Chapter 4
Sighing, Cass leaned against Tim's desk and watched him cross out sentences with a red pen. The papers in front of him looked as though someone had bled on them. Sighing, she went to a place in her mind where she practiced martial arts combinations. Pulled from her reverie when he poked her in the ribs a few minutes later, she frowned at him.
"Stop that."
"Bruce is still at lunch?"
"Yeah. Pretty doctor."
She spoke in full sentences when she wanted to. Most of the time, she didn't want to. "Well, that's nice, I guess."
She scowled at him. "It's not nice! What's he doing with her anyway?"
Full sentences meant she was mad or worried. He thought she was leaning towards worried. "It's a lunch date, Cass. I don't think there are wedding bells chiming. Relax."
She was more protective of Bruce than she wanted to admit. They had all seen him get his heart broken enough to be wary of new women. Tim had also seen Bruce break enough hearts that he was worried for the woman as well. Looking at Cass with a look that clearly conveyed he thought she was crazy, he smirked a little.
"I think he can take care of himself."
"Bad taste in women." She smirked and a half a laugh escaped her lips. "Catwoman."
The one word was enough to remind Tim about Bruce's not so stellar choices in relationships. Shaking himself, he sighed. Selina was married to a private detective and had a preteen daughter; there was no reason to bring her into the conversation.
"He'll be fine. Maybe he'll lighten up for a while."
"And then he'll brood for weeks."
"Point."
Turning back to the design concept in front of him, he capped his pen and started to type a revised form of the document. The department wouldn't run itself, he thought. Glancing at Cass, he frowned. She looked coiled and ready to strike at an invisible opponent. Not much made his nervous, but a jumpy Batgirl ranked somewhere on the short list.
"Don't you have somewhere to be? Like, somewhere other than here?"
A pout came to her face and he had to roll his eyes. She was not a pouter. Watching her stalk away, he shook his head. She was as suspicious as Bruce. Rubbing his tired eyes, he looked at the screen one last time before diving into typing again. Bruce could handle himself, Tim was sure.
Cassandra stalked outside his office. Once and a while the secretary would chance a glance in the younger woman's direction and then look quickly away again. Pointedly ignoring her, she scowled for a moment as Bruce got off the elevator. Carefully schooling her features to more neutral ones when the secretary looked up again, she followed him into his office and sat on the arm of one of the chairs.
"How was lunch?"
Glaring at her with a look that was normally reserved for when he was Batman, he sat down with narrowed eyes. "None of your business."
Crossing her arms across her chest, she looked at him defiantly. "I'll find out anyway."
"I have work to do Cassandra."
"I don't."
She had issued the challenge. It was up to him to throw down the next gauntlet. Reeling in his desire to one-up his young charge, he instead started reading over a few proposals that Luscious had practically begged him to read. Ignoring the young raven beauty in front of him entirely, he waited for her to go away. She stayed put. There were downsides to having Batgirl as your body guard, he thought.
Sighing, he narrowed his eyes further and practically growled at her to leave his office. She looked not in the least bit intimidated. Something about seeing him coloring with toddlers probably caused her to loose some of the sense of awe she once had for him, he thought.
"Alfred may need help with groceries. He said he was going to the market this afternoon. You should call and ask if he needs help."
"Not his bodyguard."
"The twins are coming tomorrow. You know how much he cooks when they come over."
Narrowing her eyes, she stood, her posture perfectly rigid. "Only because I like Alfred." Turning on her heel, she was through the doorway, taking her Blackberry out of her pocket, before he could respond. Sometimes he regretted buying that thing for her.
Shaking his head, he wondered when his team of operatives had become his not so average family. Most people had children and a spouse and in-laws. He had ruthless assassins and trained ninjas for children and the master of manipulation for a father figure.
Touching his forehead, he frowned at the papers in front of him. Wayne Enterprises had little business in Egypt, but someone using that country's mailing address was ordering a lot of rather suspicious materials. Throughout the years, Luscious had come to the conclusion that alerting Bruce of this kind of information was easier than having Batman break in to the files a few weeks after the fact. Though he had never said anything out loud, Bruce knew that Luscious had his suspicions.
Pushing those thoughts away, he almost groaned at the name of the company ordering the materials. The name was in Arabic, which Bruce Wayne was not supposed to be able to read. It translated roughly into 'Demon's Layer'. Fighting the urge to leave the office immediately and fly to Egypt, he instead sent Barbara an email. She checked it every three seconds or so, so he was sure she would get it almost immediately.
By the time four o'clock had came and gone, Bruce had packed his briefcase and was saying an early goodbye to his secretary. Cassandra met him at the front door. Bruce knew that Alfred had kicked her out of the market an hour ago; the aging butler didn't like a scowling ninja following his around in the produce section. At least she had been out of his hair for a few hours, he thought.
The car was silent for a few moments before Bruce spoke. "Ra's is baiting me."
"Going to follow?"
He didn't answer her question. Instead, he turned towards a toy store and smiled while a few paparazzi snapped photos of him going in. Cass tried not to growl at the photographers while she watched the store clerks draw all the blinds. Bruce Wayne made the news less and less as he got older, but they still managed to find him every once and a while, especially when he was in the city and not at the office.
The store was closed early so Bruce could shop there. The owners didn't mind in the least; Bruce was their best customer. Sighing dramatically, Cass stood next to the windows and glared as Bruce picked something for Mary that he thought she would have a good time taking apart. Jimmy got more snap together blocks and something else Cass didn't pay attention to. Jimmy built towers but never took them apart, so his blocks were one time use only. Bruce kept him in supply.
Shooing the annoying paparazzi with a glare and a quiet command, Cass kept her annoyance in check as Bruce navigated driving without hitting anybody that was trying to get his picture. He had bought a few of the worst tabloids in the city and kept them on a tight leash where he was concerned, but a few magazines insisted on using him for the front pages every chance they got. As if there weren't enough society ladies having affairs with aliens and wolf boys, Cass thought.
"You spoil them."
"Damn right."
"Didn't spoil Dick, I bet."
He spared her a glare, but only for a moment. "Grandchildren are meant to be spoiled."
"Softy."
"Say that again and we'll be sparring all night."
At that, she was quiet. She could hold her own against him but he was brutal when they sparred. She thought it was his favorite form of punishment. He was sadistic like that.
There were times when he envied heat vision. She was typing on her Blackberry again and it took all of Bruce's control not to reach over and grab the small device and toss it out the window. Tiny smirks would come to her lips every once and while, which meant whoever she was talking to was making her laugh.
Making a mental note to hack into her files and review who she was talking to, he ignored the part of his mind that told him that was a serious invasion of privacy. He beat into submission the part of his mind that called him an Orwellian nightmare. Once his plan was formulated, he ignored the slight quirking of her lips and the lightning fast movement of her fingers. She didn't have to tell him who she was talking to; he would find out anyway.
Ra's was a problem. He was being purposefully baited and he wanted to know why. Flying to Egypt to ask the centuries old wack job wasn't the best option, Bruce thought. Barbara would probably have every detail of the dummy corporation Ra's was using by the time he reached the cave later that night. Bruce decided a decision could be made when he was better informed.
Hiding the presents in the library closet, Bruce greeted Alfred and immediately went to his cave. Frowning, he realized his butler was on his heels the entire way down the steps.
"Can I help you, Alfred?"
Bruce swore he could hear Alfred smile. "I received a call from your secretary, sir. She requested I make arrangements for you to have a second date with a certain doctor this weekend."
Sighing, Bruce booted up the computers and waited for Barbara's floating head to appear above his console. That seemed to be her preferred method of communication these days.
"I'm busy this weekend."
"Of course, sir. I will inform the lady that you are saving the lives of innocents and will call return her call when you are not dressed as a giant bat." Turning on his heels, Alfred started towards the elevator.
Bruce's head snapped up as he realized what Alfred had just said. "Tell the lady, Alfred? You talked to her?"
"Why, of course, sir. Your secretary was kind enough to give the lady your telephone number. At my insistence of course."
Narrowing his eyes, Bruce tried to think what angle Alfred had on the situation and failed. Deciding he would devote more time to it later, he turned back to his console as a computerized voice told him Oracle was online and connecting to him.
"Tell her I'm hanging upside down from the rafters and will call her after I turn back to my human form."
"Let no one say you are devoid of a sense of humor, sir."
Shaking his head at the sound of the elevator door closing, he straightened and looked seriously at Oracle's visage. "What do you have for me?"