The People v. Eleanor Warwick

The runes are complicated.

Perhaps the most complex Eleanor has ever designed. She carefully guides the brush along the inside of the fireplace. The black paint left behind forms an intricate combination of lines and circles. Checking to make sure her work is adequate, she rises out of the hearth and stands in the center of the study.

She listens and feels around with her magic. After a few minutes, she’s satisfied that the Dark Force’s powers are held at bay. For the time, at least. Breathing easier, she begins to re-shelf many of her books.

Henry comes down the stairs and enters the room. “Ah. How did your meetings go?”

“Fine. Marshall’s going to help out. Met Agent Park. Didn’t seem to be a bad guy.”

“I imagine he wasn’t supposed to.”

“True, but they do seem like they want to work together. They even gave me a Bat-phone.”

Henry furrows his brow. “I’m sorry. A what?”

“It’s a- nothing. The point is they say they’re backing off.” Eleanor takes note of the empty scotch bottle. “Did you drink that entire bottle?”

“What of it?”

“It’s three o’clock in the afternoon.”

“Don’t lecture me, girl.”

Before the conversation can continue, the door to House Warwick opens and Jessie steps through. Her hoodie has been replaced with a denim jacket and she wears a t-shirt emblazed with the words Atlantic City in hot pink letters. Marvin follows her in slowly. He wears dark sunglasses, a look of suffering on his face.

“Hey,” Jessie greets casually.

“Hey?” Eleanor responds. “That’s all you’ve got to say? Where have you been with my car?”

Jessie pulls her jacket open further. “Atlantic City.”

“Shh,” Marvin shushes, rubbing his temples. “No yelling.”

Eleanor raises an eyebrow. “No one is yelling.”

“No yelling!” Marvin shouts before cringing at his own volume.

“You two have been in Atlantic City?” Henry asks.

“Yeah,” Jessie answers with a smirk, taking Marvin by the arm and guiding him to the staircase. “You said to have fun.”

“I didn’t mean to take my car to New Jersey.”

“Well, you didn’t say we couldn’t either. Look, I wanted to blow off some steam and unwind. Is that so wrong?”

Eleanor starts to respond before shaking her head. “No, I guess not. Did you have a good time?”

“Oh, yeah. We hit an awesome buffet. Drank. A lot. Then we hit the casinos. We lost a lot of money.”

“Well, that happens. As long as you had- ,” Eleanor cuts herself off as realization strikes her, “wait a minute. Where did you get a lot of money to lose?”

She and Marvin look to each other. “Yeah. About that.” Jessie reaches into her pocket and pulls out a brown leather billfold. “Your wallet was in the glove compartment.”

Henry snickers. Taking a deep, calming breath, Eleanor plucks the wallet out of her hand. “Great.”

“We did have a great time. So…thanks. I’m gonna go put him to bed. He doesn’t shake off hangovers as easily as I do.” Marvin only whimpers as she guides him up the stairs.

“You know, he’d probably be more comfortable in his apartment.”

“Nah. He’s good here.”

The couple disappears around the corner. Eleanor tosses her wallet onto the table. She bristles at the humor Henry is deriving from the situation. “I’m glad you’re so amused.”

“The loss of the money isn’t going to hurt you all that badly. If anything, you should be concerned with the fact that Marvin is going to be staying here with some regularity.”

“That doesn’t really bother me,” she says with a shrug. “It’s not like he’s moving in.”

“No,” Henry answers collecting his coat from the rack and sliding it on. “Not yet, anyway.”

“It’s not happening, Henry.”

“Now that,” he says, pointing at Eleanor with his fedora, “that is amusing.” Popping his hat on, Henry steps out the door. Eleanor shakes her head at her mentor’s insinuation. There’s no way Marvin is moving in there.

“Hey, Warwick.” She turns to Jessie, standing on the stairs. “I’m sorry about your money. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she replies with a smirk. “You deserved to have some fun.”

Jessie offered a surprisingly warm smile. “Thanks. And you don’t have a problem with Towles staying here, do you?”

Yes, she says in her head. Absolutely, yes.

“No. Not at all.”

“Cool. Well, I’m gonna lie down for a while. If somebody tries to erase you again, don’t wake me,” she says with a smirk. She turns and heads up the stairs without waiting for a response.

Eleanor watches her round the corner before smacking herself in the head. “Nice going, idiot,” she chides herself as she turns and walks back into the study.