Fear (A Scarecrow Fanfic)

Chapter Seventeen

"Six weeks maybe?" Garret answered as he waited for me to put down a card.

I sighed throwing down a card, "I need to let my family know that I'm okay."

Garret didn't answer and the silence dragged out until we had finished the game.  He gathered the cards into a neat pile, putting them away before looking at me.

"I can't help you with that."

I nodded, remaining patient, trying to control the situation as I frowned, "I understand.  You don't want to put you and your daughter in a dangerous situation."  I hesitated for a moment, adding, "But if Ashley were in my situation, wouldn't you want to know that she was, at the very least, alive?"

He didn't answer, picking up the tray to leave.  I waited expectantly for a lat minute answer but he left without saying anything.  I leaned against the pillar, sighing as I looked up at the ceiling and wondered if I had made a mistake.  So far, Garret had been sympathetic enough to give me company, but maybe I had misjudged him.  Maybe he wasn't the kind of person who would help me to the full extent of his abilities.

I buried my face in my hands, trying to come up with a new solution.  Batman needed to be warned that Jonathan's plan was still in full swing, but I was stuck in some basement, not knowing where I was, at the mercy of Jonathan's thugs, with no way to communicate with the outside world.

The only way I could envision being able to communicate with Batman was if I were able to convince Jonathan I wanted to help with whatever scheme he had hatched.  But that was only if I wasn't able to warn Batman in time.  My plans just kept running around in circles, leaving me with the same issues left unsolved.

I still had nothing to act upon when Garret returned for dinner.  He sat down the tray and watched me scoot over to it.  It was unusual that he didn't either sit down in the chair or leave.  Not knowing what to say after our earlier conversation, I began to eat, waiting for him to speak his mind.

"If I help you," he hesitated for a second, "you can't tell anyone about it."

I looked him in the eye and answered honestly, "I wouldn't dream of it.  If I did, it would be trouble for both of us, not just you."

He took a pen from his pocket, pulling out a sheet of paper as well.  He held them out to me, "I'm going to read over it, so don't try anything funny."

"Thank you," I took the items from him and ignored his comment.

As I scooted over to the pillar, I tried to think of what to say, already knowing who would be able to understand a letter I sent.  Knowing I couldn't hesitate too long and that the sentences had to have some sort of flow, I wrote slowly.  It was genuinely difficult holding up the paper to the flat surface to write with the cuffs limiting my hand movement.

Jas,

Sorry that it's taken me awhile to contact you, but as you've probably guessed, I was taken as a prisoner by Scarecrow.  Don't worry, I'm fine.  I need you to do some things for me (if you haven't been already).  My dog will need to be cared for; I already have a list of things he needs written down in the notebook by the first shelf by the door in my bedroom.

I paused for a split second before starting a new paragraph.

There's no telling how long I'll be here, so I need you to do something else for me.  A neighbor of mine borrowed my toolbox a while ago, so they should be by sometime to return it.  Plan for her to come by sometime in the evening because she works a late shift.

Tell my mother that I'm fine and that she can't come looking for me.  Batman will find me eventually, I'm sure.

Love, Sarah

I scooted back over to Garret, handing over the letter and pen without a moment's hesitation.  Making sure to stay relaxed, I watched as he read the letter, not seeming to pick up on anything.  After a while, he folded up the paper and put it and the pen into his pocket.

"Where do I need to take it?"  He asked.

I kept myself in check, calmly telling him the address of Jasmine's workplace at one of the news stations in Gotham.  Telling him where to find her put her life at risk, but she needed to read the letter, and I knew better than to give him the address to her apartment.  She was safer in a public place were someone could notice someone shady poking around.

He repeated the address and Jasmine's full name to make sure he got it all correct.  Then he waited for me to finish eating.  I had to force myself to take bites and chew instead of scarfing it all down or just passing on eating it.  It felt like a huge weight had been removed from my shoulders when Garret picked up the tray and left.  I felt happy that I had a chance to send a message to my friend.  It was enlightening to know that I hadn't failed at something for the first time since I had been taken from the asylum, that I had actually accomplished one of my goals.

My feelings didn't mean anything though.  I still knew that there was a chance that Garret wouldn't deliver my letter.  In fact, it was more likely that he wouldn't.  Still, I was glad he gave me the chance in the first place.

I thought back to the message I had wrote, walking myself through it to make sure that Jasmine would understand it.

I didn't have a dog, and Jasmine obviously knew that.  She would recognize my handwriting even if it were messy, so even if she didn't understand my letter at first, she would think about the sentence talking about the dog and the notebook.  Once she actually checked the location I described, she would find a few dictionaries I had gotten when I was in college and trying to learn Greek and Latin.  Surely she would put two and two together to figure out what I meant in the first paragraph and begin to look specifically where I wanted her to.

When she figured it out, it would read:  There's A Plan.  Tell Batman.  It was a simple puzzle when you knew how to solve it, and an even simpler message.  But I couldn't stop to think of how to explain what I knew so far while trying to keep the puzzle consistent so she would fully understand what I was trying to say.

'All I can do now is wait,' I laid down on the blanket, thinking of my plan, 'Things should be set into motion.  If the message gets to Batman in time, he should know to keep a closer eye on Jonathan so the plan eventually reaches a stopping point.  If not, there's plan two.'  I closed my eyes, my thoughts travelling back to Jasmine and the message, 'Surely she knows to keep the message discrete.  She wouldn't want to send Gotham into a panic or alert Jonathan's crew.'

If she did happen to announce my message to all of Gotham, it would put an end to my plans.  Jonathan would know I was the one who contacted Jasmine, not only because I was his prisoner, but also because he knew she was my friend.  Garret would be suspected as well since he had the most access to me.  We would both be in deep trouble if Jasmine didn't play her part exactly as I had imagined.

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Hi, sorry for the late update.  I was completely swamped with work yesterday and completely forgot it was Monday.  I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.