Bruce Wainright has (onerule) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2012-06-26 03:33:00 |
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Entry tags: | batman, stephanie brown |
Who: Luke and Nick
What: Mistaken identities.
Where: Caesars.
When: Waaay backdated to before all the Alex stuff.
Warnings/Rating: None.
Following the attacks on Las Vegas, even days later, the Strip was still reeling. The smoldering remains of destruction still billowed into the air, smoke still stinging the people’s lungs and dragons still haunting their dreams. Windows shattered, suites destroyed, security systems compromised, there weren’t many places that escaped the shenanigans of that week. The recovery seemed impossible, and the news compared it to the worst events of the twenty-first century, and to those not in the ‘know’, who didn’t have the voices of fictional characters in the back of their mind, it all seemed like something out of a dream. Something that would take ages to recover from, but slowly but surely, repairs happened, progress happened.
Many of casinos lined up and down the brightly lit street took incredible amount of damage during the bizarre turn of events in the city, and when Nick wasn’t giving Stephanie time in Gotham, he spent most of his hours flitting from casino to casino to assess and tinker with various problems with security systems and other technical support. Prior to the attack on the city, Nick had given Stephanie almost all of his time. Gotham, he knew, needed protection, especially if Batman and Robin were unable to be there very often. Bruce was right when he told Stephanie they were outnumbered, and Nick tried his best to give her every second she needed over there. But now, he needed to be here. Not just for work, no, but something was going on with Alex. He couldn’t figure out exactly what, but it wasn’t anything good. So, he knew he needed to stay around, at least for his brother. Stephanie would surely get her time in Gotham, but Nick needed his time, too.
While the Wynn earned most of his attention, as it was one of the hardest hit, when Caesars called for a consultation and possible repairs, Nick didn’t turn them down. He had heard of the takeover by the Gotham girls, and a dorky, fanboy-side of him thought all of this was so cool and also regretted that Stephanie was tied up Batgirl-ing with Captain America. (But really, he wasn’t complaining about that, either.) But he wasn’t expecting so much damage when he strolled into the lobby, iPad tucked under one arm and messenger bag slung over his opposite shoulder. To anyone who glanced once, he was the spitting image of his brother, Alexander, though another lingering look would reveal differences. A different haircut, more withdrawn posture, a little slump in his shoulders. Nick wasn’t aware of anyone with ill feelings towards the other Pierce, however, especially in Caesars.
It was the insanity of the past week, really, that had covered Luke’s absence when it came to work. Between the dragon, the zombies, and Caesar’s being taken over by a clan of comic book villains, no one had really kept count of who showed up for their shifts and who didn’t. All he’d needed to do was explain that he’d been with his son, whom his bosses knew about considering the news coverage, and once things began to settle down he returned to his job as per usual. There was talk of the Gotham invasion, of Batman himself making an appearance, and he feigned ignorance to all of it. The extent of the damage meant that the place wasn’t exactly bustling with activity, not aside from employees and people from various companies meant to help with the clean-up process and get Caesar’s back on its feet. Gus was with a sitter, though he’d recently discovered that buttons could make phone calls and liked to speed-dial him every fifteen minutes, and Luke was really there in a sort of observational capacity.
Nothing of any significance was supposed to happen, but then again, he hadn’t counted on seeing Alexander Pierce himself walk into the lobby. For a moment Luke couldn’t believe it was actually him, and he was filled with such a sudden sort of rage when he saw the other man that he failed to notice the subtle differences that would have told him this wasn’t the man he so violently hated. There were people around, which meant he couldn’t tear Alex’s throat out as he wished he could, but he could confront him. He simply wasn’t capable of turning away and pretending everything was fine. For a moment he wondered why he was here, but that thought vanished soon afterward; did it matter? A man like Alexander didn’t need reasons. Being a sadistic asshole pretty much covered all the bases.
The way he was dressed clearly marked Luke as security, and he reached the man whom he thought to be Alexander in a few swift, short strides. “Well look who it is,” he hissed once he was close enough, ensuring that no one else was within earshot. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here, huh?”
Nick look a tad bit lost as he wandered through the lobby. He had been at Caesars before, of course, but the casinos still daunted him. The size and the chaos and the throngs of people passing through at any single moment. Damage didn’t help matters either, made the flow worst if anything, and identifying people he met harder than before. Normally, people who worked there had a helpful look with a smile, but the stress made everyone stony faced and serious. He couldn’t blame them, of course. The events of the past few weeks stressed him out as well.
Looking in the opposite direction, he didn’t realize someone approached until the hiss of a whisper reached his ears. He jumped, turned wildly to the source of the sound, and eyes landed on someone dressed as security. “Uh,” he said eloquently, clearly caught off guard. He had no idea what he’d done wrong, and Nick never did well with confrontation. He stammered for a moment. “Work, I’m here for work?” His eyebrows furrowed, in case the confusion bleeding through his words didn’t let the man know how bewildered he really was.
“Oh, I bet you’re here for work.” Luke responded with a scathing sort of scorn before the reaction of the man whom he thought was Alex truly sank in. He could have been feigning confusion, of course, but there was something in his expression that hinted at a real lack of understanding rather than an act put on for the sake of the public setting. “Don’t pull that innocent bullshit with me,” he snapped, but he was faltering, and as he studied the man he became aware of small differences that set him apart from Alex. Nothing major, mind you, but little things, things only someone who’d studied Alex as he had would even think to notice in the first place. It didn’t make any sense, though. This had to be Alex. If not, then who was it?
For a long, long moment he searched for some sort of answers, gaze narrowed in suspicion, before relenting and taking a small step back. “What’s your name?”
Nick’s mouth fell agape for a moment, slightly dumbfounded and utterly startled from the attack. He had absolutely no idea what this man was talking about. Playing innocent? He didn’t think about his twin or that someone would confuse the two. It happened, of course, but only when they were growing up really. Las Vegas was big enough that he never ran into anyone his brother knew. He had no clue about his brother’s extra curricular activities either, or why anyone would react so angrily towards him. Alex was a jerk sometimes, sure, but nothing that solicited this. “I’m not--I’m not p-p-play--.” He nervously tapped his pockets for some form of identification. “Nicholas Pierce. I’m here to--to look at damages to the security systems.” Not finding anything to prove who he was, Nick flipped open the flap of his messenger back and began to rifle through the papers and tiny handheld devices. The last thing he wanted to do was piss off this guy.
Now that he was at least semi-calm enough to look at things objectively, Luke realized that this man wasn’t Alex. He was too nervous, the sort who seemed as though he loathed confrontation, and there was simply no possibility of Alexander being this good of an actor. And, really, why would he pretend to be someone else? It didn’t make any sense. Denial was his style, yes, but not this. Act or no act, he would never allow himself to be intimidated as such. Still, identification would go a long way, and since this guy seemed to think he had some sort of authority to demand proof of his identity, well, Luke figured he’d go with it. He was security, after all, and he folded his arms across his chest as he waited. Damage to the security systems, right, that was plausible-- but it was the man’s name that caught his attention.
“Pierce?” No, it couldn’t be. What were the chances-- but it explained so much-- oh, this was too good. Luke shook his head in disbelief, fighting the irrational urge to laugh. “Do you have a brother named Alexander, Nicholas Pierce?”
“Give me a moment, I swear I have it,” Nick mumbled, still engrossed in burrowing through his bag for some form of identification. He should have figured people would be on edge following the attacks. Of course they would be. ID should have been on hand just for this sort of situation. It wasn’t like he frequented Caesars as much as the Wynn. He didn’t even recognize this man, though obviously something triggered familiarity with the security guard looming over him. Fingers, finally, closed on something that felt like his driver’s license, but the man’s question caught him off guard again, pausing his movements. Instead, he looked up, arm still half-buried in his messenger bag.
“I do,” he said, though his answer sounded more like a question. Why did this man know Alex? What in the world was going on? “I do, yeah. Alexander is my brother. Twin brother.”
This shouldn’t have been something he missed. Luke couldn’t believe he had, really, but family had never been something he’d looked for when it came to Alexander; he’d been far more interested in his experiments, in things that could bring him tumbling down from the throne he believed himself to be seated upon. This, however, could help him do just that. A brother was a weakness, a chink in his twisted armor. Surely this bundle of nerves couldn’t know the truth about Alexander, about what he really was. Maybe Nick wouldn’t have believed it even if he did, but doubt was good enough, and even so he was almost certain Alexander wouldn’t want his secret getting out to family. Being manipulative wasn’t his style, but when pushed far enough Luke was capable of things beyond comprehension.
“Twin brother,” he repeated slowly. “Right. That makes sense.” After a long moment Luke stepped back, forcing an apologetic smile. If this got back to Alex, he was certain the other man would waste no time in filling his brother’s head with lies, and it was only understandable that Nick would believe them... unless he had evidence to the contrary. “Sorry, Nicholas. Your brother and I don’t exactly get along. I guess I kind of... overreacted.”
Nick eyed the other man warily, still stooped over for a moment, before he straightened up and pulled out his driver’s license. “Gotcha,” he mumbled as he held out the card for Luke to inspect. “I knew I had it somewhere around here.” He offered the other man a shaky smile and wiped his hands on his chest in a nervous move. Right. So, this man knew Alexander. Knew him, and it seemed he wasn’t particularly pleased with his twin. “It’s okay,” Nick reassured Luke, flashing him another smile, a little more confident. But the curiosity got the best of him, and his brows knitted together slightly. He didn’t know all of Alex’s acquaintances, of course, but something felt...off about all of tihs.
“Alex can be difficult sometimes. How--how do you two know each other?” He couldn’t help it; he wanted to know the answer, even if he wouldn’t be too happy with it.
Without any evidence to suggest that this guy was anything like his brother, Luke saw no need to be hostile. At any rate, there might come a time when he would need Nick to believe him, and portraying himself as a loose cannon wasn’t the way to do that. Maybe he hadn’t gotten off to the best start, but he could keep his cool now, and he could already feel his anger ebbing away as he took the proffered card and gave it a swift look-over. “Thanks,” he said, obviously passing his seal of approval as he handed the card back. If nothing else, Nicholas Pierce did have every right to be here.
Hearing Alex being described as difficult was such a simplistic way to put it that he couldn’t help laughing, which he tried to cover by turning it into a cough. “Difficult... yeah, you could say that.” He doubted Nick would believe the truth even if he told him; he wouldn’t have wanted to hear anything negative about Roger, after all. Then again, why should he lie? Maybe if Nick started doing a little digging, he’d find out the truth for himself. “He hurt a friend of mine,” he said, going for raw honesty. “My girlfriend, actually, and I don’t think she was the first.” He shrugged, expression hardening. “I don’t expect you to believe me, but you might want to start thinking about what your brother does with all those drugs he has access to.”
Nick took the license back without question, tucking it away in the breast pocket of his button-up shirt. Nerves settled slightly, but he couldn’t help a feeling of slight uneasiness shaking through him. Bouncing on the heels of his feet, he wrung his hands together. Luke could clearly take him down in a second, and Nick hardly wanted to give him a reason to do so. But the news about Alex had certainly caught Nick by surprise, and he couldn’t hide the blank, almost doe-eyed look that flickered across his face. His eyebrows furrowed again, and he shot Luke a wary glance before eyes drifted to the floor.
“I--,” he started before stopping with a bite of his lip. It sounded ludicrous, Alex doing something like that. Why would this man lie to him though? But then, why would Alex do such horrible things? His brother wasn’t the most honorable or inherently good person, but Nick couldn’t imagine Alex drugging and hurting a woman. Frowning and eyes still soaking up the details of the floor, he said, “You’ve got to be mistaken. Maybe it was someone else. He wouldn’t do anything like that.”
While Luke suspected that Nick was entirely oblivious to his brother’s hobbies, he wasn’t certain, which meant that he watched the other man’s reaction to his accusations with a sort of sharp clarity. If he knew something, anything, his sympathy for him would have dropped considerably, but he saw nothing that hinted of familiarity. He saw doubt, which went both ways, but nothing solid.
Why was a question Luke would have liked to have answered himself, beyond the assumption that Alex was simply a sadist who enjoyed causing pain. “No, I’m not. Of course he wouldn’t tell you about it, but trust me,” he said, utter conviction in his voice, “he would do something like that. He has.” Maybe it was pointless, telling Nick any of this, but maybe he’d be smart enough to realize the truth on his own.
Nick reached up to rub the back of his neck while he finally looked up, though not actually at Luke. At the casino bustling beyond them, at the ceiling, at anything but the man accusing his brother of being such a terrible person. Biting on his lip, he looked up at Luke again, wondering if he had a brother and how he would feel if a stranger came up to him and told him awful things. And then he wondered if Alex was really hiding something like that from him, if his twin was actually capable of being so sadistic. The injuries, the hospital visits -- could this be the explanation?
“I, um, I think I should...get going,” Nick stammered out, adjusting the bag nervously on his shoulder. “Pretty sure I’m already late for my meeting. It was nice meeting you.” He leaned forward to catch the name on the name tag of his jacket. “Luke.” One final shaky smile, he tucked the iPad under his arm again and brushed past him, nervousness still keyed up in his shoulders and the way he walked. Luke. He would have to ask his brother about someone named Luke and what the man meant about all of this.