Disclaimer: All the characters are owned by DC Comics and Time/Warner; this is an original story that does not intend to infringe on their copyright
The Deal
By
Peggie
Bruce had felt a certain unease at the business luncheon he had attended that day. As C.E.O. of Wayne Defence Systems he was expected to show his face when important new buyers expressed an interest in the company's products.
The luncheon had been held in the Wayne Defence Systems Executive Boardroom. Alfred had cooked and served an exquisite meal. Lucius Fox had whispered to Bruce "After a meal like that we could sell refrigerators to Eskimos." The deal was Lucius' baby; he had spent three months courting these people and now he could finally see the prize almost in the bag.
Bruce had spotted Alfred giving two of the potential buyers covert looks. Both of the men appeared to be of an age with Alfred. "Something wrong old friend?" Bruce had asked.
Alfred had shaken his head. "No sir, just a senile old man seeing ghosts in impossible places."
Bruce had laughed. "Well senile or not Lucius will insist on keeping you on the payroll while you can cook like that. He thinks of you're a major asset to the company."
"That Sir, is gratifying to know!" had been Alfred's dry reply.
Bruce had placed a hand on Alfred's shoulder. "And even when you are no longer able to cook you will still be an asset as far as I am concerned." Bruce had given the old man's shoulder a squeeze before moving swiftly off, leaving the older man quite speechless.
Alfred had been clearing the tables while their guests sat in a small group talking softly in Arabic, which was one of the few languages Bruce had not mastered. The two men that Alfred had been watching now seemed interest in the old butler. When Bruce mentioned this to Lucius the businessman had replied "They're probably going to try and poach him from you. Let's face it Bruce if I had enough money I'd have tried it years ago."
After the luncheon had finished Bruce returned to his office at Wayne Tech and Alfred returned to his duties at the Manor.
Bruce still felt certain unease about the luncheon when he returned home that evening. Yet he couldn't quite put into words what was making him feel so negative about the deal. That afternoon Bruce had asked Lucius to put the negotiations on ice for a few days, while they did a bit more checking on the people involved. Lucius had not been happy about it, but he had reluctantly agreed.
"Hey Bruce what's up with Al?" Dick asked as he met his mentor entering the front door of Wayne Manor.
"Nothing that I know of why?"
"Well this afternoon I asked him for a lift down to the mall so I could have a look around while he did the shopping and he bit my head off."
Bruce frowned, that was certainly unlike Alfred. "What did he say chum?" Bruce asked concerned.
"Well not a lot really, his exact words were, "For once, can I have some time to myself?" Dick smiled. "Do you think Al's got a lady friend he doesn't want us to know about?"
Bruce had smiled, but still felt uneasy. Alfred had rung his secretary, Sandy, at Wyne Tech earlier that afternoon requesting that Bruce use one of company cars to get home as he had been delayed. Bruce had been surprised, as Alfred never missed an appointment. In twenty-five years he had never failed to pick Bruce up and he was always exactly on time. Whatever had delayed him had to be very important. Alfred was obsessive about carrying out his duties; a personal liaison would never come before work.
Bruce walked down to the kitchen. Putting his head around the door he spotted Alfred at the stove. The kitchen was in near darkness with the blinds drawn and the only light coming from the small fitted next to the sink. Bruce flicked the switch to the main light. He was shocked by Alfred's reaction.
"Turn that light off NOW!" the older man bellowed.
A startled Bruce complied saying "Hey, old friend no need to shout." He saw Alfred gripping the worktop and breathing deeply. Worried he walked forward and put a hand on the older man's shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked concerned. He could feel his friend trembling slightly.
"My apologies sir!" Alfred said after a brief hesitation, "I am just a bit ...a bit under the weather. The light was giving me a headache." he explained. "Perhaps I could serve you supper in the cave, while I help you get ready. I could then retire to bed early."
"Sure, whatever you want." Bruce gave the older man a searching look. That request was so unlike Alfred, he hated them having meals in the cave. He preferred both young men to preserve their true identities for as long as possible. Meal times were for Bruce and Dick, not Batman and Robin. "Why don't I ring Leslie and get her to come over and have a look at you." Bruce suggested his concern evident in his voice.
"No thank you young man, there's no need to disturb Dr Thomkins. It's just a headache, nothing to worry about." Alfred laid the food out on a tray, picking it up he headed for the bat cave. He called to Dick to tell him that supper was ready.
Dick was startled to be having supper in the cave. "What gives Bruce?" he asked. His mentor shrugged his shoulder.
"Will you be alright to drive us to the party tomorrow afternoon?" Bruce asked as Alfred headed back up the stairs with the empty dishes.
"Of course sir. I will have the Rolls washed and waxed ready for the journey."
"Don't go to that trouble Alfred if your not feeling too good. I am sure the car will be OK as it i..." Alfred raising an eyebrow instantly silenced Bruce. "Sorry, of course the car will need washing and waxing." Bruce muttered.
"The cars ready sir." Alfred said as Bruce and Dick came downstairs both dressed smartly in new suites purchased for the occasion. They were attending the mayor's civic party that afternoon. As both young men headed for the front door Alfred cleared his throat. "The car is in the garage sir, with the rain I thought it would be better to leave it under cover."
Dick and Bruce exchanged glances as they got into the rear of the car. They traveled in silence for the first few minutes. Then making sure the window between Alfred and themselves was closed they began to talk.
"What the hell is up with him?" Dick asked nodding towards Alfred. "He almost had fit when I went out to collect the mail."
"I know chum, he was also pretty short with me when I opened the patio doors to..." Their conversation was cut short as the car swerved violently to the right, then spun around in a perfect 180 degree handbrake turn. Both young men were thrown to the floor. Alfred slid back the connecting window.
"Stay Down Sirs... Shots!" Alfred shouted as he floored the accelerator. Alfred expertly steered the speeding car round the corner of a building out of the line of fire, while using his cell phone to alert the police. Within seconds sirens could be heard converging on their location.
Commissioner Gordon quickly joined Sargent Bullock at the scene of the shooting. "It's a good job you've got bullet proof glass on this old bucket." Bullock said referring irreverently to the Mark II Silver Shadow. Bruce expected Alfred to comment about his remark but the old butler remained silent. Bruce glanced at his friends pale face.
"Are you OK Alfred" he asked taking hold of his arm.
"I think sir, if Commissioner Gordon will excuse me, I would like to return home, if that is alright by you."
"Of course old friend" Bruce said looking at Gordon. " No problem Alfred!" Gordon said. "Bullock has your statement so there's no reason to keep you here, Bullock can drive you back. We will need to keep the car for forensic tests."
Alfred smiled his thanks.
"Do you want Dick or me to come back with you or will you be alright." Bruce asked concerned at the older mans quiet demeanor. I could ring Leslie and have her stop by.
"No thank you sir, I think I just need to have a lie down. I will just retrieve the suits I picked up from the cleaners, they are in the trunk of the Rolls if that is acceptable." Bruce looked gratefully at the older man. Gordon opened the trunk and Alfred removed the spare Batman and Robin suites encased in thick blue plastic suit hangers, along with a case of bat weapons; he placed them on the rear seat of the police car and got in next to them.
Bruce and Dick accompanied Gordon back to police headquarters. "Any idea who would want to take pot shots at you " Gordon asked. Both young men shook their heads. It was now three hours after the shooting and all three of them had gone over all the statements and evidence several times.
Bullock Knocked at the door and walked in without being asked. "Not been sleeping with some other rich guy's wife by any chance Mr. Wayne" Bullock asked. His suggestion was influenced by Bruce's playboy image. Gordon gave Bullock a sharp look. "Well the shooter had to be rich, the guns German and expensive according to the boys at the lab it's also the choice of professional assassins. Our guy was strictly an amateur though because unless the old guy driving was the target the shots would have missed by a mile. Know of a reason why someone would want your chauffeur dead? .. No I thought not. So we' has an amateur with an expensive gun."
Bruce was feeling panic spreading through him. Alfred was the target, not him! Suddenly he wanted to speak to the old man. "Can I use your phone Jim, I think it's about time I checked up on Alfred. He didn't look so good last time I saw him."
Gordon waved Bruce to the phone, as Bullock muttered "That's not surprising when he's seen two slugs hit the window next to his head. It's a wonder the old guy didn't die of fright."
There was no answer to the call, so Bruce tried Alfred's cellular phone still no joy. Bruce looked at Dick, the panic in his eyes not well enough disguised to deceive his partner. Look Jim I think we need to get back and check on Alfred, so if there's nothing else we can help you with...
The Wayne Tech car picked Dick and Bruce up from police headquarters. Bruce closed the window between them and the driver.
"Alfred's the target Dick that's why he's been acting strange, he was trying to keep us in and away from windows so we wouldn't be easy pickings for a sniper. I know he'd spotted two faces from his past at the Wayne Defence Systems luncheon. "
Dick looked at Bruce with an incredulous stare. So what crime did Alfred commit to warrant being shot? Did he put too much starch in someone's jockey short?" Dick asked sarcastically. "Or did he use too much garlic in the stew."
Bruce frowned at his ward. Although Dick loved Alfred the young man certainly didn't know him. He only knew the front Alfred lived behind. There was a lot more to the old man than Dick could even imagine. Then again Bruce wasn't sure he knew all there was to know about the man who was like a second father to him.
They arrived back at Wayne Manor to find the house in total darkness. Dick could sense Bruce was getting frantic. As they stepped into the gloomy hall Dick said.
"Bruce calm down, will you! Al said he was going to have a lie down. He'll either be in his room or failing that he will be dusting the cave. He always dusts the cave when he's on edge, he says he finds it relaxing."
Dick raised his eyebrows to accompany his last statement and almost got a smile out of Bruce.
They failed to locate Alfred in either the Mansion or the cave. Now both young men were feeling uneasy.
"So why would Alfred know Wayne Defence Systems customers from some obscure Middle East country?" Dick asked as they headed back down to the cave. "And why would they try to kill him?" He demanded.
Bruce remained silent, lost in his own thoughts.
"Bruce please, tell me what's going on! I love Alfred too you know!" the boy shouted.
Bruce looked in to the distraught face of his sixteen-year-old 'son'. He thought about his present family. He had a son that wasn't his own and in Alfred he had a father who was not related to him; yet all three of them were closer to each other then most natural families. "I know son, I know." he said gently.
"Look, before Alfred started working for my father he was an agent in the British Secret Service."
Dicks eyes opened wide in disbelief. "Like James Bond?"
"Well no son, not quite, from the little I know of that type of work it's far from glamorous. In fact it very seedy and dangerous. What I do know however is that Alfred was very good at it and for a time was head of operations in the Middle East. His specialty was hostage negotiations. At that time there were a large number of hijackings taking place. Alfred was instrumental in resolving many of them."
"Wow, so Alfred's a real hero." the boy said.
Bruce smiled "Yes Son."
"So why has he never said anything about it."
"Hero's don't brag! Alfred taught me that. I hope I passed that knowledge on to you."
Dick frowned. "So these people Alfred spotted yesterday have something to do with his time in the Middle East."
"I'm sure they do..." Bruce got no further as the shrill ringing of the phone cut him short. Bruce clicked a switch on the console of the bat computer. "Bruce Wayne" he said.
"Ah, Mr. Wayne" a heavily accented voice almost cooed. " I believe you are missing a friend" There was a pause. "We persuaded him to come to visit us for old times sake. If you would like to see him again ... alive and in one piece ...and not just see pieces of him; I would suggest you inform Mr. Fox that you have no objections to our deal with Wayne Defence Systems."
"I want to speak to Alfred!" Bruce demanded. "There's no way I do anything until I know he's alive." He heard a scuffle on the other end of the line then he almost wilted with relief as he hear Alfred's voice. "Sir I'm sorry, they grabbed me at the door. Whatever they want under no circumstances must you deal with...."
Bruce heard a thump and the receiver fall. "Alfred!" he shouted in panic. "Alfred!"
"Don't worry Mr. Wayne your friend will just have a slight headache. You know he's alive so now you will contact Mr. Fox on his cell phone to start the deal moving. We will know as soon as you make the call, so no tricks. Delivery must be within 72 hours or you can have you butler back in pieces through the mail. Don't bother going to the police, they cannot touch us." With that the phone line went dead.
Bruce found himself trembling; he closed his eyes and breathed deeply.
"What do we do now?" asked Dick in a worried voice.
"First we contact Lucius and do what they want! Then we trace the call so Batman and Robin can go to the rescue."
A few minutes work at the computer and Bruce had the location. He checked it twice then told Dick where Alfred was being held.
"The call came form their embassy! Your telling me that some guys snatched Alfred and are holding him at their embassy and there's nothing the police can do about it." Dick shouted.
Bruce looked at his son; his eyes reflected the seething anger he felt within. "International law states that embassies are not covered by the laws of the countries they are situated in. Bruce explained. Also diplomats have what is termed Diplomatic Immunity, so the police cannot touch them; no matter what they do."
"So you're telling me these guys could have just walked up to Alfred in the street and shot him if they wanted to and they would have got off Scott free. Dick felt a lump form in his throat. "So if they kill Alfred they will get away with it"
"Legally yes."
Looking at Bruce's eyes Dick knew that if anything happened to their friend Bruce had no intention of letting those responsible get away. He had never seen his Bruce so angry.
The embassy building was set in its own parkland. Batman and Robin were perched on the top of the high wall surrounding the grounds. The whole place was covered by an intricate security system including cameras and dog patrols.
"How are we going to find Alfred in there." Dick asked. "There must be at least forty rooms, that doesn't include basements."
Bruce held up a Bat Tracker. "Alfred has activated his emergency homing transmitter."
Dick looked at Bruce amazed. "I didn't know Alfred had a transmitter fitted."
"Well he had to test the prototype out on someone." Bruce said
Dick touched the small scare just under his left arm where his own transmitter had been implanted six months before. These devices could be activated manually, or were triggered by a fall in blood pressure.
"Alfred's transmitter was set off manually, wasn't it Bruce?" the young man asked concerned. He felt a huge wave of relief sweep over him when his mentor nodded.
Now all we need is our diversion to start. Batman pulled a small remote control from his utility belt and pressed a button. A massive explosion rocked the embassy as the front gates and a lager part of the wall vanished in a cloud of smoke and rubble. Next incendiary devices flew over the front wall and landed on the roof and lawn starting a number of small fires. Another press off the button and a power transformer blew up plunging the building into darkness. Automatic gunfire started and grenades exploded on the front drive.
"Not bad Robin said."
Both men could hear police sirens getting closer. While the embassy security team headed to the front of the building to defend it against an all out attack, Batman and Robin moved across the lawn towards the rear of the embassy. They shot lines up to the roof and scaled the back wall to a small second floor room. Stopping level with the window both men pushed themselves away from the wall and swung feet fist into the room shattering the window, into a thousand pieces of glass and wood.
There were only two guards and Alfred in the room; Alfred appeared to be unconscious. Robin quickly overpowered the armed guard; he then went to secure the door. Batman gabbed the other man by the throat. He hoisted him off the floor and watched in silence as he started turning blue. Batman recognised the man as one of those Alfred had been scrutinising at the luncheon.
"Robin check Alfred" Batman growled.
Seeing how close Batman to strangling the man he held Robin quickly complied.
"Drugged" the man Batman was holding managed to gasp.
Robin nodded his consent. "He's only lightly under Batman." Robin said with evident relief.
Batman lowered the man he was holding fractionally, just enough for his toes to touch the floor. You'd better hope he makes a full recovery" Batman growled "Otherwise I will be back to rip your throat out."
Looking into the Dark Knight's eyes the man had no doubt that he meant what he said.
My suggestion is you and all you friends close up here and make your way back to the safety of your own country." Bruce growled. "Alfred Pennyworth is a very important and well-respected man in the Intelligence community. He was at Wayne Defence Systems keeping an eye you and your friend! I wouldn't like to be in your shoes. You've upset a lot of very impotent people by snatching him. In the morning have a good look at their response to your actions. Then if you've any sense you will get out of America as soon as possible.
Bruce let go of the man and watched him drop to the floor gasping for breath. He then gently lifted Alfred from the cot, he held the old man close. Moving over to the window Batman shot off a line. "If I ever see you again, you are a dead man." With those parting words Bruce secured Alfred to the line and swung off into the night, Dick following closely.
Three men sat in the kitchen of Wayne Manor watching the morning news bulletin with interest. News reporters spoke of new Middle East tensions as an Embassy was attacked in Gotham City. Police were baffled as to the identities of the terrorists. The next clip showed embassy staff boarding an aircraft home.
"It was always a volatile part of the world" Alfred commented. "I do hope Mr. Fox will not be too disappointed at losing his deal."
Bruce squeezed the older mans arm. "Let's invite him and his wife around for one of your special dinners, I am sure that will ease his disappointment."
"Certainly Sir." the old man replied.
Alfred touched his surrogate son's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Thank You" he said. He turned to face Dick "Thank You Both." Between them nothing else needed to be said.
"Now sirs what can I get you for breakfast!"
The End