Clara (Part 4)

It turned out Clara had misjudged that peksy reporter whose name she didn't know, at least a little.  She kept an eye on his tabloid, the Globe, just in case, and was certainly glad that she did.  It didn't make the front page or anything, but in an issue published a week later, she found a short expose on the "Lady Ninja".  It didn't give her name, not even her first name, but it mentioned details about her that were flattering, and yet that she would have preferred not to see in print associated with her alter ego.  She was described as strong, both physically and mentally, independent, single, and managing to hold a steady job while still "fighting crime in the dead of night".  The article also promised more secrets to be revealed next week.  Clara hoped she could stop that from happening.  She hoped that perhaps now having a by-line attached to the man who appeared to have been at least slightly stalking her would help.  But then, it turned out she didn't need the by-line after all.

It was two nights after she found the article when she encountered it's author.  She hadn't even intended to.  She had googled the by-line, Fred Simmons, and found some other trashy, yet well-written and intriguing, "reporting" by him, as well as a photo that seemed to match with a less dishieveled version of her guy, but also a pretty strong indication that "Fred Simmons" was not his real name.  Before she could find out much more than that, she came face to face with "Fred" in a way she wasn't quite expecting.

"Fred" was being mugged.

Clara had been perched on a fire escape, waiting, when it happened.  She saw likely nere-do-wells in the alley, but she always waited until she actually witnessed them attempting a crime before she struck.  She did her best not to assume.  Though often her assumptions did turn out to be right, the few times they didn't were enough to make her stick to her rule of waiting.  And this time her rule of waiting also allowed her to witness "Fred" being pushed into the alley along with demands for his wallet and phone.

She was frustrated to see him there, but at the same time, he didn't seem to know she was there.  She could just leave, let him get robbed, hope that maybe it would convince him to stop stalking around dark alleys himself.  But she knew she couldn't do that.  She was a hero, or at least pretended to be, and heroes didn't let innocent people get hurt, even if those innocents were guilty of being really annoying.

So she swept down like she always did, scared the bad guys off, and made sure "Fred" was okay.  Once he realized he was safe, he just beamed at her and said, "This is definitely going in my next article."

"That better be all that's going in your next article," she said with a smirk.

"You mean you don't want me to publish your real name, Clara Younger?" he asked with a gleam in his eye and a degree of confidence that she did not feel was merited by someone who had just nearly been robbed.  It was also the first time he had used her full name.

"Even if that was my name," she replied, after pausing a beat longer than she wished she had, "it doesn't seem fair that it would be published by someone who hides behind a fake by-line."

He quirked up an eyebrow at that.  "So you have read my work," he noted.

"And looked into it enough to know you have a secret identity, too," she confirmed.

He just stared at her for a moment, but then he shrugged.  "I've got nothing to hide, really," he claimed.  And then he added, "Unlike some people..."  He let that trail off and then said with a return to confidence, "What the heck!  My real name is Chris Thatcher."  He held out his hand for her to shake.

She did not shake his hand.  "I'll look into that," she said.  She considered him carefully.  And then she sighed.  She had read his other stuff.  Though it certainly gravitated towards the, shall we say sensational, he never actually assailed any person's character and he didn't seem to print things that would actually put one in danger.  It was often stories about mysterious strangers making the world better.  And that was certainly what she was trying to do... she just didn't want people to know the identity of the person behind the mask.  Finally, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she decided to simply say, "Please don't print my real name.  You can write about this incident, sure, whatever.  Just please don't tell people who I really am."

He seemed surprised by the forwardness of that.  He even took a small step backwards, but then he said in the softest voice she had heard him use yet, "Of course.  If it's really that important to you, I won't use your real name."  Then he sighed and said in a normal volume, "But don't you want people to know who you are?  Don't you want the recognition?"

She simply shook her head.  "If I did, I wouldn't wear the outfit would I?"

He shrugged.  And then she was surprised to see him blush as he said, "Sometimes people just feel more confident in a costume."  Then he cleared his throat and added, "Or so I've heard."

She rolled her eyes at that.  "Yeah, well, you can't believe everything you hear, Chris Thatcher."  Part of the reason she repeated his name was to make sure she would remember it when she got home to Google it, but she also liked the way he seemed to stand up straighter when she said it, almost like he had been given a command.  It made her feel somehow powerful in the situation, even though she knew he had the leverage and she was having to trust he would show her the respect she had asked for.

He opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but then he apparently thought better of it as he pressed his lips back together and just shook his head as he looked down.  "Well, I guess being in the business I am, I can't argue with that."  Then he looked back up at her and smiled, "I'll see you around, Miss Ninja."

"I hope not," she replied.  And then more softly, "Be careful, Chris."

He nodded.  She was still surprised by how not shaken he was by the mugging attempt, but she supposed those things never shook her up either.  "You, too," he said.  "You, too."  And then he walked off never to be seen again.  Or so she had hoped.


The next time she saw Chris was a week later.  His second article had come out, and true to his word, he had not mentioned her name, but instead had focused on his "harrowing experience", which was rather embellished, and the "daring rescue" he experienced.  It was an interesting essay in how it emphasized the role reversals of the typical gender stereotypes.  Yet somehow it did this without referring to her as the "Lady Ninja".  It simply called her "the Ninja".  She thought to herself that maybe Chris wasn't so bad after all.

That thought had crossed her mind before she walked into her place of employment and saw him talking to the receptionist, asking about Clara Younger.