Swan Song
Aternus. Flamma
Rated: T
Tensions in Gotham skyrocket as a man out for revenge seeks the blood of those who ruined his family. Unfortunately for Bruce, Wayne Enterprises is caught up in the disaster, putting him in harm's way once more. Knowing that it's too much for Alfred to handle alone, and that Detective Gordon can't always be around to save his skin, Bruce takes matters into his own hands and hires some extra help. (Canon pairings and eventual Alfred/OC because Alfie doesn't get enough love!)
000
The security guards immediately blocked his way as they saw him near. Alfred tried to call Bruce for a third time, but still his call went to voicemail. One of the security guards raised his hand. "I'm sorry sir, but without an invitation, you cannot enter."
"Oh, come on! You saw me earlier! I was with the only child in there!" Alfred shouted, raising his hand and waving at the entrance. The other men stiffened at his motion, as if it were some sort of threat. "Look, check you list. Bruce Wayne received a plus one on his invitation. I'm his legal guardian, so I'm his plus one."
"I'm sorry sir, but that should have been noted ahead of time. We can't let you in. Have you tried calling him?"
"Of course I've tried bloody calling him! That's the first thing that I did!"
A third suited security guard saw the fuss from inside of the museum and quickly stepped onto the scene. "What seems to be the problem, sir?"
"I need to speak to Bruce Wayne right away. He isn't answering his cellphone, and yes, it is an emergency."
The new security guard looked a bit skeptical, his lips pressed together in a thin line as he glanced between each of his colleges. "Bruce Wayne? I'm sorry sir, but I can't simply call Bruce Wayne out to speak with each person who demands it, you understand. Besides, we don't even have a PA system, I would have to go and interrupt—"
Alfred's arms shot out and he grabbed the man in front of him but the collar and pulled him close. Immediately, the other two security guards drew their weapons. "Now you listen to me, you go in there and get him or so help me, I will make a bigger scene until your boss comes out here, then I will demand he issue a Code Adam. I am the boy's legal guardian, and if you keep me from him, I swear I will get the cops down here to charge you with kidnapping."
The guard who was caught up in Alfred's grasp slowly placed his hands on Alfred's forearms and wrapped his fingers around tightly until Alfred let go.
"I understand sir. Please wait here."
Of course, he knew he needed to tell them about the possibility of an impending attack. However from what he knew about security protocol in this sort of situation, the building would go into lock down until the police arrived. The fact that the police who were supposed to be stationed outside were missing would be discovered shortly after, and panic would likely set in.
And when crowds panicked, chaos ensued.
He would wait until he had Bruce safely in his custody before telling the security detail to be on high alert. After all, Bruce was priority.
000
"Something wrong?" Gordon leaned over and whispered into Bruce's ear.
"Alfred's calling again. It's the fourth time. He doesn't usually do something like this unless it's an emergency. I know I should answer, but I don't want to be rude," Bruce replied, nodding to the speaker on stage. They were listening to their third speech in a row, all of which were very conspicuously pleading for donations, despite their best efforts to not sound desperate.
Gordon glanced around them and put his hand on Bruce's shoulder. "Come on, we can go into that hallway. It's small so the echo shouldn't be too bad, and you won't disturb anyone… Not that I think anyone's really listening. Lee, we'll be right back." The woman looked at Gordon with a smile and nodded before turning her attention back to the stage.
Together, the two of them maneuvered through the crowd until they were able to slip through an open door which led to the restrooms. A few people eyed them up as they left, a few others huffed in annoyance when they had to step aside to let them pass.
Gordon positioned himself so he could see out the door at an angle, with his back to Bruce. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, trying not to let his boredom show. Bruce called Alfred and put the phone to his ear. After it rang for a fourth time, he frowned deeply. "Now he's not answering."
"Maybe it was a butt-dial."
Bruce shook his head. "He keeps his phone in sight when he's waiting for me. If he put it away, it would be in his breast pocket. An accidental dial is unlikely. "
"Is he in a car outside? I'll go with you if you want to check on him, just in case."
"No," Bruce replied and looked down at his phone. "Wait—yes. I think maybe it would be for the best. I have a bad feeling, and my intuition is rarely wrong."
000
Alfred paced back and forth in front of the red velvet rope impatiently. It was taking far too long for someone to find Bruce. He was the only damned child in the whole museum! How hard could it have been? He was so preoccupied with his thoughts about Bruce's danger that he didn't notice his own. He didn't notice when the guard on his right slowly started to move away from the awning until he was just behind Alfred.
It wasn't until the guard stepped into Alfred's personal space that his fight or flight instincts kicked in and he whirled around, his fist already flying at the man who tried to get the jump on him. His fist collided with the man's jaw, but before he could get another hit in, the guard next to the awning rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Alfred's torso.
Guard number one recovered enough to grab Alfred's collar and slam his fist into the older man's face. The force of the blow caused Alfred to fall backwards, which in turn made guard number two stumble a bit. His grasp loosened enough for Alfred to hunch forward and force his arms outwards, breaking the hold. He elbowed guard number to in the stomach and then charged the guard in front of him. He kept his head low and went for the man's waist, throwing him off balance and causing them both to go crashing into the ground.
As they struggled on the wet ground, their bodies only two feet from the stone steps of the museum, it momentarily crossed Alfred's mind that both men had guns, and yet neither had chosen to use them. He thoughts were interrupted when he felt a boot collide with his side. He sucked in sharply but didn't stop his assault, ramming his elbow repeatedly into the downed guard's chest. But then another kick came, and another, and it was enough to cause him to roll off to try to put some distance between himself and the boot.
"Just stay down, old man!" The standing guard shouted at him and closed the distance between them. He had Alfred's head in a strong lock in moments, slowly cutting off his air supply. "You're not who we're after! You don't need to die—just stay down!"
He grasped at the man's arms and tried to pull them off. He just couldn't get a good grip however. His hands were wet and covered in bits of gravel from the ground. Soon, his vision was blurring and his attempt at breaking through became nothing more than weak slapping against the black suit of his attacker. With his last conscious thoughts, he cursed himself.
He cursed his body and his age. He cursed his mind for not realizing what was happening sooner.
Maybe he was getting too old for this.
He was unconscious before his body hit the ground, his head hanging over the ledge of the first step awkwardly. The guard on the ground groaned and rubbed his ribs—which were surely bruised, if not broken. He struggled to stand, but once he was up, the two guards worked together to raise Alfred's limp body from the ground and move him into the shadows.
000
As Gordon and Bruce made their way towards the back of the crowd, aiming to get back to the main entrance of the museum, they saw that the front doors were shut. They had been open all night, at that point, to keep the large, old wooden doors from creaking and echoing through the building each time they needed opened. Two men were standing guard but they were not wearing the matching suits of the security guards. Instead, they were both wearing tight, black, spandex-like turtlenecks resembling active wear.
They looked entirely out of place.
Gordon turned and looked for the nearest emergency exit, only to see that it, too, was blocked. Gordon put his hand out to block Bruce from continuing onwards. "Something's not right," he muttered and steered Bruce away from their path. Gordon stared at the men at the front door and they stared back, almost as if it were a warning to keep him from approaching.
As they turned back towards the group of people, they heard a door behind the speaker open with a loud squeaking sound. Gordon hurried the pace until they were behind a set of large pillars that held up a balcony in the ancient Rome exhibit.
The speaker turned away from the microphone, covering it with his hand. Gordon looked up just in time to see the speaker quickly raise his hands above his head and stumble backwards, knocking the podium over with a crash. A few individuals walked up on the raised platform acting a stage. They were masked and held semi-automatic rifles in their hands. They were also dragging another man behind them.
There was a collective wave of fear spreading across the crowd—the crowd which Gordon had left Lee in—as muttering took over. People did not waste any time turning and looking for the nearest escapes, but the men blocking each exit took a step forward and drew their own weapons from behind them.
"Good evening everyone!" The first masked man up to the stage shouted to the crowd. The microphone may have been on the ground, but he clearly didn't need any help projecting. His loud voice boomed in the large room, echoing off of high walls and ceiling. The noise from the crowd increased. "Now, now, before everyone starts to panic, I want to assure you that most of you won't be harmed. You won't even be robbed! We're only here for a select few. To kick things off, I'd like to introduce Director Andrew Schneider!"
The man who was dragged onto the stage was pushed forward. He fell to his knees in front of the crowd. He rocked slightly and Gordon could see his mouth moving—praying, maybe.
"Director Schneider has been in charge of the Gotham Children's Hospital for over ten years," the masked man announced, a hint of condescension in his voice. "To patients and their families, he seems like a great guy. However, employees at the hospital can attest to his true colors. Director Schneider has been known to sexually harass his employees to the point where they quit, because reports of his behavior mysteriously vanish. This may not seem like a big deal—you may say, 'but Guy, that happens in every workplace!'"
Gordon's grip on Bruce's jacket tightened and he started pulling the boy next to him, hiding him from view as he moved. "You need to hide. If things go bad, you don't want to be caught in the crossfire."
"I have to find Alfred—"
"—no, you have to stay alive to find Alfred once this is all done. There, the dessert table, get down low and hide beneath it. The tablecloth is long, no one will see you. Don't come out until I say, okay? I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I refuse." Gordon nodded to the table just a few feet away from them and released Bruce's jacket.
Bruce turned and looked like he wanted to argue with Gordon, but instead, he clenched his jaw and turned away. He ducked down low and moved to the table. Gordon watched as Bruce slid under the table with only the grace a child could still have. He turned back and slowly reached into his coat pocked to withdraw his weapon.
"I'll tell you what's different," the masked man continued, "the difference is that because of his misconduct, GCH couldn't keep even the minimum number of required doctors on staff. This led to the decline in patient care, since the work was left to underqualified individuals, who were far too underpaid and overworked. Last year alone, over a dozen children died from malpractice. Do you hear about this in the media? Of course not—that would be because the parties who have the most interest in the hospital, companies like Wayne Enterprises and their subsidiary WellZyne, are paying to cover it up to keep revenue flowing, just as they have been for over ten years."
At the mention of Wayne Enterprises, Gordon clenched his jaw and hoped that no one had seen Bruce's hiding space.
000
Author's Notes: something I figured I should mention. When I write, I am to write a 'section' as one character's POV, so you will only know the thoughts of that character in that particular scene. I just wanted to make it clear that it's all on purpose! Additionally, I do not have someone beta reading this, so please forgive any misspellings or grammatical mistakes!
Thanks for reading!
Ever Your Servant,
A.F