The Dark Knight Rises: The Official Novelization Read Online Free PDF Page A

yank her hand back as a new arrow thwacked into place, only inches from her fingers.
    Startled, she spun around to see Bruce Waynehimself, looking rather more haggard than the dashing billionaire playboy the world remembered. He stood at the other end of the room, clutching a large compound bow. She was impressed, despite herself.
    She couldn’t remember the last time someone had snuck up on her.
    Bruce lowered the bow. He put it aside and picked up his cane.
    “I’m…I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Wayne,” the maid stammered sheepishly. She struck him as very young and embarrassed. “It is Mr. Wayne, isn’t it?”
    He nodded and limped toward her.
    “Although you don’t have any long nails,” she babbled nervously, “or facial scars…” Her voice trailed off.
    Bruce inspected the inquisitive young intruder. He didn’t recognize her as one of the regular maids. Must be a temp taken on for tonight’s festivities, he figured. Couldn’t resist snooping around.
    “Is that what they say about me?” he asked. She shrugged.
    “It’s just that…nobody ever sees you.”
    That’s the idea, he thought.
    A flawless pearl necklace graced her slender neck. Bruce came closer.
    “That’s a beautiful necklace,” he commented. “Reminds me of one that belonged to my mother. Itcan’t be the same one, though. Her pearls are in this safe—”
    A large mahogany bureau rested against a wall. He used his cane to press down on a recessed wooden panel, which slid aside to reveal a hidden compartment.
    “—which the manufacturer assured me was uncrackable.”
    The door of the safe swung open.
    “Oops,” the maid said. “Nobody told me it was supposed to be uncrackable.”
    Her whole attitude changed in an instant. She dropped the coy, girlish act and took on a cockier, more confident posture. It reminded him of the way he had once discarded the role of a careless, immature playboy, whenever it was time to let his true self out. He was impressed, despite himself.
    Bruce nodded at the pearls.
    “I’m afraid I can’t let you take those.” They had been a gift from his father, which his mother had worn on the night they were both murdered. In a very real sense, they had cost his parents their lives. He wasn’t about to let anyone walk away with them.
    “Look,” she said, smiling, as she stepped toward him, acting not at all concerned about being caught red-handed. She sized him up with a look. “You wouldn’t hit a woman any more than I would beat up a cripple…”
    Without warning, she kicked the cane out from under him. A karate chop to his shoulders droppedhim to the floor. His bad knee screamed in protest as he hit the carpet. He clutched the injured joint.
    “Of course,” she added, “sometimes exceptions have to be made.”
    With a move worthy of an Olympic gymnast, she vaulted onto the bureau, taking the pearls with her. A high window provided a ready egress. “Good night, Mr. Wayne,” she said teasingly, before flipping backward out the window. Bruce heard her touch down lightly in the gardens outside.
    Gathering himself, he chuckled, amused by the woman’s nerve. Ignoring the usual aches and twinges, he rocked forward on his good leg and rose smoothly to his feet. But his brow furrowed as he took a closer look at the violated safe.
    Was that powder on the door?
    Fun’s fun , she thought, but let’s not overstay our welcome.
    The party was starting to break up. Having made her escape from the building, she wasted no time heading for the line of town cars waiting in the driveway. Along the way, she deftly peeled off her servile white apron, cuffs, and collar, discarding those previously handy bits of camouflage in various leafy mounds of shrubbery.
    By the time she reached the drive, what the valets saw was a breathtaking young woman wearing a little black dress and pearls. One of the young men rushedforward to assist her.
    She quickly scanned the row of limos and found just the one she was looking for.