Chapter Three

"Come on Dick, its Bette Kane. We went to grade school with her, there's no reason to be so nervous."

"I'm not nervous." Dick snapped. "I'm thinking of the best way to do this."

"Weren't you friends in school?" Wally asked.

"Barbara wasn't the only girl I was linked to..."

Wally laughed, smacking his friends shoulder. "Fooling around with Bette Kane? That must have been a scandal."

Dick looked annoyed. "We never did anything that would totally destroy her honor. I just want to make sure she tells us everything."

"Well, we have to see her before she can do anything." With that he rapped sharply on the door.

A young serving girl opened the door, bowing her white bonneted head. "Can I help you, sir?"

"We're here to see Ms. Kane. Is she home?"

The girl nodded, stepping aside. "Yes, sirs. Please come in and I'll fetch the mistress."

Dick and Wally obliged, pulling off their overcoats and handed them to a maid who took them to be hung. The Kane estate was nice, clean and immaculate. It was shiny compared to the old and lonely Wayne Manor, which Dick hadn't been to in a while. It also looked unlived in, and that probably made Bette lonely.

"Dick Grayson, I haven't seen you since you broke my heart!" A feminine voice called from the top of the stairs. Bette Kane, in a large red dress with green accents swept down the curved staircase with a graceful air. She demurely allowed both males to kiss her hand.

"Listen, Bette, about the whole heartbreak-"

"Forget about it Dick." Bette smiled. "I was teasing. You don't think that I'm still hung up on you, do you? We were thirteen years old, and you're charming but you aren't that charming." Wally snorted, stifling a laugh. Bette winked at him good naturedly. "Now that we have that sorted out, what can I help you boys with?"

"We were wondering if you could help us with a case." Wally started.

Bette arched a blonde brow. "A case? I don't think it would be right for me to play detective with you two boys. Besides, I heard Wally was out of the business after he was engaged."

"This situation was, um, urgent enough that I felt I should come out of retirement briefly. Now, if you'd let us into your parlor we could explain."

Bette nodded and they followed her into the large sitting room. She sat down on a couch, allowing them to sink into stuffed armchairs that looked like they were for decoration and not use. "So, what's going on?"

"It's about Barbara."

Bette looked upset. "I figured as much, she hasn't been coming to tea. What happened?"

"She's been kidnapped."

"If our suspicions are right." Dick cut in.

"Which they always are." Bette smiled. "When did you last talk to her?"

"We should be asking you the questions." Wally chuckled. "But Dick last received a message from her a month ago."

"Around the same time she stopped coming to tea. She was very jittery and nervous, ended up leaving rather unexpectedly."

"Do you know if she was having problems with anyone?"" Dick asked. "Would anyone would have wanted to hurt her?"

"Barbara? She was opinionated and stubborn, but she wasn't stupid. However... she did mention meeting with someone secret. I didn't like the sound of it, but she said you were in danger."

"Me?" Dick raised a brow. "I haven't been in any danger."

Bette leaned forward, looking concerned. "According to Barbara, you were. And it was very severe."

XXX

Dick was silent next to him, eyes trained ahead of them. Although he seemed to be focused on nothing in particular, Wally knew him well enough to know that he had most likely memorized every nook and cranny of the dark alley and routed any possible escape paths.

"Just who are we going to meet?" Wally eyed the few stray prostitutes who had made their home on the corners. He had been in the red light district with Dick before, but tonight the air seemed charged with a dangerous energy. Perhaps it came from Bette's ominous words. She hadn't wielded much more information, being cryptic and unknowing. She was sassy though, and Wally found himself laughing multiple times throughout the conversation. After he and Linda got married he would have to visit Ms. Kane more.

"An old friend." Dick replied simply.

"You don't have any friends."

"That's not true." Dick tapped the ground with his cane, a clever little device that split into two parts, allowing him to use them as duel fighting sticks. "I am a millionaire playboy."

Although Wally hadn't been to any parties lately, it was hard to forget Richard Grayson, the socialite. He was adapt and polite, charming and cynical and the perfect mask for a genius like Dick. Ever since he had mysteriously parted ways with Bruce, Dick had ventured out as the charming Mr. Grayson less and less, and it worried Wally as Dick truly did enjoy female company on a surface level. Before Barbara went missing, there had been lightness to his friend that he had yet to find once more.

They continued on in silence, before Dick finally stopped in front of an old building. It was nothing special, but Dick nodded and looked to Wally before entering. Instantly, Wally felt himself choking on the heavy smoke that pervaded the room. All around, shady men sat in unbutton shirts smoking while beautiful women with starved eyes hung over them. Dick didn't react when Wally sent him a look, just weaved his way to the back where he pushed a curtain aside to reveal a dark staircase.

"Should I be worried?" Wally asked, forcing himself to laugh harshly.

"Expect the unexpected." His friend replied as he passed Wally.

"Expect the... that doesn't reassure me!"

Hurrying to catch his friend, Wally found himself in a rather small room decorated with only a rug and a large canopy bed made of dark wood. Leaning against one of the bedposts, he watched Dick tap around for a moment. "I could have found you a cheaper call girl."

"I know patience isn't your favorite thing, but it wouldn't kill you to wait in silence."

Pursing his lips together, Wally ran a gloved hand over the bedpost and frowned at the dust that came up. This room obviously wasn't often used; making it all the more strange that Dick had brought them here. After a moment, the chatter grew louder as the door open and quickly closed, allowing a slim person to come in. Dick turned and smiled, waiting as the green hooded figure came deeper into the room.

"It took you long enough." Dick's voice was light.

"You should pay me more." The voice was feminine, but a little lower and raspier than Wally would have expected. "Not many women would be willing to sneak out at this hour of the night."

Dick chuckled. "But you aren't 'many women', are you, Artemis?"

There was a small laugh as the girl pushed her hood back, a seemingly endless cascade of blonde hair tumbling out. She may have been the prettiest girl Wally had ever seen, but she was so tough looking he knew better than to say anything. Fiancé not in mind, he admired the determined set of her jaw and the fierce look that seemed to dominate her slanted gray eyes.

Dick looked at Wally curiously before holding a hand out and gesturing between the two. "Artemis Crock, this is my partner Wallace West. Wally, this is Artemis."

"I've heard of you." Artemis said sharply as Wally opened his mouth before turning back to Dick. She undid her cloak, revealing a simple green dress. Nearly the same height as Wally, Artemis folded her arms over her chest and waited expectantly. "Now, what's going on?"

"An old friend of mine, Barbara Gordon, has gone missing. She was concerned that I was in trouble before she vanished, and her house is being watched."

Artemis chuckled, a knowing smile on her face. "So, this is about Barb?"

"Do you know something?" Dick stepped closer. "I wasn't aware that you knew Barbara."

"There are many things you don't know about me, one of them being that I was enrolled under an alias at the same fitting school as Barbara Gordon for a year. We're actually quite close. She mentioned you once or twice." There was something about Artemis' smirk that made Wally want to one up her, or at least attempt to.

Dick shook his head incredulously. "You never cease to amaze me, Artemis. Have you heard from Barbara lately?"

"Unfortunately, no." She frowned. "But I may know someone who does."

Dick cleared his throat, looking to Wally. By this point Wally had taken to feeling like an outsider and was watching the entire conversation with mild amusement. "Artemis has interesting connections." He explained.

"Being a call girl I would expect no less."

Fire seemed to erupt in Artemis' eyes at Wally's comment. Her blonde hair whipped against her back as she snapped her head towards him, and Wally realized that he had rarely ever seen women with her hair just down and free like hers was. Linda always her hers pulled up into some intricate knot. "I am not a call girl."

"But you work in the scarlet district! It's an easy mistake to make."

Artemis snorted. "Don't try and make inferences about me, Mr. West. There is certainly more than meets the eye."

Dick actually laughed and bumped shoulders with Artemis. "I've missed you. Who's your friend?"

"Her name is Zatanna Zatara." Artemis canted her head to the side. "She's a gypsy, but I'd like to believe that a little more than parlor tricks help her out. I've heard that her mother was a Homini Magi."

"I've heard of a Zatara. Giovanni Zatara to be exact. He's a magician and friend of my benefactor."

Artemis was facing away from Wally, so the redhead chuckled and mouthed 'benefactor'. Dick didn't respond but seemed to be thrilled that Artemis knew Zatanna.

"This is all good and fun," Wally began, "But magic is not real. Zatanna may have some good tricks but I don't see how she can help us find Barbara."

"You don't believe in magic?"

"Of course I don't believe in magic! It's not real."

Dick tsked and shook his dark head. "Ignore my disbeliever of a partner. When can we meet with Zatanna?"

"Tonight will do." Artemis refastened her cloak. "Zatanna's putting on a show and we can talk to her afterwards."

"First we go to the scarlet district and now this." Wally shook his head. "You certainly aren't easing me back onto the job, are you?"

"If it's too much for you, you can stay home with your fiancée." Artemis piped up.

"And let you have all the fun?" Wally laughed. "Never."

Artemis sighed heavily before gathering her skirts. "Fine, if you insist."

Going down the stairs, Wally almost felt like a different man than the one who had ascended them only an hour before. The damp moldy smell that had previously permeated the air was replaced by the sharp leather smell that Artemis seemed to carry. With the dim light coming up from the open door at the bottom of the steps her form was silhouetted.

Artemis paid no attention to any of the girls who cast envious glares and chatted among themselves as they exited the building. She was either used to them or didn't care, and Wally did his best to not look at them before pushing into the cool air.

"Are you in need of any equipment?" Dick asked as they all fell into a comfortable pace.

"It might be nice to have." Artemis mused. "But I don't know if showing up to Zatanna's show with a bow is a good idea."

"Your bow?! Bloody hell woman, what do you do for a living? Dick, how exactly did you meet Artemis?"

"Florence, wasn't it?"

"No, no." Artemis shook her head. "Paris. I was there with my fath…friend. Remember?"

Dick nodded and gazed into the darkness of an alley that we passed. "Right, Paris. I wasn't lying when I said that Artemis has a special set of skills, Wally. Information will be on a need to know basis."

"Do you not trust me?"

"It's not him." Artemis' voice was quiet. "Dick is a good friend, Wally. Let's just focus on the case and not each other's personal lives, okay?"

Struck by her change in tone, Wally just nodded. Dick rubbed his hands together with a chuckle and wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders for a moment. "Look at us, going to save Barbara Gordon from whatever has held her up. A fitting way to end your career, wouldn't you say, Wally?"

"Of course, of course." Wally nodded absentmindedly. Fitting indeed…

Author's Note: First off, thank you for sticking around to this point! I've been working on this for a while, but it's only now that I've decided to upload it. I'll be updating at either ten reviews or at once a week. Thank you all so much!