I scanned the skyline of Bludhaven. Man, it was ugly. But it was Dick's town and I had to keep it under wraps while he was at Blackgate. He was right, this town needed all the help it could get. I was crouched on the roof of a rundown warehouse over looking the Angel 1, the booze and sex district of Bludhaven's upper Westside. This place was nearing Gothem in low factor.
I peered out of the binoculars at the building across the street where my query lay. It was Vince Langley, otherwise known as Slash on the street. He was a small time drugs dealer who had been selling spiked heroin to some kids down at Bludhaven High. I was really happy I didn't have to go to that school. Already two kids had died from the bad batch, and five more where in the hospital. This guy was going to jail if I had any say. Which I usually don't, but I was going to try.
I shifted my feet; they were getting tired, as I peered at the business transaction going on across the street. Vince was brokering a deal with a local meth producer and heroin distributor. His name was George, and had been sent to Blackgate a number of times before he escaped and made a life for him in Bludhaven. It was a nice life; the flat looked dingy on the outside, but inside the place was furnished with a 50" plasma screen and vibrating bed. Did I mention George had bad taste? Vince was trying to get control over all transaction within the upper Westside.
I checked the binoculars to see if they were recording this. Oracle was able to get me a feed into their security system and I had complete audio and visual of the whole deal. I thought maybe Vince was going to buy out George but than I forgot we were in Bludhaven. George said something that pissed him off and Vince pulled out a gun and mowed down George. Before George's guards were able to react, they lay bleeding and dead as Vince's guards had a little fun. That what was nice about Bludhaven, they did my job for me.
I keyed my mike, paging Babs, "Did you get that?" I asked into the little mike that was nestled near the throat of the collar on the cape that I wore. I could here hear smiling. "Everything down to the rolls of the r's." She told she had already notified the police and that they would be there soon. Soon my ass, it would take some time for Bludhaven's finest to get up off their drunken bums and figure out which key is to their car. Enough time for me to do what I needed to do.
There was nothing I could do now, Vince's guards stood around congratulating each other as Vince made a beeline to the poorly hidden safe behind the flat screen TV. It was a slandered safe; the only thing high-tech about it was the retinal scan, which Vince didn't bother with. He took a crowbar and smacked the safes door. It popped open quickly, revealing a stash of bills and a small black box.
To my surprise, he bypassed the money and grabbed the black box as if it held the key to world domination. He yanked it open, revealing in the stash of heroin and crack cocaine. He was a user. I adjusted the binoculars to zoom in on the powder filled bag. Wait a sec; it wasn't only cocaine in there. HE pulled out a syringe, his face lighting up. Was it a drug? I focused the lenses a little more. The liquid inside it was tinted red, but that was all that I could see. There was no label or marking on the side. I panned out, once again able to see the whole room.
Vince satisfied that he had got what he had come for left the room, motioning the guards to follow. They left the room, not exactly as they had found it. The door slammed shut to their receding backs, cueing my action. I tucked the binoculars back into the small pouch on my glove and I dashed across the roof of the building. According to my calculations, Vincent and his boys should be crossing the street, to where their cars are parked, right behind this nice abandoned warehouse that I was so conveniently located. I shimmied effortlessly down a drain pipe and dashed behind a dumpster, getting out of sight just in time before the first of Vincent's goons walked down the alley to the hidden car. A guy had been in the car but I had slipped in some sleeping gas and he was out like a rock while I had set the tracer an hour before. The driver looked like he had been sleeping. Vincent was pissed that his man had slept on the job. And as he smacked the goon around, I came up behind the gang.
"Hello." I said as the whole lot of them turned and faced me in surprise. As common to most reactions people face when they see me, all of them charged at me, a deafening roar escaping from their collective lips. I flipped back, my legs kicking two of the goons in the jaw as I landed easily two feet away. Fists flew, punches tried to connect, but I deftly maneuvered my way around, releasing a canister of sleeping gas and slipping a gas diffuser over my nose. Soon the goons and Vincent lay sprawled on the floor, in their previous respective positions. I stepped over the bodies and reached Vincent's. I groped through his coat pocket, pulling out the syringe. Exactly what I was looking for. I tied up the goons, popped the tires of the cars and called it a night.
As I was swinging across Bludhaven's skyline, I was reminded once again why I was doing this in the first place, the spirit of adventure. Sure, saving lives was the main part, but it didn't hurt to have a little fun on the side. It wasn't lost to me that most of Young Justice considered me a Minime of Batman, but it didn't hurt when you needed to use intimidation when it was required. But those uninitiated to the bat family would think the whole lot of us as dark sociopaths who have no lives outside of their vigilante occupation. But if any of the JLA and young justice took a good look, they would notice that the bat family wasn't anything but an intricately fit puzzle. Robin, if found partnered with Batman, would be the wise cracking, rash sidekick. But when placed in a group element, Robin, me, becomes the kid clone of the dark night. It's kind of discerning.
I finally landed on the roof of Dick's apartment building. It wasn't much to look at on the outside but the landowner kept it running smoothly. I snuck in through the window into Dick's apartment. Dick was, of course, not asleep. He had sent for me after the Black gate incident. Babs had other things to take care of, but Dick needed care. All I know of the incident was that they parted with a kiss, a big one. Was I grinning like a baby? No, not me, of course not. But of course, being Dick, he kind of ruined the moment when his face clutched tight with pain in the middle of the kiss.
Dick was insistent that he should go out on patrol. Tonight I caught him in his costume, sneaking out the window, he still wasn't even a month into his recovery and already he was trying to go on patrol. It took all my strength to push him back on the couch, toss him the remote control, and using my best batman voice, told him to stay put. He laughed in my face. I laughed along with him, but of course it was only a diversion and he tried to rush on past me. I slammed the window shut, sorely tempted to time him to the chair and leave him here. I told him so; he just rolled his eyes, and let me lead him back to the couch, I was going out on patrol tonight. I told him to stay put, and if I heard of a limping black and blue clad superhero prancing around, I would get him. He just smiled and tried to make a crack at my sudden control over the place. I just waved goodbye, and jumped out of the window, locking it tight before I left. Unbeknownst to him, I had place a tracker on his suit before I left. If he indeed left, I would know.
So instead of Nightwing prowling the dark recesses of Bludhaven, boy wonder was doing the job for him. So as the police sirens jingled in the background, I sent out a line and went flying. I had the syringe and I was heading over to Dick's garage, he had some equipment there that might come in handy. A few minutes later I was landing on the roof of a warehouse on the docks of Bludhaven. I slipped through the roof entrance, landing softly on the floor behind Dick's car. I paused. Wait a second. Dick's car? I peeked behind the car. Sure enough, Dick was seating, rather painfully, on the chair in front of the computer. I sighed, trying to put on an angry face as he turned to smile at me.
"So, boy wonder, the tracer wasn't exactly up to specs, now was it?" He tossed me the crushed tracer. "Next time, put one on both costumes."
I shook my head in dismay as I walked beside him, looking over his shoulder onto the computer screen, "So, Babs, did you help him?" Her face smiled at me innocently, here eyes bright with mischief.
"Of course not, hot pants, why would I do that?" She was typing away on here computer. "Do you have the syringe?" She asked, looking at me expectantly.
"You were supposed to be on my side." I grumbled as I withdrew the syringe from my pocket., "Here," I said as I handed it to Nightwing, "Don't kill yourself."
He smiled at me ruefully, and slipped the syringe into the chemo-analyzer. The syringe began to spin and it would take a few minutes before Oracle's computer would process the chemicals and give a feed. So I would have another few minutes with sick boy and joke girl. Wee, what fun.
I sighed and turned to look at Dick, "You never listen do you?" I asked, he threw up his hands in disgust and amusement.
"It's like telling Bruce to sleep in once. It's useless." I shook my head.
"Doesn't matter, you have to be resting and recuperating not flirting with Babs."
"I'm not flirting!"
"And she was just giving you CPR back at her apartment. Right." I laughed, "Alright, if you have the fort held down here, I'm off, call me when the results come in." I shot a line to the skylight and swung up, I waved goodbye from the roof, "And Dick?" I asked.
"Yeah?"
"Remember, use protection!" I narrowly missed the flying sock that flew at me as I jumped into the night.
The next order of business was to find something to do. That problem was soon solved by the beep of my chronometer. Oracles avatar appeared on the screen, she smiled as she told me, " Robin, I need you to stop by the First National Bank on first and Langley, you know the drill, two perps, both have .45 and are male, have fun." She clicked off and left me to navigate the streets of Bludhaven. I sighed and swung in the general direction.
A few minutes later I landed on the roof of the First National Bank. The police had barricaded the streets and inside the screams of the hostages could be heard. I slipped through an open window a few storied up and made my way through the air ducts to the correct floor. It was a tight fit, and once again I debated the practicality of wearing a cape. Shots rang out below me and I didn't have time to finish the thought. I decided to dispense with the cloak and dagger deal and punched a hole through the duct. As I leaped through the opening I overviewed the scene. I was lucky enough to land behind the two perps and I swung out both my feet, felling them with one fluid movement. They fell to the floor in shock, and then pulled around their guns, trying to take aim. The bullets bounced off of my cape as I sent a batarang with some wire attached. The baterang spinned around the first perps legs, making him to tumble to the ground. The second was trying to get up, but the bulky gun was in his way, and soon, he to was on the floor with his co-worker. It was over within minutes. The police broke through the doors, the paramedics trailing behind. Before they could react to my spandex and Kevlar clothed presence I dashed through a broken window and into the night.
The fight was over quick and I was soaring across Bludhaven's jagged skyline. Even with it's ugly interior, Bludhaven looked beautiful in an eerie sort of way, the lights of the distant buildings blinding me in a single sense of serenity. Then I heard the screams. Bludhaven was back.
I swooped down to a derelict building in one of Bludhaven's outer districts. It was a girl. I really couldn't tell how old she was, fifteen to eighteen, it would depend. She was running the alley, underneath me, her face twisted in a look of horror, her black hair glistening red, a man behind her wielding a knife and sporting a grin that Harm would have to compete with. He cornered her in the alley, a brick wall unyielding to her scratches and claws. I swept down and hit the man upside the head with a boot. He landed on the ground beside the huddled girl, unconscious and unmoving.
The girl looked at me with wide eyes, I could see her trying to decide if I was friend or foe. I held out a hand, an offer to help her up. She looked at me, and her decision was made, she dashed away, scrambling frantically to get away from her assailant and me. She ran out of the alley and into the night. I sighed. Sometimes even when you were a hero, the costume scared people. The assailant was coming to. I hoisted up to my eyelevel with a gloved hand, and whispered through gritted teeth, "What were you doing?"
His eyes were fearful and he looked at me, scared, "I...uh… I was just offering her a ride." His demeanor changed as he finally saw just who was holding him captive, "Hey, your not much older than that girl!" He tried to escape my grasp. I held on tight.
"What were you doing?" I asked again, my voice reaching Batman's baritone. He didn't faze, just grinned at me and laughed.
"You can't do nothing." He spat and I wiped the spittle from my suit. I knew what I had to do. He kept taunting me, calling my Bats Jr. and hot pants. I had enough of this and trussed him, sticking his sock in his mouth and leaving a note for the police. He screamed at me angrily as I sent out a line. I knew full well that he would be out on the streets again, that since there was no victim there was no crime. But it wouldn't hurt me if he would be humiliated for a while.
I sent out a line and flew into the night. The beauty of the skyline was gone now, this incident reminded me that Bludhaven was worse than Gothem in many ways. I found a roof to perch upon, to overlook a nasty district in Bludhaven's interior. I tried to reach Bab's but when she didn't answer I seriously suspected that they didn't need my company at this time. So I was stuck looking down at America's ugly underbelly. Hooker's lined the streets and sold their wares. Addicts and dealers stood by corners, looking emancipated and underfed. Neon lights shined across my face and the sound from bars and nightclubs assaulted my ears, and I realized that I had lived a very sheltered life before I became Robin.
I stayed there, perched upon the derelict building when I felt a small whoosh of air behind me. Years of training with Batman taught me that if a person does not announce their presence, they usually did not have good intention. It was dark on the warehouse and the neon lights that I had been staring at had blinded me somewhat to the dark, I did not wait for them to adjust as I pounced on the dark figure. I pinned the person to the ground, ready to do what ever was necessary to bring this guy down.
"Even with my TTK, that hurt." He rubbed his head painfully, where it had hit the ground. It was Superboy. I unpinned him and stepped back.
"What are you doing here?" I sighed as I went back to overlook the city.
"I dunno, I was bored, Bart, actually had homework to do, and since Max was breathing down his back he has to do it normally." He shrugged his shoulders, "Hawaii's boring and I really have nothing to do." He patted me on the back, smiling, "So I thought we could bond, you know," He swaggered his eyebrows suggestively, as he pointed to a night club down the street, "bond." I shook my head vigorously.
"No, no way, Kon, please tell me you have something better to do!" He didn't listen tome, but was checking out the numerous college girls spilling out of the nightclub as the party burst on to the street.
He turned to me, "Come on boy wonder, you must have fake ID in their somewhere!" He pointed to my gloves where I stored various things. I shook my head and continued to look below for trouble.
Superboy sighed out loud, his face showing his exasperation as I turned my back to him, "Come on!" He exclaimed in disbelief. He began to say something about how I couldn't have fun and I was such a spoil sport, but I ignored him when I saw the black haired girl from before walking on the side walk, her coat bunched at the shoulders and her face red from the cold. Kon stopped talking as he saw that I wasn't paying attention. He sighed in dismay as he saw once again that I was caught up in something other than my male hormones. "What is it?" he asked, in he tone of voice that meant he really didn't care.
I didn't answer as I pulled out a pair of binoculars, focusing in on the girl. She was talking with one of the dealer son the street; I think his name was Max. She handed a packet of cash, and in return the dealer handed her a small packet, a clear plastic bag with a syringe inside. I focused the binoculars closer, trying to make out the bag clearer. I almost dropped the binoculars when I saw the rose colored substance inside the syringe. The same substance in the syringe I had liberated from Vincent a few hours before.
Kon was looking at me weirdly now. "Uhh, what is it?" He asked again. I motioned him to follow me as I sent out a line. The girl was on the move again. I keyed my comm. To Bab's, hoping that she would pick up.
I heard a groggy voice on the line. It was Dick, on Bab's personal communicator found at her bedside. I did not want to know. "Do you have the composition of the substance?" I asked, hoping he would have an answer quick, the girl was already walking quickly away.
I heard the bed sheets rustling as Dick made his way to the computer. "It's not what you think Tim, don't worry, I was resting, I was following your orders, so don't think anything else. And" He emphasized the word, "don't tell Bruce." I smiled to my self, Kon surprised that such a feature could come across my face.
"It's a combination of various things, but from what I could tell from the read out it's a toned down version of the Clench, except it's incommunicable, so anyone infected wont be passing it on." I could hear Dick's voice turn grim, "An easy way to kill someone quickly, effortlessly, and without traces." I nodded to myself, making sense of what was going on somewhat. But what was this girl doing with potential poison? Or was it just a other form of a street drug, and the two weren't connected at all and I was making inferences? I didn't know but I was going to find out.
I swept across the buildings, following the girl, Kon trailing behind me. I explained to him the situation, omitting the details of Dick and Bab's involvement. He followed closely behind as I we trailed the girl. She reached an apartment building, on one of the better sides of Bludhaven. I focused my binoculars on the elevator pad as she pressed the up button. Which floor was she going to? I swept to the roof of the building, hoping I could find the elevator shaft and see the floor she would be getting off of. A window covered the elevator shaft, and I could see it as it headed upwards to its final destination, the twentieth floor.
"Were going to visit her very soon." I told him as I swept to the other building, scanning the twentieth floor, hoping to see which room light up. The corner one lit up as the girl entered the apartment. "We have our gal." I smiled as I squinted into the glasses.
"Hey let me see!" Kon tried to grab the lenses but I pushed his hands away.
"If you want to be a voyeur, do it on your own time." I told him as I set down the binoculars. Kon glared at me, his hands folded across his chest like a petulant child.
"I have purely honorable intentions." He stated, his face portraying pure innocence, "I had no thought of looking at her change." He smiled evilly, "None at all."
I stared at him in disbelief, and then turned back to our quarry. "You know, Kon, there are better things to do with your time than following me around."
Now it was his turn to look at me in disbelief, "You mean not coming with you to commit breaking and entering into a girls apartment?!?" He threw his hands up, as if it was the most ridiculous thing he had heard, "So, when are we going in?"
"We aren't going in." I told him, "I'M going in, and YOU'RE staying here." Icould see his mouth opening, a whine already at his lips. "No."
"Come on…"
"No."
"But…"
"I said no!"
"Please?"
"No!"
"It wont hurt." Superboy whined, floating in front of me, his hands clasped together, begging me.
I sighed in despair, "All right, but let me do the talking, and let me do the looking." I emphasized the last words. He crossed his arms across his chest, like a petulant child, nodding his head in agreement. "Can you fly me over to the window, quietly?" I asked, he nodded and flew across the distance between the two buildings, until we were hovering beside the window. I withdrew a lock pick. Kon was about to offer a suggestion, until I gave him the bat-stare. He shut up, and I went back to work. Soon, the window opened and I slipped within the room. Superboy landed quietly behind me, and we navigated beside the girls bedside.
She was asleep, her black hair splayed across the pillow, I stared at her, it was funny, I didn't even know her name. I was about to wake her when I thought of something. I motioned for Kon to stay put and quiet. He looked at me strangely as I reached for the bed stand. I picked up the small journal that lay there, checking the inside cover. It read, "This book belongs to: Sarah Goldberg" I smiled to myself, I had a name now.
I approached the bed once more, eyeing Kon. He stood on the other side of the bed, looking around, eyeing the pictures of popular rock bands that lined the walls. I reached for the girl; she shifted under her blankets, her face scrunched in the middle of a dream. I could see the bruises from the encounter before, but ignored them as I shook her awake.
She shifted under my fingers, but soon she opened her eyes. I placed my hand over her mouth quickly, to stifle her reaction. She lurched beneath me, her body jerking as she realized she was confined. I kept my hand in place, as I made quieting noises to her. She looked at me fearfully, recognizing my mask, as the person that she had encountered before. Her eyes were wide and she stopped struggling.
"I'll withdraw my hand, if you promise not to scream." I told her, she nodded at me fearfully, her body stiff. I slowly pulled my hand away, fully expecting her to scream. But I was pleasantly surprised as she pulled the blankets closer to herself.
"What do you want?" Her voice was shaky, and a hitch could be heard in her throat.
"I'm not here to hurt you, I just want to find out a few things." I told her, my hands to my side as I watched her look me up and down.
"What do you want to know?" she asked, her eyes closed, her face tired.
"The syringe."
She got up slowly from the bed, the blanket falling away from her grasp. She pulled a robe on and approached me, "Why do you want to know?" She asked, her eyes downcast, her voice wavering.
"That's not important," I told her, "What's important is that you tell me."
She looked at me, than did something I did not expect. She flipped me off. What the hell? She pulled her hand out of her robe pocket. Before I could do anything she kneed me in the groin and sprayed mace in my face.
I fell to the ground in pain. She stood over me, a smile reaching her features. I lay on the floor. How the hell did this happen? I thought. I tried to stand up, but she kicked in the ribs. Before she could take another kick, Kon decided to join in the fray. He barreled her down, having launched himself in a flying leap. They fell on the floor in a mess of arms of legs, Kon having soon pinned her down.
I picked myself up, brushing my ribs, and feeling the bruise developing there. This was going to be long night, "Can you please just answer the question?" I asked, crouching next her, were she tried to wriggle from Kon's grasp, but not able to escape.
I was about to say something when Kon spoke.
"Come on, girl, just answer the question and then we can go, it's that simple." He said, trying to placate her.
She spit in his face. He reeled back in shock, wiping the spittle from his face. "Eww!!!"
She jumped up form the ground, backing against the window, "You two have no right to be here. Get out!" She pointed to the open window, "I will call the police."
"And what will you tell them, a flying boy and a teenager dressed in green tights assaulted you in your bedroom?" I stepped closer to her, "What will you tell them, that they came because we saw you buy illegal drugs on the side of Langley and West?" I saw her eyes go wide, and her face red.
I took another step closer, "So, will you tell us what we want to know?" She looked at me, her head titled to the side, looking at me curiously, like a scientist with a lab rat. She leaned in to me, smiling.
"No."
"What!?!" Kon exclaimed, in surprise.
"Just as you said," she answered, "Who will believe a flying boy and a kid green tights prancing into the police office telling them that a girl is involved with drugs." She smiled and pointed to the window, "Now get out, or I will call Bludhaven's finest."
I tipped my head, smiling back at her, "Have a nice wait." I slipped through the window silently, before she could turn back around.
"Damn, I wish I knew how to do that." I could hear Kon sigh, still in the room. I heard the sound of skin against cloth as Kon came tumbling out, "Ow, stop it! I'm going already, alright!!!"
He floated beside me as I clung to the side of the building,
"You sure know how to pick them, don't you?" Kon complained as he rubbed his face were his TTK field couldn't come up in time to stop the girl's slap.
I sighed, "Come on." I sent out a line across to the other building, "We have to meet someone."
Soon we were soaring above Bludhaven once more. Police sirens and gun cracks filed midnight Bludhaven's air. There was nothing I could do about that, it had taken me sometime to reach that conclusion. All of Bludhaven was like this at night; I had to learn how to pick my fights.
I didn't consider it at first, but when Superboy stopped in mid-air, looking below at the violence and chaos that gripped Bludhaven at night, it may have been some sort of a culture shock. Coming from Metropolis were the buildings were new and the villains were highbrow, to be a witness to the cruelty of one human to the other was probably shocking. He looked at me, his eyes wide, "Is this the world you live in?"
I stopped on the nearest rooftop and looked back at him. "It's different."
Superboy floated in front of me, his head tilted to the side, "Was Gothem worse?" he asked,
"You know, before the quake."
It took me a while to consider that question. I mean, come on, Gothem wasn't the prettiest of places, and it had its share of dark villains. Arguments could be posed for both sides. But I shook my head, "No, Gothem at least had people who cared for what was going on, here," I swept my hand across the cityscape, "I haven't been here long enough to find some good."
Superboy nodded, as if he understood, but I knew he didn't. He would, in time, figure out the Batman family, just as Superman had, but for now he would just have an inkling of what we were.
I smiled, breaking the dark mood, "Come on, you have some one to meet." I shot out a line and we flew across Bludhaven.
I contacted Babs, hoping she was there and not 'occupied'. Luckily she was free, I could hear her typing away on her computer as the com-link opened between us, "Oracle," I started, hoping she would notice that I had used her JLA name rather than her real name.
I could hear her mind click with recognition, her voice was slightly more adult than usual as she answered, "I'm right here Robin, so you have a visitor?" She had got the meaning in the name, and I smiled slightly to myself.
"I have Superboy with me and we need a clue as where to go on with the syringe deal."
"Hold on, I've been following a lead with our buddy Vincent. It seems that other than his close ties with Blockbuster, he has some very close ties with a dealer on the North-side of Bludhaven, in the Market District. Hold on, let me get the address."
The computers whirred in the background as Oracle got to work, "Here it is, go to North on Washington and head to the old Dunc-Tec warehouse off of Washington and Neese." The typing stopped, "Oh and Robin?"
"What?"
"Could you stop by Save mart and pick up some plastic-"
Mouth dropped open in shock, "WHAT?!?"
"-bags. What were you thinking boy-wonder?" I heard Dick in the background laughing his head off. I shook my head in partial disgust and amusement,
"Fine, which ones do you want, the small or extra small?" I could hear Dick protest in the background.
"Alright boy wonder, bet a move on it. The guys name is Shawn Bertillini, he is about as tall as Bats and has black hair," My watch beeped and a picture of the guy appeared on the small screen, "He is a direct line from Blockbuster to the inner city. He heads the drug ring that is pretty much responsible for all the kids that get high in the inner city. If you need anything else you know where to find me."
"Yeah, right under the covers-"
"Get going boy wonder!" The line clicked off. I smiled again and turned to Kon.
He was looking at me in shock, "Mystery boy jokes?!" He made a fake gagging sound, as if it was complete surprise.
"Come on, we gotta get moving." I explained where we were headed and we took off.
Superboy and I landed in a dark alley, behind the old warehouse. Superboy had landed feather light behind me and I had been able to touch down just as softly. Superboy was looking around the alley, his eyes taking in the grittiness and the harshness of the place.
His face was scrunched with the smell and I soon realized why. A dumpster in the far corner had probably been there since the place shut down, which had been about 30 years ago. It stunk, and badly. I looked around.
I approached the dumpster looking inside. I almost stepped quickly away when I saw what was inside.
Shawn Bertillini lay dead, curled in a fetal position, shotgun wound to the head. I turned away, the back of my hand covering my nose. Sometimes I hated this place, I hated this job, I hated this suit. People are killed, it's not news to me, hell, two people fell to their deaths before my eyes. But it was still a shock to se it up close.
Superboy snuck a peek before I could stop him.
"Damn." He turned to me, slightly deflated, "Someone got here before us."
I nodded silently. I looked around, looking for clues. On further inspection of the body, I noticed skin under the fingernails. I pulled out a scalpel and a tiny plastic bag. Opening it slightly, I scraped some of the tissue in the bag than snapped it shut. I stuck the bag in my belt and continued on with the examination. Glass littered his coat; a piece of hair was glued to his coat with blood. It was blond, Shawn had black hair. I dropped that into another bag and went on. I checked his pockets for contents. Meanwhile, Superboy had turned away in disgust, unable to handle the fact that I could have the stomach to do this.
I didn't. But I was so desensitized by now that it wasn't that different from watching TV. I searched his pants pocket. In the right pocket I found several rolls of bills and a wrapper of some gum. But in the left pocket I found a black diskette. I pocketed this. Further search revealed nothing except for a match fold with a number on the inside, 555-3849. I pocketed this too.
I looked up. My suspicions were confirmed. What once had been a glass window was shattered from where the body, either dead or alive, had pushed out.
Nothing left to look for on the body and I turned away. Superboy still stood there, his face blank, either not wanting to consider that I had just touched a dead man, or not willing to consider that it didn't seem to faze me. It did faze me, and while I may be cool now, I would be waking up sweaty in the sheets for some days to come.
"Come on, lets go look in the warehouse." He finally seemed to snap out of it and nodded his head mutely. I shot up a line above me. As I landed, I saw the warehouse had been trashed, what once had been a meth lab now lay in pieces across the second story floor.
Superboy looked around with renewed interest, "Robin," He turned to me, pointing to the overturn desk in the far corner, "Is that what I think it is?"
On the floor lay a syringe. It was empty and the glass was shattered. I picked it up delicately. The drop of pink substance was dried on the tip of the glistening needle. I smiled at him, "Exactly."
I broke the needle off and placed it in another bag. I tucked it firmly into another pocket and set to work combing the desk. On the floor lay papers scattered about during what I believed was the fight between Shawn and his attacker. They listed date and times of several major transactions. There were no names I could recognize, but snapped a picture of them anyway with a little camera I held in my utility belt. I continued to search through the papers along with Kon.
He tapped me on the shoulder after a minute, "Does this look familiar?" He handed me a piece of paper, pointing to a name underlined with red ink. Sarah Goldberg.
I turned to Kon, "Very familiar, where did you find this?"
"I found it wedged in this binder." He handed me a black binder, half of the cover had been torn and inside hundreds of pages or papers were hanging haphazardly from the three rings. I scanned the first few pages for anything I recognized. I saw a few local Bludhaven cops and the occasional perp I had sent to jail in the past months. But other than that is was nothing important.
"Nothing else?" he asked. I shook my head and got back to my feet. I looked around the room once more. Nothing else was interesting enough to perk my attention. I motioned for Kon to follow me but he was gone.
"Superboy?" I called out. His name echoed off the walls.
"Down here!" He answered from below me; I followed his voice to a big gaping hole in the ground. Superboy looked up at me from below, waving his hand, "Come on down, the place is clear."
I jumped down, landing on my feet and tucking in for a roll. I came to a stop and looked around. This time the room was cast in an eerie glow.
"Now this is interesting."
"Unh..unh.. UNH!!!" In the middle of the room, sitting pretty, was Albert McAllen. Albert McAllen was a businesses man, a CEO for a Fortune 500 company. He was one of the richest men in Bludhaven, one of the very few successful companies that got out of the asbestos businesses before it crashed.
And he was sitting, duct-taped to a chair, a dirty gag in his mouth and his pants around his ankles. Not a pretty sight. I remembered that Nightwing had found some ties that connected him with a local mob. He struggled in his bonds some more, making frantic noises. I could see Kon trying desperately not to laugh. His eyes were watering as he pointed to the man, "Would you like to do the honors?"
I reached out and ripped the duck tape off his mouth.
"HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!!"
Both Kon and I took a step back.
Albert looked at us, his face read, sweat beaded on his brow, "UNTIE ME THIS INSTANT!!!!"
"Hold on, hold." Superboy reached for the duct tape wrapping Mr. McAllen's arms. He yanked hard, tearing off the tape.
"EEEOWW!!!"
We both flinched. McAllen sat rubbing his wrists painfully, "Didn't you hear me the first time?" he complained.
I approached him slowly, not wanting to startle him, "What are you doing here?"
"What do you think? I WANT to be here?" He stood up, brushing himself off, and straightening his suit, "I dunno, some freak grabbed me on the street as I was walking out of McLaughlin and Dixon's law office, and some guy dressed in all black grabs me, stuffs me in his car, whacks me upside the head, and I wake up strapped to this god-awful chair."
Superboy came up to him, "Did this man tell you anything, and do you know how he looks like? Anything?"
McAllen nodded, his face scrunched up, thinking, "Yeah, the guy had along scar running from his cheek to just under his shirt collar and he had black hair, but I don't know the color of his eyes, cause frankly, I wasn't looking."
That hit a chord. I flashed back to the scene in the ally, a few hours before. I hadn't really been paying attention at the time, but I did remember the scar. I smiled slightly to myself, we had our connection between the girl, Sarah, and whoever had snatched McAllen. I approached him, "Do you have any idea why he would have taken you?"
McAllen shook his head, but that stopped, "Hey, the scar, I remember a guy with a scar who was a bodyguard for one of my….uh….associates , Daniel Giovanni," he paused, "Yeah, that's all I remember. Sorry." He grinned, "So can you give me a ride?"
Kon quickly rose up to the challenge, turning to me, "I can do it."
"Fine, drop me off at the Tri-Tech Corp down on Downly and Fifth."
Kon looked unsure, "Uh Rob, a little help." He whispered.
I sighed, I motioned for Kon to lean in, "Drop him off at the nearest Mc Donald's, than fly right back, I'm timing you."
Kon nodded, hoisted McAllen over his shoulder and flew out of the broken window.
I looked around the warehouse. Scattered across the floor were files and papers. I kneeled beside one unorganized pile, sifting through the papers. They were slandered business and money transactions, probably between the dealer and provider. I found some papers detailing a transfer of an unknown substance from a Duncan Luder, to the late Shawn Bertillini. The files revealed that this buying and selling had been going on for quite some time. I shifted through the papers some more.
Something creaked behind me. I spun quickly around, trying to pin point the noise. My visor was on night-mode and I could pick up the warehouse in varying shades of green. A figure was crouched behind a box, sifting through something. Who ever it was they must have come in through the proverbial front door. I could spot the streak of light seeping in through the open door. He probably didn't hear me when he came in. I snuck closer to the figure, whispering under my breath, "Hey kid, is that you?" If it was the kid, he would pick my voice up at this level. No response.
The figure kept sifting through the papers. I moved closer.
Who ever it was, it wasn't the Kid. I grabbed the shoulder and spun him around.
I froze for a second trying to place the face in the dark.
Oh no, I realized, here we go again.
"LET GO OF ME!" She shouted and made a motion to knee me in the groin. Again. This time I was ready and in two seconds flat I had grabbed her leg, flipped her on her back and pinned her down.
Sarah Goldberg was not going to be moving anytime soon.
"So, we meet again."
She glared at me, her mouth clamped tight, refusing to speak. She clasped to her chest a fistful of papers, her knuckles turning white with the strain of holding them so tight.
"Look, Ms. Goldberg, I don't want to hurt you-"
Her eyes flared, "Then get OFF of me you stupid pr-"
I smiled, wagging my finger, "Mind your language young lady. No if you tell me what I need to know-"
"Get up." I felt the muzzle of a gun press against my scalp. Hard. I rose slowly, my hands above my head.
I resisted the urge to turn around and face my assailant, as the gun pressed harder into my skull.
Sarah scrambled back, still grasping the papers. She pressed against the wall, her eyes open in fear and horror.
"Sarah, hand me the papers then come with me." The voice said. I judged the man to be between 40-50, yet he was amazingly strong, his arm wrapped around my arms.
She shook her head, backing slowly away.
The gun pressed harder, and I could feel blood seep down my collar, "Get over here Sarah, and I wont hurt him."
She shook her head.
The gun was pushing even harder and it took all my strength not to cry out. It felt as if my skull was to crack in two.
She stood frozen.
"Sarah. Get over here now." His voice took a dangerous tone and the pressure was immense. Where was Kon?
She didn't move.
The gun pressed harder, and my head fell forward from the pressure. I felt blood dribble down my forehead and drip on the cement.
She moved. She took small steps and with each step the pressure lessened.
I could straighten my head as she came closer, and resisted the urge to wipe the blood that was on my forehead. Where was Kon?
Batman had taught me that the simplest thing to do when a gun was at your head was duck and get the hell out of the way, fast. But I had to wait for the right moment. I waited until Sarah was within ten feet in front of me when I acted.
I let my body go slack and dropped to the floor. I kicked out my right leg and felt it connect with the man behind me. At the same time I reached into my belt and pulled out a smoke pellet, releasing the harmless gas into the air. I kept my bearings and faintly saw the figure of Sarah as I tackled it hoping to grab her and run.
But I landed against the cement, hard. Sarah was gone.
The smoke had cleared, and I saw Sarah.
But our assailant was there too. With his arm wrapped around Sarah's throat and a gun pointed to me, I realized I was screwed. Because, standing before was Batman's mentor, and if this was Bruce's teacher, and Bruce taught me, then it was quite simple to figure out the outcome of this fight. I was screwed, because standing before me was none other then Cain.