Batman: Raiders of the Tree of Life
Chapter 2: Officer Grayson
Bludhaven: One Month Later
Officer Dick Grayson drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel of his patrol car which was pulled off along the highway into Bludhaven from Gotham. Glancing in the rear-view mirror, he saw a heard of cars coming up on his position. Not one of them was speeding or doing anything even remotely worthy of getting pulled over. Boredom, he thought, was the real danger of his job as a police officer. Driving the patrol car at top speed towards danger or standing in the middle of a shoot-out was exciting. Those moments when he thought he was going to die were the moments he felt most alive.
He yawned and stretched his arms. The violet clouds of dusk were rolling up on the city skyline marking the end of his shift. The lights of Gotham behind him and those of Bludhaven before him began blinking into life one by one. The heated summer air was cooling off as the sun dipped below the buildings to the west. Officer Grayson turned off the air conditioning and rolled down the windows. He could now hear the rush of passing cars more clearly. When he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine the feeling of swinging from the rooftops with a grappling hook. The rush of the wind in his face with everything and nothing to lose.
From his vest pocket, his private phone started to vibrate effectively ending his contemplation on the meaning of the word "boring". He glanced at the caller ID briefly before holding the phone to his ear. "Hi, what's up Alfred?"
"Master Timothy and I were hoping for your help in a delicate situation. Master Bruce has gone missing somewhere in Rome. He sent us a message five days ago warning us that he was 'going dark' for a while and admonished Master Tim and myself not to come after him," the old butler explained. Dick could tell that the man was worried even though his tone was well measured and strong.
"If Bruce has gone dark and told you not to help him, what use can I be? You already have a detective."
"Just come back to the manor and we can work things out. Please Master Dick, it would mean so much to both of us if you were here."
"Alright Alfie. My shift finishes in fifteen minutes and then I'll be on my way," he promised. He pressed the "end call" button on his phone and shoved it back in his jacket. He had been board out of his skull a moment ago and now he would do anything to have that boredom back. He had been hoping for something to do, but looking for Bruce was not top on his list. Since they fell out a few years ago, he had not had much to do with the man, or Alfred, or even Tim. Now, suddenly he was being drawn back into the life he had tried to leave behind.
Fifteen minutes later, he was pulling out of hiding along the road, out onto the highway, and heading for the Bludhaven City Police Department. He parked the patrol car in the lot, handed over copies of the two speeding tickets he had given out, and straddled his motorcycle. Exchanging his cap for a helmet, he gunned the engine and headed for Wayne Manor. At another time, he would have said home, but it wasn't home anymore. Pulling into the driveway, everything looked exactly as it had the last time he was there. Funny how somethings don't change.
He removed his helmet and walked through the front door. He staggered backwards a step as Timothy Drake nearly knocked him over in a bear hug. "Dick you're back!" Tim cried, "it sure took you long enough."
"Missed you too, Timmy," Dick laughed as he hugged his brother back.
"Welcome back Master Dick," said Alfred. He walked over in his dignified graceful gate and put an affectionate hand on Dick's back.
"Nice to see you again Alfred," said Dick as he allowed the old man to guide him into the study. He noticed the tension in the faces of his family even as they smiled at him. Whatever had happened to Bruce had them more than a little on edge. Dick pressed the catch under the clock face and it slid back from the wall revealing a secret staircase into the Batcave. Everyone was silent as they descended the great stone steps; only their footfalls echoed ominously off the walls. When they finally made it to the main level where the Batcomputer was located, Dick couldn't take the silence any longer.
"So, what happened to Bruce?" he asked.
"That's the thing," said Tim, "we don't know. We haven't heard from him in five days. He sent us a copy of an old medieval Bible and a little leather-bound notebook right after he told us he was going dark. Then, nothing."
Fingering the Bible, Dick smiled despite himself. "Maybe he's hiding from the Vatican. Bruce stole the pope's Bible and his excellency called on God to smite the thief."
"Be serious, will you?" Tim admonished him, "Bruce is missing somewhere in Rome."
"Sorry. What do you know? What was he working on?"
Tim pulled up some research he had been doing on the Batcomputer, and Dick leaned over the back of his chair. "A month ago, a man maned Baron Burkhalter contacted Bruce and asked for his help to find the lost Garden of Eden," Tim began. He pushed the Bible towards Dick and flipped through the first few pages. The artwork within was stunning. "According to the Bible, when Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit and brought death into the world, God got pissed and drove them from the garden. God set a flaming sword at the entrance to keep them from eating from the Tree of Life. Supposedly, the fruit from the Tree of Life allows people to live forever."
Dick stopped flipping through the Bible and looked up at Tim, "let me guess, Barron Burkhalter is a very old man. He wanted Bruce's help to find the Tree of life because he's dying."
"Bingo," said Tim. "He sent Bruce to Rome to start on the trail. Although nothing is known about the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were cast out, a small group of people believe that it survives to this day in another demention. By finding its former location, one will find a porthole to the garden itself."
"What about the note book?"
Tim picked up the notebook and flipped through the first new pages. He pulled out a little hand-written note from Bruce from between two yellow pages. He passed the note to Dick. "This notebook belonged to a Catholic Priest in the 1940's. It has every speculation, every piece of information known about the garden. The latter pages were written by Bruce. I don't know how he came by the book, but that note I gave you says that we need to keep it safe."
"What do we know about the priest?" asked Dick fingering the note.
"When the priest fled Nazi Germany, he buried the notebook before it could be taken away from him. During World War II, the Nazis were looking for religious articles of power." Tim smiled, "think Indiana Jones."
"Ok, so what do we know about Barron Burkhalter?"
"Not much," Tim admitted sadly.
Dick laughed. "Second best detective in the world and you don't know much? Really?"
"There just aren't many digital files on him anywhere. Believe me, I've already found every file there is on this guy and hacked it."
"What about going to talk to him? I assume you have his address," said Dick. Before Tim could answer, Dick's phone vibrated. He looked at the caller ID and his eyebrows shot up. "Ok, this is creepy," he said looking from Tim to Alfred. "It's Barron Burkhalter calling." They watched him curiously as he pressed the accept key and held the device to his ear a little hesitantly. "Hello, Dick Grayson here."
"Ah, Mr. Grayson, this is Barron Burkhalter. We haven't met, but I know your father-" began the voice on the other end of the line.
"Bruce isn't my father," Dick corrected him automatically. That earned him a frown from both Alfred and Tim. He shrugged it off. "What do you want Barron?"
"I want you to come and talk to me. Bruce went missing on a mission for me and I need your help," the Barron explained, "see you at my villa in Maine tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sure," Dick answered even as a hundred questions raced through his head. The Barron said something else, but he wasn't really listening. He hung up without saying goodbye. Dick turned to Alfred and Tim. "I need to change out of this uniform." They nodded and he walked up the stairs back into the manor. He sensed that they knew something was wrong with him, but they were tactful enough to let him go.
Dick walked up the stairs and into his old room. It was just as he had left it except that the pictures of his parents and the circus were no longer hanging on the walls. Alfred had clearly taken care of things hoping he would come home. The wood had been recently dusted and polished and the bed had fresh sheets on it. Dick sat down on the bed and looked at a picture on the nightstand. It was a photo of him and Bruce at a fair in Ohio. He had been only 12-years-old in the picture and wore a bright smile on his young face. Bruce looked happy too with his arm around Dick's shoulders. Those had been happy days and Dick couldn't help but miss them.
Turning away from the picture, he opened the dresser in the hopes of finding something to wear beside his uniform. Inside the top drawer, Dick found a tee-shirt; and in the drawer lower down, he found a pair of sweatpants. Unbuttoning his uniform shirt, he wondered what he would do when he met the Barron. Would he go to Rome and look for Bruce? Or could he go back to his apartment and pretend nothing happened? Drowning in these thoughts, he absentmindedly threw is uniform on the floor, changed into the comfortable clothes, and jumped back on the bed.
He heard a soft knock at the door. "Dick, can I come in?" asked Tim.
"Come on in Tim," said Dick forcing a smile.
Tim walked in and threw himself on the bed beside his brother. "You know you are every bit Bruce's son that I am, if you would only accept it. He talks about you all the time."
Dick laughed bitterly feeling an unexplainable weight on his chest. "Yeah, he'll talk about me but not to me."
"To be fair, you don't talk to him either," Tim pointed out with a short laugh. But he grew suddenly serious, "Dick, I'm scared. The Barron didn't send Batman, he sent Bruce. He must have figured out Batman's secret identity. We are dealing with possibly a very dangerous man. You always say that we are brothers, and that makes Bruce your father as well as mine. You have to be careful when you see the Barron tomorrow. Don't trust him."
"I'll taser him if he makes a sudden move for his wallet," said Dick to lighten the mood. He put an arm around Tim and squeezed his shoulders.
"I'm glad we have each other. Because you're the big brother I always wanted." Tim hugged Dick briefly before getting up and walking to the door. "Stay here tonight. Alfred's is making your favorite for dinner. I think he wants you to stay as much as I do."
"Then how could I go back to Bludhaven?" laughed Dick. He watched a smile break over Tim's face before the boy dashed from the room. Dick fell back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling before rolling over. Staring at the photo on the nightstand again, he knew in his heart that he had to go and find Bruce. Because no matter what happened between them, they were family. Bruce was a father to him even if both of them denied it.