cleaning, filing, putting together and taking apart. Some of these weapons he was sure he had never seen before.
“Everybody, this is Dig! Dig, this is everybody. I spend a lot of time here so you will get to know each of them, but we don’t have the time right now.”
Almost as one, the people on the floor stopped what they were doing, smiled and said, “hello” as if they were a class of grade schoolers.
He shook off his surprise, forcing himself to follow Kara and not stare at any of the weapons on the benches.
They entered a room which could only be called an armory. There were dozens of different types of rifles and handguns.
“All these are prototypes that will be in production as soon as the initial contract is signed. These are the next generation of automatic weapons and semi-auto hand guns. We also produce standard handguns for the public, slimmed down to handle easier while losing none of the stopping power.” Kara explained. “Now, what are you carrying?”
“A Smith and Wesson 9mm, but I left it downstairs in security. Your sister hadn’t hired me yet, so I wasn’t cleared to bring a weapon into the building.” Dig replied.
Kara frowned. “I’ll find you something much better. You want something easy for concealment, has stopping power and fires a bullet that will cause massive damage on impact, but not go through and through in case we are in public.”
She reached up and pulled a black hand gun from the rack, handing the weapon to her new bodyguard along with a clip. “Try this.”
Dig took the gun in hand and was surprised by the weight. It was perfectly balanced in his hands, not heavy, not light, with a twenty round clip. The design was compact, not much different than a nine millimeter.
“That’s a K-18 with extended clip. Honestly, if you can’t hit something with twenty shots you should probably throw the gun at the enemy and run. The clip is carrying a more compact version of the 7.4 mm bullet, hollow point for maximum damage to torso. You shoot someone in the head, it’s going to look like they never had a head. A torso shot will stop an enemy from blunt force alone. Despite this, there is almost no recoil. These are going to be the new special forces side arms. Tomorrow, I can show you our next gen assault rifles and we can have some fun with them.” Kara said smiling, then motioned towards the door. “Let’s go to the range.”
A speechless Dig followed Kara to a firing range adjacent to the armory where there was a paper target set twenty-five yards away.
“Go ahead. We have all the ammo you could want.” She assured him.
Dig put on eye and ear protectors as did Kara. He then unleashed the weapon on the target, marveling at the smoothness of the gun and near lack of recoil.
When he was done, Dig couldn’t hold back the huge smile on his face. He had planted all twenty rounds in the torso of the target.
Kara smirked. “Nice, right? May I?”
Dig handed her the gun, not have noticing earlier that she had placed a smaller clip into her back pocket.
She stepped up beside him and with one hand, fired ten shots, perfectly into the target’s head.
“Pretty sweet, huh?” Kara asked, handing over the pistol to her new bodyguard. “Tomorrow I will break out the ballistic gel dummies and you can see the internal damage.”
“So, you don’t just make guns, you know how to use them.” Dig said, honestly impressed.
Kara shrugged. “I make a lot of things and try to use them. I’m a fair pilot but I don’t get many opportunities to fly. I also don’t like to carry a gun though I am a pretty decent shot. I spent a lot of my childhood inside and became really good at first person shooter games.
“Anyway, leave your gun at security downstairs and I’ll make sure it gets brought to the manor. Keep this one on you. We can grab some extra clips and ammo before we hit the elevator.”
Dig raised his eyebrows. “That’s it? I can just have it?”
Kara laughed as they reentered her private armory. She waved her arm as they passed through. “I do own everything here, so if I want to give them away, I can, especially to a guy who is going to use them to protect me. Don’t ever worry about stuff like this, Dig. You tell me what you need, and I’ll get it for you, guns or any other stuff.
“Wayne Enterprises practically has everything. This tower is like a wonderland for tech geeks and is about to be geared toward warfare more than it has been before.
“Now speaking of video games, let’s head to the digital arts division. The work we are doing in 3-D platforming is revolutionary. I also have some ideas about how to integrate it into real world training simulations in many industries. First though, we are going to use it to make some sick video games.”
The duo arrived on the thirty-first floor and Dig was once again taken by surprise. All the walls of the massive main room were taken up by monitors. Open desks with laptops on them littered the floor. Again, as above, everyone was dressed casually. At the end of the hall was another door which opened to a complete green screen room. Kara told Dig something about game casting, green screens and motion capture, but he was still looking around, trying to take in everything.
Eventually, they reached a large office full of screens and a short, dark-haired man staring intently at his laptop.
“Winn!”
“Kara!” the man called out, looking up with a grin, fist bumping his boss.
“This is Dig, the guy whose going to stop my head from being blown off. Dig, this is my good friend, Winn Schott, Jr., Head of the Digital Arts and Entertainment Division. Winn’s teams are responsible for all gaming apps and digital work for movie studios.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Winn greeted Dig, an infectious smile on his face. “Keeping Kara’s head on her shoulders is important to all of us.”
“You, too.” Dig told the man.
“I was about to take him to cyber operations and security. Do you know if Babs has left for the day?” Kara asked.
“I vid chatted with her about ten minutes ago. She has dinner plans with her Dad and was on her way out. I’m going to put in a few more hours. Aren’t you running close to the clock?” Winn asked, knowing Kara’s strict work policy and how many hours a day Diana let her stay in the office.
Kara checked the time on Winn’s laptop and winced. “Yeah, my time is running out. Dig will be with me every day so he will meet everyone eventually.”
Winn smiled at Dig briefly, but his eyes stayed on Kara. Dig recognized that look. He had a crush on the brilliant young woman, and she was oblivious.
“Too bad you can’t talk your sister into staying a few hours more. I could use some help with ideas. At point one eighty-two, I want to move the game to a brighter level, but story wise I can’t think of a reason why it would be brighter. I thought the change of scenery would be a nice change of pace but…”
“Mushrooms.” Kara cut in.
“Huh?”
“Psychedelic mushroom spores. Have the player character go into a delusion and anything is possible. You can change it from bright and happy memories to scary acid trips in a second. You can never go wrong with psychedelic mushrooms in a video game.”
Winn nodded, liking the idea. “Cool, I’ll write the code tonight and we can give it a spin in the morning if you want.”
“Of course!” Kara replied excitedly. “I always have time for a psychedelic mushroom level. See you later.”
When the two arrived in the underground parking area of Wayne Tower, Dig stepped out first and secured the area. Apparently, Diana had informed security about his new role because no one looked surprised to see him.
A car was brought up beside them and left idling as the driver stepped out. “One lead car and one trailing car will be following. Wayne Digital Security is watching the traffic lights and will ensure you aren’t stopped. Should be a smooth ride to the manor, sir.”
Dig took in the Mercedes S Class VIP armored model. He was familiar with the model, noting it was the strongest, most secure, commercially sold sedan in the world and routinely used to protect heads of states and industry icons, particularly in high danger zones.
He opened the door and Kara seated herself in the back on the passenger side.
Once the two were on the move, Kara finally spoke. “I’m not a big fan of limos. A waste of space and hard to escape in if a quick exit is needed, right? I’ve checked this engine out myself. It’s a beauty.”
“This is a nice car.” Dig assured her, clearing his throat. “Thank you for such a warm welcome today, Kara. I want you to know that, while I appreciate your attitude about this situation, there may be times I need you to do something for your own safety that you may not be happy with. I hope you understand that your safety comes before comfort.”
Kara snorted. “I wouldn’t be comfortable dead so no need to worry about that, Dig. You keep me alive, and I promise not to give you any problems. I enjoy life too much.”
“Glad to hear it…”
“How are you at swimming?” Kara asked changing subjects abruptly.
Dig looked at her in the rearview mirror. “I’m not a big fan. I was in the Army, not the Navy.”
“Huh. That’s unfortunate.” Kara said, shaking her head sadly. “There is one thing I won’t give up. I compete in open water endurance swimming. I love it. It’s kind of a ‘screw you’ to my health problems. A couple of bodyguards usually swim along with me so if you are going to be my shadow, you need to learn to swim competitively and not slow me down.
“I’ll show you around the basement when we get home. It has a full gym, and complete medical facility where I receive weekly treatments. There is also a large pool with a small wave machine to help simulate swimming in open water. You can start training with me tomorrow morning.”
“Open water swimming? Endurance has never really been my thing.” He told her.
“I understand that, but sometimes I will need you to do things for my safety that you may not be happy with. As you just said, my safety comes before comfort. Training starts at six a.m. every morning before work.”
Dig internally groaned but sucked it up. He supposed she did have a point and was impressed by her dedication to training.
He was driving up the long driveway when his destination appeared, looming majestically before him. He stopped the car, gazing out the windshield at the imposing scene before him.
Wayne Manor was huge: the grounds, the three-story mansion, the gardens and woods beyond them. It was an enormous area to make secure but at least the property seemed to be surrounded by large stone walls with a security gate complete with a guardhouse and guards.
“Welcome to your new home.” Kara said from the backseat, breaking his train of thought. “I realize it looks like a haunted house you might see in a horror movie or a murder mystery but it’s not. It’s very warm once you get used to it.”
Dig exited the vehicle and moved to open the door for Kara, but she was already out and grabbed his hand, like an excited kid wanting to show her new friend her room. The door was opened by a thin, grey-haired man in a sweater, wearing glasses.
“Welcome home, Kara.” The man said before turning to Dig. “You must be Mr. John Diggle. I am Alfred. I am in charge of the staff and…”
“Alfred takes care of everything, including me and Diana. We would be lost without him.” Kara cut in.
Dig smiled at the fondness in her voice and the obvious love the older man looked at Kara with, warmed by her words. “Call me Dig, Alfred. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Alfred replied, shaking his hand. “I have taken the liberty of having your bags brought from your hotel and if you will give me the address of your storage facility or previous apartment, I will have your belongings shipped here. Dinner will be at seven.
“Relax, allow Kara to show you around and please, make yourself at home. I will give you a more comprehensive tour and go over security protocols after Kara retires for the night. I am sure Diana will wish to be present.”
Dig followed Kara up to his room and was astounded by the size of it. He had expected something smaller, but he was starting to realize he needed to change his expectations.
The ensuite was huge, even having its own couch and television away from the bed. A small kitchenette completed the area.
“Pretty cool, huh? You have a full bathroom with a nice sized whirlpool tub.” Kara informed him. “Let me show you the basement. It also doubles as a safe room. Once inside, it would take a couple nuclear bombs to breach the place.”
Dig followed an excitable Kara to the first floor library where she stopped in front of the fireplace. He watched closely as she followed an elaborate security protocol remaining calm when the bookcase to the right of the fireplace suddenly slid to the side revealing an elevator.
“Kara, please state your password.” An electronic voice instructed once the doors of the elevator closed.
Kara looked a bit frustrated. Finally, she muttered, “Bunny.”
The elevator began descending.
“Why does the system need a password since it recognized you?” Dig asked.
“It only does that if someone in the elevator isn’t in the system which you will be by the morning. If I had said anything other than Bunny, the elevator would be flooded with a sleeping gas. Lights out in seconds. We would wake up with a headache, but it wouldn’t matter. By the time an intruder woke, Diana would be here with the rest of the security staff and Alfred.”
The elevator opened before he could ask more questions and he stepped out into a huge room, roughly the size of a football field. It had once been a cavern but was now shored up… the walls made of concrete and steel. He could see what Kara meant by no one getting in here.
Despite the size and its obvious origin as a massive underground cavern, the place was brightly lit.
At the far end, he saw the fifty meter pool Kara expected him to train in. A huge steel door at least twenty feet high was at the end behind the pool and Dig suspected it led out to an escape tunnel.
Against the opposite wall, there was an area completely dedicated to every type of exercise equipment imaginable including free weights, treadmills and exercise bikes. There was even a highly sophisticated climbing wall with angles that would be rated for experienced climbers. An area that looked like it was made for self-defense training was adjacent to the exercise equipment.
To the left of the elevator, there was a room surrounded by clear glass walls as well as a clear ceiling filled with all types of medical equipment. Dig had a sinking feeling it could become an isolation chamber in seconds if Kara’s health worsened quickly.
“The only area you can’t have access to is behind that door.” Kara told him, pointing to a door to the right of the glass room. “Diana and I keep family heirlooms there and only we have the codes. The rest is free for you to use.”
“This place is amazing.” He told her as he continued to look around in wonder.
“It used to be much smaller. At first, Dad used this part of the cavern for a small medical room so he could have his own private space. He modified and improved it to treat me after I was adopted.
“Later, after he and Mom were killed, Diana… expanded the area, made the cavern huge. She then had lights, steel, concrete and other improvements added to reinforce the infrastructure. She had the pool added for me, to give me a safe place to swim all year around.
“That wall to the right can slide open to reveal big monitors. I play video games sometimes down here or watch tv while I’m working out. It also serves as a backup to the main computer control room that governs and secures the manor and grounds. I’ll show you that later or Alfred can.
“I also spend a lot of my time up top in the garage. I’m restoring a 1978 Bell Helicopter now. It’s kind of my pet project but I usually have one or two projects going at a time. It’s how I relax after work some days.”
Dig nodded, not surprised. The day seemed surreal to him. It had started with an interview, and everything that happened afterward kept getting better and better. All his reservations about this job were gone. The place was amazing, the pay was amazing, and most of all, instead of the rich brat he feared he might be stuck with, he was assigned to a very bright, happy, down-to-earth woman, who didn’t seem spoiled at all, despite the immense luxury surrounding her.
“I think the two of us are going to get along very well, Kara.” He told her fondly, a genuine smile lighting his face.
Kara grinned in response. “Me too, Dig.”
He took a long look at the pool. “You are really going to make me compete in these swimming races, aren’t you?”
Instead of answering, Kara just patted him on the back, a smug look on her face. “It’s the price you pay to live the life of the rich and famous, Dig. Just think about all the cool guns you get to have when you are swimming. That should get you through a mile.”
Dig laughed and was about to agree when he caught that remark. “A mile? You swim a damn mile!?”
Kara smirked at him and continued to the elevator. “Dinner is about to be ready. The pool can wait till tomorrow. Rest up tonight. You are going to need it.”
The next morning, Dig was getting dressed when Alfred knocked on his door. The man handed Dig a small garment bag, told him Kara and Diana would be in the basement and be prepared to swim.
After he was gone, Dig opened the bag and winced.
Ten minutes later, he was in the elevator on his way down. He copied the procedures he saw Kara do the night before and was happy to find his voice and facial recognition identification had worked. That was all he was happy about.
He stepped out of the elevator wearing a robe and the ‘Speedo’ swimsuit underneath it.
Kara was in the pool, swimming laps but there was no wave machine on that he could detect. Alfred was fencing with Diana and Steve Trevor was performing bench presses.
No one looked up at him when he walked in, so he quietly made his way to the pool.
Kara was heading back to his end, so he took a deep breath and dropped his robe to prepare to enter the pool.
He heard someone coughing… probably Steve. Dig dared to look at the man and saw he had spit water out of his bottle and was staring at him with way too much glee on his face.
Dig saw Steve’s attention had caught Diana’s eye and she was now looking at him with a devious grin on her face.
The woman walked over to him, shaking her head.
“Let me guess. Kara told you she competed in open water swimming competitions, and you would have to be beside her.” The older sister said, barely able to contain herself.
“Yes… that’s not true?” he questioned suspiciously, then turned around to see a beaming Kara.
“I apologize for her. She has said the same to security personnel in the past.” Diana told him, trying to keep from laughing as she addressed her sister. “I thought after the last time you said you wouldn’t do this again?”
Kara was outright laughing now as she grasped the side of the pool. “I keep thinking that it will get old, but it just never does. Think of it as an initiation, Dig.”
“This is the swimsuit you gave him?” Diana asked, turning to Alfred who remained stoic and collected as always, though Dig could see the amusement in his eyes.
Alfred shrugged his shoulders. “It’s the same one we used on the last bodyguard Little Miss Kara fooled. Plus she is correct… it just never gets old.”
Diana couldn’t hold her laughter back any longer. “Welcome to the family. Go get dressed and rejoin us here or meet us in the kitchen in an hour for breakfast. There is a small dining room next to it where we eat together.”
Dig shot Kara a dangerous look only to receive an unapologetic wink as she continued chuckling. By the time he had made it up top, he was smiling at the girl’s wicked sense of humor.
The week went by without a problem. Diana and Kara signed the first contract on Thursday with no fanfare and construction on the first production plants broke ground that afternoon. Diana was not one to waste time.
The military sent out a brief statement to the press indicating they would be working exclusively with Wayne Enterprises, but the news had not circulated to every corner of the globe yet. Diana had no doubt that by Monday, Myndi would be inundated with interview requests.
Knowing Wayne Enterprises would eventually need to hold a press conference, Diana had to determine the best way for the information to be released and who needed to be present to answer any questions… but that was for another day.
Today was Friday, the end of the week. Steve was in his office doing whatever it was he did when he and Kara were not holed up together in her lab, and Kara was either in the ballistics lab or playing video games in the digital arts department… or possibly illegally hacking with Babs for fun.
Either way, Kara was safe, the weather was beautiful, Diana had no major issues she needed to address right away, and she was determined to relax in her office and enjoy the view.
But as with most things, it wouldn’t last.
Cathy entered her office with concerning news. “Diana, there is a problem. Security needs to speak to you about an inbound helicopter, wanting permission to land on the Tower.”
Diana looked up from her profit/loss and yearly outlook report on the fertilizer plant in Smallville, Kansas.
The plant had been previously owned by LuthorCorp until recently when Lex shut it down, leaving half the small town without jobs. She had no real interest in the fertilizer business but had read of the story when the search engine flagged LuthorCorp news and felt for the people whose livelihoods were gone. Without the plant, people would move, and Smallville, Kansas could end up a ghost town, only populated by farmers who would struggle.
She couldn’t help but be impressed by the production and profit of the plant and wondered why Luthor would leave it. Knowing him, it could be someone in the town had angered him, so he decided to destroy it. Not that it mattered.
Buying the plant would not cause a blip on Wayne Enterprises radar, she could pick it up at a bargain through one of Wayne’s subsidiaries, but it could be major for the families of those affected. The company’s Agricultural Division would also benefit from increased resources, so Wayne could expand the satellite businesses in the area to better support the plant as well.
“Thank you, Cathy. Send the call in here. Also contact Acquisitions and have Sanders come to my office after lunch. There is a small project I am interested in buying and I want it done as soon as possible.”
Cathy nodded, complying with both of Diana’s requests from her tablet as she walked out.
Diana’s desk phone buzzed. “This is Diana.”
“Miss Wayne, there is a Merlyn Global helicopter asking for permission to enter the no-fly zone. It has no security code and there is no record of it in logs. At this time, we have a kill shot but cannot guarantee no loss of life on the ground from debris.”
Diana groaned and rubbed her forehead. Since the new arrangement with the military, Wayne Tower itself had been listed as a high level security site. Due to that status, a no-fly zone that extended out in a five mile radius from the Tower had been established around the building, preventing even news helicopters from flying near without permission beforehand.
“Have you contacted the inbound? I do not have Malcolm Merlyn on my calendar now or ever in the future. If this is business related, have him turn around and make an appointment like everyone else in the world.”
“Miss Wayne, the pilot is reporting that Tommy Merlyn is onboard and wishes to speak to Kara Wayne.” The dispatcher relayed to her.
Of course, he does, Diana thought, now rubbing her temples to assuage the headache she could feel coming on. This had been turning out to be such a lovely morning… things had been going so well.
Now a Merlyn had shown up.
“Give him clearance to land,” She instructed the dispatch officer, “Follow security procedures for visitors, and escort him to my office please.”
Diana called Kara’s phone and her sister picked up immediately. She could hear the sounds of gunfire in the background, meaning Kara was either at the ballistics lab or with Winn playing video games.
“I’m in an important business meeting right now, Didi.” Kara answered.
“You are playing video games.” Diana countered.
Kara huffed. “Not that I expect you to know this, but in the field it is known as beta testing for a product about to be launched that…”
“You are playing video games.” Diana cut her off, knowing she had guessed correctly. “This won’t take long. I was just wondering if this is ‘bring your womanizing, spoilt, boy crush to work day’ ?”
Kara was silent for a moment. “Since Steve works here now, I don’t suppose he qualifies. I’ve never really considered him spoilt though. He has always been a perfect gentleman and I would never consider him a womanizer, so what are you talking about?”
“Tommy Merlyn is landing on top of our Tower as we speak. Were you aware of his visit?” Diana heard nothing beside a sharp intake of breath.
“Tommy? He is here? Why is he here?” Kara asked, her tone elevating with each question.
“According to security, he is here to see you. Did you give him an open invitation or something?” Diana asked, a bit perturbed. “It’s rude to assume you can just land a chopper on someone else’s building. We don’t just land our choppers on any building.”
“Yeah, we usually just buy the building.” Kara agreed. “Why is he here?”
“I just told you. He wants to see you.” Diana replied.
“Really?” Kara squeaked.
“That is what security told me!” Diana exclaimed, losing her patience. “I’m having him brought in. Do you want him in your office, mine or should I throw him out the window and keep his helicopter?”
Kara groaned. “If you were anyone else, I would think they would be joking, so please don’t throw him out the window. Take him to my office… damn it, I look like a bum. My dress is in my office. Can you distract him? Just keep him busy for ten minutes while I sneak in and change. I’ll ask Dig to let you know when I’m ready.”
Diana sighed and leaned back. “Please tell me you are not nervous about seeing him. He bought you a cheeseburger. That is much more of your time as he deserves.”
“Diana, please distract him!” Kara pleaded and ended the call.
Diana sighed and waited for the playboy to show up, thinking if she couldn’t throw him out the window without upsetting her sister, she could at least get some points across and make him run out of the building crying. He hadn’t called Kara since meeting her and Diana had hoped he took her strong suggestion to lose Kara’s number to heart.
Tommy Merlyn walked in wearing a sharp, dark suit, white shirt and deep green, silk tie. He appeared every bit the sharply dressed businessman if one didn’t know better.
Diana stood to greet him. Rather than shaking his hand, she waved to the chair in front of her desk. “Have a seat, Mr. Merlyn. It is a surprise to see you.”
“A pleasant surprise, I hope?” he asked, smiling widely.
“Not really. Usually, people make appointments and file flight plans when they plan to visit my Tower by air. Do so in the future or you will be shot out of the sky.” She told him in an assertive tone.
Tommy sat back a little straighter and adjusted his tie. “Yeah, sorry about that. My pilot was pretty freaked out. He said there was an RPG aimed at us and we were in something called a ‘no-fly zone’. Aren’t those in the Middle East or around the White House or something?”
Diana rolled her eyes, not bothering with a polite façade for the man. “Wayne Tower houses the most brilliant minds in the world in dozens of fields. That makes us a target for terrorists. We take security very seriously here.”
Tommy nodded. “I understand. Business can be rough. I’m sure we probably have the same concerns.”
“We?” Diana responded incredulously. “I was under the impression you had nothing to do with Merlyn Global beside collecting an allowance from your father.”
Tommy’s eyes widened in apparent shock. “You really are a lot nicer at fund raising balls, aren’t you? For your information, I do know quite a bit about our company. I’ve been considering joining my venture capital interests with my father’s business if we can come to an acceptable arrangement.”
Diana raised an eyebrow and leaned forward on the desk, resting her hand on her chin. “Do you know what Merlyn Global’s stock price is as of this morning?”
Tommy wagged his finger at her. “This is a trick question. Are we talking New York, or Tokyo stock exchange?”
“Merlyn isn’t listed in either. They are traded on the Nasdaq.” Diana informed him.
“The race cars?” he asked.
Diana sat back and closed her eyes. “Do you know what the price of Wayne Enterprises stock is?”
Tommy shook his head.
“Now that was a trick question. Wayne is privately owned. We have no stock or stockholders to answer to. You could say this place is my empire and I am the empress.” Diana remarked coldly. “Now tell me… why have you visited my land, young peasant?”
Tommy looked closely at the woman, then shrugged. “I’m pretty sure there was a shot at my intelligence in there somewhere, but I’ll let it go. I came to ask Kara to lunch… that’s all. I thought I would surprise her. I find surprising someone makes it harder for them to turn me down.”
Diana stared at him incredulously then snorted and motioned to the large screen on the wall behind her desk. “Athena, please bring up every photo of Thomas Merlyn in the last month on social and print media.”
“Athena?” Tommy asked, obviously confused.
Diana nodded. “My personal program that runs this building. Think of her as an immensely powerful ‘Siri’. If you would direct your attention to the screen.”
The two watched as photo after photo, of magazines, Instagram and Twitter accounts, showed Tommy Merlyn drunk and/or with a different girl in every picture.
“You seem quite popular in Star City, Mr. Merlyn. Gotham City is too far away for a helicopter. That means you must have taken your father’s private jet and taken a chopper from the airport. That seems like a lot of trouble to take a girl you only met once to lunch, no matter how beautiful and kind she is.”
Tommy was definitely sweating, not enjoying seeing a rolling record of his recent escapades. “Those photos are taken out of context. You know about that fake news stuff everyone is talking about. I just enjoyed spending time getting to know Kara last weekend and wanted to see her. I know those photos make me out to be some party boy, womanizer…”
Diana waved a hand toward the monitor as it continued to display evidence to the contrary. “Mr. Merlyn. You’ve looked at my breasts six times in the last two minutes and my breasts aren’t even that impressive. Play games with whatever Star City socialite you want but do not play with my sister. She has little experience with men, and I would prefer her experiences not be with someone like you.”
Tommy nodded his head, understanding and stood. “I hear you loud and clear. So, is she around? Or can I wander the building asking for her, maybe you could give me a map. We could even hang out in the cafeteria. Athena can keep a close eye on us. I promise not to talk her into eating something not on her list of approved foods or sneaking into a cleaning closet with her. Just a quick ‘hello, how are you doing, your eyes are brighter than comets, your smile makes my heart lighter, you make me want to be a better man, can I talk you into marriage’ conversation, then I am gone. I will be out of your long, dark hair and angry, judgmental gaze for a few days at least.”
Diana raised an eyebrow and almost smiled. “You have your father’s ego, if not his business sense.”
Tommy crossed his arms. “Okay, that’s it. I’m not leaving this office until we give each other a compliment. You go first.”
Diana stared at the man for a moment. “You have nice hair. I also like your tie.”
Tommy nodded, not impressed. “Nice hair… and she says I’m a womanizer. So much for physical appearance not mattering. Nice. Okay Miss Wayne, I also think you have nice hair and I love your shoes. They complement your nail polish.”
Diana did smile this time, nearly laughing. Compared to his father, Tommy actually seemed genuine. Perhaps it was better he was an idiot in business. Working with his father closely would not have made him a better person.
She saw Diggle just outside her door motioning towards Kara’s office.
“Kara is in her office. Mr. Diggle will escort you to her. Please do not take up much of her time. I had to pull her away from an important meeting when you arrived.”
Dig snorted at that but covered it quickly as he nodded to Diana and motioned the younger Merlyn toward Kara’s office.
Inside her office, Kara had done a rapid change from the sweat pants she wore while beta testing the nearly ready for market, state of the art video game Wayne Enterprises was launching next month.
She found a black dress she kept in her office closet for emergencies, gone into her attached bathroom to brush her hair and apply makeup then hurried to the couch to appear as if she were relaxed.
“Kara, I hope you don’t mind me stopping in.” Tommy greeted her upon entering her office.
He walked over and kissed her hand, then had a seat on the other end of the sofa, keeping his body angled towards hers.
“Of course. I’m sorry you had to wait. I was in the middle of an important meeting and needed to get to a save point…” Kara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ”I mean a point where we could all take a break.
“So, what brings you to Gotham City?”
“You do.” Tommy told her sincerely, as if it should be obvious. “You said last weekend you would love it if we could meet up again. I thought we could hang out, have lunch, that sort of thing. I’m going to be in town for a few days…”
The man stopped talking when he noticed Diggle glaring at him from his position by the door.
“He’s new.” Tommy mentioned, motioning towards Dig. “Recent hire?”
Kara nodded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce you. This is John Diggle, but I get to call him Dig. He is my new friend who hurts or kills anyone who wants to hurt or kill me. I doubt you want to do either, so you should be good. Dig, this is…”
“I stayed with my brother in Star City for a month after I was discharged. I know exactly who… and what Tommy Merlyn is.” Diggle replied harshly.
Tommy leaned back. “This is a really hard crowd you have in this building. A lesser man would wilt under the judgement. I, however, have been judged to be a disappointment by my father for years and am up for the challenge. So… do you have time for lunch?”
Kara looked at Dig, who raised an eyebrow. She knew her lunch would be brought to her in fifteen minutes.
“Dig, you think you could give us a minute alone?” Kara asked him.
Dig took a long look at Tommy and nodded. “I’ll be right outside. I’ll let you know when your lunch has arrived. If you need anything, say the word.”
Kara was left alone with Tommy who let out a breath, finally able to relax. “Wow. You have some seriously overprotective people around you. I’m fairly sure your sister nearly killed me with a look, I found out my family’s fortune is invested in stock car racing, and I am known as somewhat of a man whore. On the bright side, your sister likes my hair and tie. So… how has your day been?”
Kara shook her head in amusement. Like the last time she saw him, Tommy could make her laugh. His devil may care attitude was so different from what she was surrounded by all day. He knew what he was and was unbothered by other’s opinions.
The problem was Kara knew what she was and knew it would never work.
“You spent a lot of fuel to take me to lunch. You could have just called me. I kind of expected a call. In fact, I’ve expected a call all week.” Her tone wasn’t accusing, but it was direct.
Tommy cringed, not realizing someone like her would actually be waiting by the phone for someone like him. “I’m sorry… I really am. I had to take a few days and do some serious introspection to determine if I was worth wasting your time. I decided I wasn’t, but I would give it a shot anyway and maybe get lucky. I needed to get away for a few days and thought ‘what better place to hang out than Gotham City with my favorite, beautiful genius’ .”
Kara laughed quietly and shook her head. “That’s sweet, Tommy.”
“But? I hear a but in there. I hate buts.” His eyes went wide as he realized what he said. “That came out wrong, you know what I mean.”
“Tommy… things have changed very quickly in my life. The news has come out that my brain is supplying most of the weapons for the U.S. Military and I am now under guard even more than before, meaning my overprotective, big sister is being more controlling than ever before. The last thing I need is to be seen in public, drinking, or dancing or having anything resembling fun right now.” Kara told him.
“And being photographed with Tommy Merlyn having lunch or dinner or even coffee probably wouldn’t look good for the image or make big sister happy.” Tommy said knowingly.
Kara looked a bit embarrassed, wanting to deny it but knowing it was true. Being in public was a nightmare, not only for her but everyone around her as well.
Her security would have to work harder to protect her and infringe on others having a good time, those around her could be collateral damage if someone were to take a shot at her, and there was always the fear in the back of her mind, the reminder of what happened the last time she went to a club. What she had learned about Tommy through research over the past week told her he did enjoy clubs. The two of them together would attract more paparazzi than usually followed just one of them.
“I get it.” Tommy assured her. “But I don’t give up easily. I didn’t come here to take you somewhere specific. I just wanted to hang out with you. What’s your favorite board game?”
“Board game?”
“Yeah, board game, and don’t say chess. Too obvious and bland. I’m a big fan of Chutes and Ladders. I have a feeling your sister is a terror at Monopoly. You strike me as a Clue fan?”
“Good guess. Can you guess my favorite color or animal?” Kara was impressed, but not seeing the point. “What does this have to do with anything?”
“I’m going to invite myself over, in secret, under cover of darkness, or tinted windows. You must have a guest house on that big estate, right? A place to put an RV or something?” Tommy inquired.
“Wayne Manor has twenty-six bedrooms. Why would we need a guest house?” Kara asked.
Tommy whistled. “Twenty-six, huh? Yeah, a guest house would definitely be overkill. Give me the smallest room farthest away from yours so your sister doesn’t question my intentions. All I want is to hang out, play board games, watch bad sci-fi movies, sing along with musicals… I just want to spend some time together. Hanging out, nothing else.”
“You just want to hang out?” Kara inquired, wanting to make sure she wasn’t missing something.
He nodded. “Yep. That’s all. I promise. I’ll have you in bed by whatever time you go to bed. Then I will retire to my room and hide in the closet in case your sister tries to kill me in my sleep. Or your bodyguard. Or your… you said Alfred, right? Do you think he would like me?”
Kara took a moment to think. She then picked up her phone and called Alfred. “Alfred, could you prepare one of the guest rooms? For a guest… no… you don’t know him… yes, any room will work… not that room… does Diana know… you do know it’s my home too, I don’t need her permission to have a friend stay for a couple days… yes, a friend… Tommy Merlyn… don’t… I’ll tell her later. I’ll be home early today… no, I don’t think he is allergic to anything, but I’ll ask… do not bring Eliza over to check… Alfred… please… could you just get a room ready… preferably one that is not haunted. Thank you.”
Kara hung up the phone and looked at Tommy, a bit red in the cheeks.
“Haunted room?” he asked slightly concerned.
“I swore I saw a ghost in there when I was eleven, but nobody believed me.” She informed him. “So, Chutes and Ladders, huh?”
“I’m a man of many layers.” Tommy replied with a smug grin.
For your added reading pleasure, The Wayne Legacy Series Main & Secondary Characters as we picture them:
Diana Wayne – Gal Gadot
Kara Wayne – Melissa Benoist
Bruce Wayne – Christian Bale
Alfred Pennyworth – Jeremy Irons
Thomas Wayne – Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Martha Wayne – Hayley Atwell
Steve Trevor – Chris Pine
John Diggle – David Ramsey
Tommy Merlyn – Colin Donnell
Eliza Danvers – Helen Slater
Alex Danvers – Chyler Leigh
Silver St. Cloud – Claire Holt
Barbara Gordon – Katherine McNamara
Winn Schott, Jr. – Jeremy Jordan
Anthony Garcia – Nestor Carbonell
Harvey Dent – Aaron Eckhart
Jim Gordon – Gary Oldman
Congressman Bradley Milton (OC) – Dennis Quaid
General Samuel Lane – Michael Ironside
Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction 
Leave a comment