"You mean, that spy might come after us???"
"What are we supposed to do?? If he barges into my room and shoots me, how am I supposed to dodge that??"
"Aren't you guys from the Federal Bureau of Investigation? I pay so much in taxes every year; why aren't you responsible for our safety?!"
Bruce, fed up, interrupted this group of people's questioning and complaining. Waving his hand dismissively, he turned to walk up the stairs and said: "Waiter, bring me some alcohol. A night without a drink is terribly awful..."
Saying this, he put an arm around Selina, climbing the stairs together. Selina played along, laughing while leaning closer to his face, as if teasing him.
The people around were used to his outrageous behavior; everyone knew that little Wayne was a frivolous playboy.
Besides, Bruce was only 19 this year; one couldn't expect a 19-year-old to worry about what might happen tomorrow. The restless crowd watched Bruce's 'live in the moment' attitude with a mix of envy, jealousy, and resignation.
After Bruce left, many people followed him upstairs. Most of these people were without significant backing and knew they couldn't resist the agents, so they resignedly went upstairs to sleep.
When most people had gone upstairs, Shearer also followed the crowd, guided by a female agent who tried to engage him in conversation along the way.
"I guess each of us is assigned a solitary agent to get close to us and extract information. So, what do you want to ask?" Shearer cut to the chase with the female agent.
"You can call me Kira, you don't seem to have much objection to agents, have you interacted with us before?"
"Of course, in many cases I've been involved with, there were FBI agents participating in the investigation and I've worked with them."
Kira's expression seemed a bit unnerved, she said: "Yes, sometimes we also handle some challenging murder cases."
"To tell you the truth, your colleagues are not as dedicated to their investigations as you are. They don't pore over the body but rather question everyone around with a notepad in hand. They're only decisive while obtaining a search warrant or conducting a compulsory search."
Kira pursed her lips, replying: "It's dictated by the nature of our job."
"Even so, it doesn't mask the fact that your investigation skills are subpar. Low detection rates, loads of red tape, certain people with bad habits who like to waste time..."
Kira responded perfunctorily as she heard Shearer berate the FBI agents. She couldn't find a chance to interject.
Upon opening the door to the guest room, Shearer stepped inside but didn't close the door, instead, he told Kira: "Miss Kira, it's quite clear that you haven't been in the Central Intelligence Agency for long..."
"I... what? I am from the Federal Bureau of Investigation!"
"Is that so? If you were really an FBI agent and I commented 'your detective skills are shit,' you should've instantly pulled out your gun and pointed it at my head."
Kira glared at Shearer and he simply responded with a chuckle: "You've presumably never understood the advantages of having enforcement powers within the Federation, so you can't mimic their arrogance."
"Regardless, I appreciate you escorting me here. If you have any questions, or issues needing resolutions, I'm open to you approaching me. But now, goodnight."
Saying this, Shearer slammed his door shut. Kira stood in front of Shearer's closed door, and as she was about to turn away, the door creaked open once more. Turning around, she saw that Shearer had attached a 'Do Not Disturb' sign onto the door.
"I was only being polite earlier, don't get the wrong idea," said Shearer before he closed the door again.
In Bruce's room, upon entering, the pair's laughter faded and synchronously, they began to search around the room.
"The quality of the sheets is good, it should be enough for us to tac down to the ground floor." Selina commented while lifting the pillows and covers, pulling the sheets down.
Bruce retrieved a razor from his master bathroom: "I can dismantle this and extract a component for lockpicking. After all, if we climb down the main door, we'll be easily noticed."
Walking to the window, he peered down saying, "They seem to have assigned all the dangerous individuals to the higher floors, including Professor Shearer. They probably thought we weren't much of a threat, so they assigned us to the fourth floor..."
"We need to fetch our gear," said Selina as she twisted the bedsheets into a rope. "But you can't wear your battlesuit when we return, or it'll be too conspicuous."
"Of course, I know. I don't plan to turn this place into a battlefield. Instead, I want to see what they're up to." Bruce narrowed his eyes, watching the patrolling agents in the courtyard.
After a while, when Selina had finished, she stepped onto the balcony and scrutinized the agent patrol routes. She was puzzled and said, "Who exactly are these agents? How come they seem even worse than the mob in Gotham?"
"See there, there's a blind spot in their patrol route, by the flower bed... If I climb that pine tree and jump down, they won't notice."
"And over there, those two people are changing shifts too close together. I could just sprint straight past..."
With a frown on her face, Selina commented, "Even the relatively well-known mob bosses in East District wouldn't set such flawed patrol routes, else their mansions would have been robbed clean by now."
With a resigned sigh, Bruce was about to say something when Selina turned around and said, "Change of plans. These guys are too amateurish, you won't have to go out. I'll get the gear for you directly."
Bruce gaped; this was the first time someone suggested solving everything for him during a mission. However, Selina just shrugged nonchalantly. After thinking for a bit, Bruce finally said, "Alright, the keys to the helicopter are in..."
Selina turned around, giving Bruce a sweet smile. She then flourished her right hand and flicked a keyring into view with her fingertips. She said,
"I've got them right here... and your heart as well."