Bruce sat in the Major Crimes station, watching the clock slowly tick away. Each was a second Dick was in danger, each a second he couldn't get back. It had been hours since a shop owner next door to the gym had checked his security cameras and found footage of Dick and Wally being taken.
The FBI had said it was the same people responsible for the spree of kidnappings over the last day. So why hadn't they been found yet? Batman had read the file; he knew what was supposed to happen. He had planned to go out looking for the criminals that night. He wanted to get out of there and go find Dick, but the FBI wouldn't let him leave for fear he'd do something rash. They kept asking questions that did nothing to get his son home. Bruce almost just walked out, but then suspicion could fall on him, and he didn't need the FBI wasting precious time that Dick and Wally didn't have. Agent David Shelton walked into the small waiting room. Bruce was on his feet before the other man could speak.
"Have you heard anything?" Bruce demanded.
"Not yet. Are you aware of the recent abductions?" Shelton asked.
Bruce nodded. "Yes, and Dick and Wally were taken by the same people. We've been over that." He wished Barry and Iris would get there already.
"We believe either Richard or Wallace was the real target and the other were just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Shelton explained.
"Ransom?" Bruce asked. He would do anything for his son. He didn't care what it cost him.
"We don't think so. Is there anyone you can think of who would want to hurt you by taking Richard?" David asked. Wayne was famous and that always attracted the crazy and delusional. This could be someone who saw themselves as part of Wayne's circle and wanted the attention they thought they deserved. If that was the case Richard's and Wallace's lives would be considered important, and the suspects would make sure they were safe. Hopefully they were still alive. Amateur kidnappers made mistakes and could easily kill the boys without meaning to. There were a thousand possibilities, but David only needed the one where everyone came home alive. That was his goal.
"I'm always getting threats, but there hasn't been anything that stood out recently and none directed at Dick," Bruce explained. He saved all the hate mail he received, and if any of it ever struck him as dangerous he'd turn it over to the police or investigate it himself. A year ago, he'd gotten a letter from a disgruntled employee who'd said they'd kill his ward. The same man wrote similar letters to almost everyone he encountered so it wasn't beneath the Dark Knight's notice. Batman had acted swiftly. The person had gone to the hospital with at least forty broken bones and a serious fear of writing letters and bats.
"Okay. Have you or Dick met anyone lately that either one of you didn't like or who seemed odd?" David asked. He'd seen the time stamp on the security tape. He and Kate had left the gym just minutes before. If they'd only stayed a little longer they could have prevented this. That was his fault, and if those two boys died he'd never forgive himself.
"We had a dinner party last week, and Dick mentioned that Lex Luther and his bodyguard were 'infiortor'," Bruce told him. Dick had been terrified of Zucco, but the man had died two years ago in prison.
"Infiortor?" David asked.
"Creepy. Dick uses his first language when he's upset or feels strongly about something." Bruce thought for a moment. "I brought a date to the Manor to meet Dick. I left the room and overheard her call him 'Gypsy circus trash' to his face. I pretty much kicked her out after that, and told her I never wanted to see her again, but that was months ago and the last time I heard from her was when she called to apologize. She wanted to go out again. I thanked her, but told her I couldn't date someone who talked that way to my son. She got mad and hung up."
"What's her name?" David questioned. This could be nothing, but it might be a lead. Richard had gotten in this woman's way of getting what she wanted, and if she had issues or was unstable that could be a dangerous place to be.
"Paige Monroe. She's a model and actress and she owns a few casinos in Gotham," Bruce said. "We only went on two dates, and I doubt she would do something like this."
"Where did you go? What did you talk about? And how did you meet?' David asked. If Paige wasn't a suspect then it was best to move on to someone else.
"Some mutual friends set us up on a blind date. We went to the Starview Restaurant. We had a nice time. We talked about our work and businesses. I had to leave before we finished eating. Dick was with some friends, and he started having a panic attack. Paige seemed to understand why I had to go. The next time we saw each other was when I asked her to the Manor to meet Dick," Bruce answered. He had been furious at that woman for what she had said to his son. He didn't much care what people said about him, but someone bothered his child and it took all of his self-control not to deck them.
David was a little surprised. "This is off topic, but how old are you?"
"Twenty-eight. Why?" Bruce asked. He didn't see why that mattered.
"It's just you seem a bit young to be dealing with a child who has emotional issues," David said, carefully. He meant no disrespect, just most people who lived Wayne's life style didn't want to be bothered with their own children let alone someone else's.
"I have plenty of experience dealing with my own emotional issues. Children like Dick get lost in the system too often," Bruce said seriously. That was one of the reasons he and Dick were so close. They understood each other's pain and fears. Bruce couldn't lose his family again. He knew what he could handle, and Richard not being in his live would push him over the edge.
Suddenly the door opened, and Iris and Barry rushed in. Panic was written on their faces.
"Haveyouheardanything?" Barry asked. His words ran together so bad he was almost illegible.
"No," Bruce said shortly.
David turned to the frantic couple. He introduced himself. "Are you Wallace's guardians?"
"Yes. I'm Iris Allen, and this is my husband, Barry," Iris answered. Her voice was trembling.
"I've been speaking to Mr. Wayne about people who might have done this. Can either of you think of anyone who would take Wallace?" David asked. He couldn't help but wonder how Wallace West, a kid from Central City, whose mom had left him and whose dad was in prison for murder, met Richard Grayson, the ward of one of the richest men in the world.
The couple sat down on the couch. Collapsed would be a more accurate description. They were both pale and looked genuinely fearful.
"I'm a CSI, and I've helped get a lot of dangerous people convicted, but my name doesn't usually come up in the cases I work," Barry said. Was this because of him? He didn't think so, but it was something that had to be taken into consideration.
"I'm a reporter. I've never had a problem with anyone at the station, or when I've gone out on an assignment," Iris said. She'd gone numb. Wally had to be okay. She needed her nephew back.
"I understand that Wallace's father is in prison," David said. He knew this was going to be unpleasant to bring up, but at the moment that didn't matter.
"Yes. My brother was put in prison five years ago for murder," Iris said.
"And Wallace testified at his trial?" David continued. He couldn't imagine being in that situation. It was Wallace's testimony that put his father away.
"Please don't waste time even considering Rudolph," Barry said. "All of the people involved with the murder are in prison, and Wally has very limited contact with his father. The last time they spoke was over a month ago, and Wally knows better than to tell Rudolph anything about his personal life that can hurt him."
David nodded. He was still going to have Henry look into all of Rudolph West's connections. "Has Wally mentioned anything that concerned you?" David asked. He was almost sure Richard was the target, but he needed something more to go on than just a hunch.
"No. Everything has been fine. He was so excited to be able to spend the weekend with Dick," Iris said, tearing up as she spoke. "They've been close since there were young. Wally has always called Dick his little brother."
David nodded sympathetically. Everyone handled things like this so differently, if 'handled' was even the right word. For some people, they just needed to talk. Mrs. Allen seemed to be that type of person, which could be very helpful.
"What had they planned on doing?"
"After Roy left they were going to see a movie, hang out with some friends, and then I was going to pick them up. Dick has a new video game they wanted to play," Bruce answered. Had he even hugged Dick before he left for the office that morning? He thought he had.
"Did they put up that they were hanging out on any form of social media?" David asked. The internet had opened up a whole other world of problems for law enforcement. It did make finding people a lot easier though, but everyone seemed to think they had to post about every detail of their lives. David could get on Facebook or Twitter and find out more about some random person than he could by talking to them. He was sure most people didn't stop and think about what they were sharing with the world, otherwise they might not be so public with their personal lives.
"No, of course not," Iris told him.
"Dick isn't allowed to discuss anything personal on the internet. He doesn't even have a Twitter account," Bruce said. There was no way he'd ever let Robin do that. It wasn't safe nor was it needed. Alfred had put his foot down on the subject of social media and when Alfred's foot was down it was immovable.
"Wally has a Facebook account, but he's only friends with people he knows," Barry add. "He never posts about where he'll be at any given time."
David made a note to look into that, too. "Does either Richard or Wallace have any life threatening medical condition?" If the kids did Wayne and the Allens needed to call a press conference. Hopefully that would get word to the kidnappers so they would know what to do if a medical condition was threatening the boys' lives.
"Wally has hypoglycemia," Barry said. That was how he and his nephew explained their super metabolism. The symptoms for both were practically the same; shakiness, paleness, lightheaded, sleepiness and confusion.
"Is he diabetic?" David asked. Diabetes and hypoglycemia usually went hand in hand.
"No, he has Non-Diabetic Hypoglycemia or Reactive Hypoglycemia. Wally needs to eat about every three hours in between meals. If it's an emergency he needs to eat or drink fifteen grams of carbohydrates. Juice or candy will work," Iris said.
David glanced at his watch. The kids had been taken almost four hours ago. Hopefully Wallace had eaten shortly before he was abducted. Shelton turned to Bruce. "You mentioned that Richard had a panic attack. Is that common for him?"
Bruce nodded. "Dick has anxiety. He watched his parents die when he was little. I thought for a while that he might have PTSD, but I took him to a child psychologist who said that if he was even diagnosed it'd be considered borderline PTSD. He sees a counselor and he was on antidepressants for a year, but he was able to get off his medication," Batman explained. He was proud of Dick's strength. He'd worked so hard to become Robin.
"So, he's not on medication. Are there any problems he has that could be an issue?" David asked. He was no stranger to trauma. For the kid's sake David hoped he was able to handle this. It would be hard for a kidnapper to understand why a kid was freaking out for no apparent reason. There was also the probability that the abductors would become angry or violent.
"Dick gets night terrors. He usually wakes up screaming," Bruce said, looking at the ceiling. He'd lost count of the nights he had been awoken by his son's cries from across the hall. "Generally, he's pretty disoriented and has trouble speaking English."
"He'll be fine," Iris said, trying to be reassuring. "Wally knows how to handle it."
Just then Kate stepped into the room. David didn't like the look in her eyes. Something had happened.
"Shelton, I need to talk to you," Kate said, tactfully.
David left the room, making sure to close the door so none of the three worried parents could hear what was said. Kate led him over to a computer. The page was opened to YouTube. Streaming live was a video of Wallace and Richard tied to a metal bar. The video was going viral. Soon the news networks would pick up on it. David really hated the media sometimes. They just made this worse. The kidnappers clearly wanted the attention and they would get it, but that couldn't be all this was about. Could it?
"Trace it!" David ordered.
"Tried. The signal is being bounced from Russia to China, England, Mexico and three other countries," Henry answered. "At least we know they're alive."
David nodded. "Yeah, but we could be looking at a live execution."
Hope you're all enjoying the story and I shall return next Saturday...maybe...probably...you know what, let's just say fifty/fifty. :)
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