Chapter 17 : Planning Sessions
The Monarch Theatre became my second home for three days.
I told Terry I was working on a side project. He didn't ask questions—one of the reasons I trusted him. Marcus covered my rounds in the Narrows. Julio kept the books. Big Pat stayed visible, a silent reminder that the Broker's operation didn't pause just because its leader was elsewhere.
Selina had turned the old stage into a command center. Blueprints covered every surface. A whiteboard displayed guard rotation schedules. In one corner, a training area—padded mats and obstacles designed to simulate the Daggett building's corridors.
Day one focused on movement.
"You walk too heavily," Selina said, watching me cross the stage. "You plant your heel first. That's fine for intimidation. It's terrible for infiltration."
"Show me."
She moved across the same space. No sound. Her feet touched the ground toe-first, rolling back. Her weight distribution was perfectly controlled.
"Toe, then heel. Keep your weight centered. Move like you're walking on glass."
I tried. The floorboards creaked.
"Again."
I tried again. Less creaking.
"Again."
By evening, my calves burned and my feet ached, but I could cross the stage without making the boards protest.
"Better," she admitted. "You learn fast."
"I'm motivated."
Something passed between us. Neither acknowledged it.
Day two focused on communication.
Selina produced a pair of earpieces—high-end, clearly stolen. "We'll be separated during the job. Need to stay in contact."
We practiced signaling. One click meant proceed. Two meant hold. Three meant abort. A long press meant emergency.
"What counts as emergency?" I asked.
"Gunfire. Alarms. Batman."
"Batman."
The name landed heavy in the room.
"He's been active in the financial district lately," Selina continued, watching my reaction. "Probably watching Daggett for the same reasons we are. If he shows up, we abort immediately. No heroics, no finishing the job. Just gone."
"You've encountered him before."
"Once or twice." Her expression was complicated. "He's... not what people think. Not a monster. Not entirely a hero either. He's something in between." She met my eyes. "Like me. Like you, maybe."
"I'm not—"
"Save it. You're a criminal, Broker. A smart one, an ethical one, but still a criminal. Same as me." She shrugged. "Own it. It's less exhausting than pretending otherwise."
I didn't argue. She had a point.
We moved on to lock-picking. Selina produced a practice safe, walked me through the basics. Tension wrench, pick, feel for the pins.
"You won't need this for the job—I'll handle the safe. But everyone should know the fundamentals."
The first lock took me twenty minutes. The second took ten. The third took five.
"Natural talent," Selina observed.
"Beginner's luck."
"There's no such thing." She collected the picks. "Just untrained skill waiting to be developed."
Day three focused on contingencies.
"What if the guards change rotation early?"
"We adjust. I have three backup entry points mapped."
"What if the alarm system is upgraded?"
"I have a bypass device that's never failed me. If it fails, we abort."
"What if I get separated from you?"
She paused. "Then you get out. Don't wait for me, don't try to be a hero. Get out, get clear, and I'll find you later."
"That works both ways."
"No." Her voice was firm. "You're new to this. I've been doing it for ten years. If we get separated, you run. I'll take care of myself."
We argued about it. She won, because she was right. She had experience I didn't have, skills I was only beginning to learn.
By evening, we'd covered every scenario we could imagine. The blueprints were memorized. The signals were drilled. The equipment was checked and rechecked.
"Hungry?" Selina asked.
We ordered Chinese from a delivery kid she trusted. Ate it on the abandoned stage, surrounded by heist plans, talking about nothing important.
"Where are you from?" she asked, chopsticks paused over a container of lo mein.
"Not around here originally."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I've got." I met her eyes. "Some things are better left in the past."
She studied me for a long moment. I expected her to press—she was Catwoman, after all, and curiosity was her nature.
Instead, she nodded. "Fair enough. We all have things we don't talk about."
"She respects secrets. Because she has her own."
"Can I ask you something?"
"You can ask."
"The first time we met. On my roof." I set down my chopsticks. "You said you'd been watching me for a week. Why? What were you looking for?"
Selina was quiet. The theatre creaked around us.
"I was looking for someone worth trusting." She didn't look away. "The Narrows is a testing ground. The people there are hard to impress. When they started talking about the Broker—the man with the code, the man who actually protected the people who paid him—I got curious."
"And?"
"And I watched you handle Marco. Watched you meet with Falcone. Watched you walk your territory like a man who gave a damn about the people living there." She shrugged. "I don't trust easily. But I've learned to recognize quality when I see it."
Something in my chest did complicated things.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet." She smiled, stood, began gathering the empty containers. "Thank me after tomorrow, when we're both alive and considerably richer."
She walked me to the door. We stood there in the darkness, neither moving.
"Try not to die tomorrow," she said.
"That's the plan."
"Get some sleep. You'll need it."
She pushed me gently toward the exit. The door closed behind me.
I stood in the alley for a long moment, breathing the cold air, thinking about green eyes and the way she'd said "someone worth trusting."
Tomorrow night, we'd find out if I was worthy of that trust.
Reviews and Power Stones keep the heat on!
Want to see what happens before the "heroes" do?
Secure your spot in the inner circle on Patreon. Skip the weekly wait and read ahead:
💵 Hustler [$7]: 15 Chapters ahead.
⚖️ Enforcer [$11]: 20 Chapters ahead.
👑 Kingpin [$16]: 25 Chapters ahead.
Periodic drops. Check on Patreon for the full release list.
👉 Join the Syndicate: patreon.com/Anti_hero_fanfic