Chapter 4:

Batman broke several traffic laws as he raced through Gotham but he didn't care. He slammed to a stop when he got to the harbor and jumped out. Joker had been telling the truth about one thing: there were two lines of warehouses that stretched from where he was standing all the way to the other side – about a hundred yards away. If he had been able to, Robin (no – Dick), would have left a clue. He began walking down the row, carefully taking in the sights around the doors of the buildings on each side. There it was; a little trail of blood droplets. He followed it inside, glancing around once for any signs of a trap. Nothing was out of place but there was no Dick, either. A circle of light in the center of the room drew his attention and he walked over to investigate. A small pool of blood resided in the circle and Batman became furious. Either his partner's stitches had torn open or he had been viciously attacked. "Or both," he ground out in anger. There was nothing left here; it was a diversion. He really wasn't surprised about that; Joker wouldn't hang around and wait to be caught when he had a valuable hostage. They obviously hadn't stopped the bleeding, though, because there was another trail of blood – not just droplets this time – that led him out the back door.

The mud behind the building was filled with footprints but his eyes noticed one in particular. A size thirty shoe; Joker had a new friend. The henchmen hadn't taken their time covering the tracks or stopping the blood so Batman followed their obvious trail easily. He lost it for a moment in the dense growth of the forest that surrounded the docks and anxiously searched in all directions, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He sighed in relief when he found the flattened weeds off to his left and followed the carnage left by the size thirty shoe. A small trailer came into view and he paused, carefully examining his surroundings before approaching it. He was almost to the door when he noticed something on the ground. Crouching to investigate, he realized that it was the cotton padding of a cast. That was good; Dick had been conscious enough to leave a clue. A few inches away he saw a blue and white checkered cloth and recognized the pattern of his partner's pajama pants. There was a long red stain on one side. At least they stopped the bleeding, although that doesn't help me. He winced in sympathy as he noticed several hairs stuck to the dried blood; it had probably been torn from Dick's head and he wouldn't be surprised if the wound had started bleeding again. He walked in a small circle around the two clues but found no further evidence. The trail led back into the forest and he started to follow. Then he heard the phone in the trailer begin to ring. He debated for a few seconds and then dashed to the door, pulled it open and grabbed the phone.

"What do you want," he demanded, hoping that Joker was on the other end. A high-pitched laugh followed this statement and Batman waited impatiently for it to subside. "Where is Dick Grayson? If he is injured I will personally see to it that you are…"

"Oh, stop Bats; you know you love the thrill of the chase. Little Dickie-bird was injured before I picked him up – he probably made Bruce Wayne mad and got tossed around. Who knows...? Anyway, I don't want anything except your attention. The more I move, the more you will follow. Is that annoying Boy Blunder with you? If I see him at all there will be swift consequences for my young hostage," Joker cackled.

"I'm not interested in your games, Joker," Batman growled. "Leave the boy somewhere safe and I will still follow you wherever you go. You don't need a hostage to get my attention. And Robin will not be available for this chase."

"I'm sure you found some evidence about my new pal; his name is Specter," Joker continued as if Batman hadn't spoken. "He's got my captive a little worried, although he's doing his best to appear unaffected. I have seen some fear in his eyes, though, so he's not as brave as he is attempting to look. He might be difficult to break, if it comes to that," Joker's voice lowered dangerously as he spit out the last sentence. "But, maybe not; he is just a bratty little rich kid, after all," he giggled.

Batman tightened his fist around the phone. Dick was the bravest, strongest kid he knew, besides Robin, and if he was afraid then there was real trouble. Not the usual "Joker trouble" – both Dick and Robin could handle that. His partner usually struggled to contain his emotions so Batman was impressed when Joker implied that Dick seemed to be remaining relatively calm. "I want proof of life, Joker," Batman ordered, "and I know the boy's voice."

There was a short silence and then some heavy breathing. "Bat…man?" Dick's voice was shaky; his tone full of agony. Batman clenched his jaw but kept his voice calm.

"Hey kiddo, how are you holding up?" he asked gently.

"Arms…hurt," came the whispered reply. Then, a little stronger but still quiet, "Lake, uh, south cabin edge…" Batman winced as he heard the smack of flesh on flesh.

"That's enough for now. What was he whispering about? My friend has his hand ready to crush the boy's windpipe if you don't tell me in three seconds," Joker announced angrily. "One…"

"Stop!" Batman commanded. "He simply told me how he was feeling. He's in a lot of pain, just let him go. I will find you."

Joker's maniacal laugh resonated through the phone. "I'm aware that he's in pain. Do you want me to describe his condition for you? He has a cast on each arm, you probably already know that, so we simply twisted them up behind his back to help them heal faster."

Batman could see the image in front of him and growled, "Let. Him. Go."

"But wait, I'm not done!" Joker exclaimed. "His head was bleeding pretty badly so I stopped it but the darn thing opened again when I took off the cloth. He's got a nice, bright red line running down his cheek and soaking into his clothes. But wait, there's still more! His ankle looked fully healed so we removed the bandage for him and he's already standing on it easily. The chair isn't very heavy so we left him secured to it, you know, to help his muscles regain their flexibility," Joker was laughing again. "You know, I…" his sentence trailed off as he heard a dial tone. Looking over at Dick he shrugged and said, "I guess he was done listening. Now, let's do what I just told him we had already done."

Dick woke up to the sound of Joker's voice and the feel of Specter's beefy hand shaking his head around. He looked around groggily and recognized something out the window he was facing. He was startled when Joker suddenly appeared beside him.

"A Bat wants to talk to you," Joker snarled. He held the phone up to Dick's ear.

"Bat…man?" Dick tried to erase the pain from his voice but knew that Batman would hear it anyway.

Batman's voice sounded far away, "Hey kiddo, how are you holding up?"

It took all of his strength to answer while he attempted to push the cotton out of his mind. "Arms…hurt," he whispered then tried to use a stronger tone in order to pass along the small amount of information he had. His sentence sounded weird, "Lake, uh, south cabin edge…" and he doubted that he had helped Batman at all.

"That's enough," Joker declared and yanked the phone away, nodding to Specter who smacked Dick across the face then grabbed him by the throat and lifted him in the air.

Dick frantically tried to breathe as he heard Joker start counting for some reason that he didn't understand. He heard Batman's growl but couldn't make out the words. He gasped for air when his windpipe was released and he was returned to the log floor of the cabin Joker had chosen for his hideout. Joker sat down in a chair across from Dick and grinned as he began describing his condition to Batman. Fog was whirling around in Dick's brain but he tried to pay attention. Ankle chair stand? He was confused and the pain was sapping his energy. He slumped down but cried out in agony as that put more pressure on his arms.

Joker looked at him and shrugged, "I guess he was done listening. Now, let's do what I just told him we had already done."

Told do what him? He found out as Specter roughly ripped off the bandage around his right ankle. A huge hand wrapped itself around the chair and forced Dick to stand with his weight on both legs. It felt like a nail was being shoved through his ankle and he couldn't hold back a small cry of pain. Batman is coming, Batman is coming… He started chanting in his head, trying to push the throbbing of his limbs to the back of his mind. But then he remembered that his clue had been useless and dropped his head in defeat, tears beginning to fall from his eyes as he gave in to the pain coursing through his body and let the fog envelop his mind. His body became limp and Specter, startled, almost dropped him.

Joker pouted when he realized his fun was over. At least he had the boy crying, even though it was in pain, not fear as he had hoped. Oh, well, better luck later, perhaps.