4. Shootout
A man dressed in black ran down the stairs of the bank. He had a gun in his hand which he fired back towards the bank. An identically dressed man ran out after him, holding a bag of money. They both wore balaclava to hide their faces.
"Go, go, go!" the gun owner shouted. "I've got you!"
"No, I've got me," the other said, pulling a gun from his waistband. He fired some shots into the street at some nearby civilians who were trying to flee. One was shot through the leg and shouted.
"That wasn't necessary," the first said.
"Oh, on the contrary. Yes it was," the second said. He lifted his gun a little bit, "We wanted blood!"
The other muttered, "You wanted blood…"
They ran into a car and the first started the engine. They pulled out and started driving just as police sirens were starting to be heard.
The one in the passenger seat dropped the bag in his lap and pulled his gun out the window. He fired back at the squad cars, but the shots went wide, "They're too far away!"
"If you want to shoot them, wait for them to get closer," the first said.
"Slow down then! I really want to shoot them!"
"No, we are not adding shooting cops to this. Not today," the driver said, "This will be a rather clean getaway, except for one you shot in the leg."
"And the two you shot in the bank," the second said, "I saw them drop as we left."
"Fine. Three shot, not bad," the driver said, "No deaths though. That's trouble we don't need."
"We rob banks coast to coast. I think we have trouble we don't need on that alone," the passenger said.
As they drove, Nightwing stood on a rooftop nearby, watching the vehicle. "You were right Aaron," he said, "They did hit this bank. Good job with that. Maybe you should have told the police."
"I told them," Aaron said, "They didn't believe me. Or well, the anonymous tip based on random variables that could have pointed towards a few other banks in town to a slightly less likely degree."
"Well, turns out you were right and they'll kick themselves," Dick said. He drew his sticks, stood for a moment, then jumped. As he fell he thrust his sticks out, catching a windowsill to slow his fall slightly. He flipped his sticks around and fell again, landing on top of the roof of the moving vehicle. He thrust the sticks straight down and smashed them through the roof to root himself down.
"What the hell is that?" the driver shouted.
"I don't know!" the other said, shooting straight up, "Whatever it is, I got it!"
The driver turned his head to the left, "No you didn't…"
Dick was hanging on by one stick, hanging against the driver's side of the car, looking into the window.
"I'll get him this time!" the passenger shouted, pointing his gun towards Dick.
"No! Don't you idiot!" the driver shouted.
As soon as Dick saw him aiming, he pulled himself up to avoid the shot. The driver swerved suddenly and struggled to regain control of the vehicle. Dick held on tightly, struggling to stay on the car.
Dick took the right stick in his left hand and swung down to the passenger's side, shattering the window. He grabbed the mask and yanked it down, so the passenger couldn't see. He pulled himself back up on top of the car.
"I can't see! I can't shoot!" he shouted as he tried to fix his mask.
The driver turned his head to look at his partner, "Hurry up!" he shouted.
As soon as they both looked ahead, Nightwing was on the hood of the car. He was about to smash one stick through the windshield. The driver fired three shots quickly at Nightwing, but the vigilante was already pulling himself back onto the roof. He tore his stick free from the rooftop and fell off the vehicle.
The vehicle swerved but kept going.
"Crap," Dick muttered. "Way too trigger happy…," he muttered, "I didn't think he'd be that stupid." Dick thrust his sticks onto his back, "I got the tracker mounted, can you follow it?" Dick asked Aaron.
"I've got it," Aaron said, "Let's hope they don't ditch the car."
"They probably will with that much damage," Dick said.
"Why didn't you get it on the passenger?" Aaron asked.
"It was ideal, but I didn't have a free hand to do that," Dick said, "Screwing up his vision was the best move I had. I didn't have time to reach my belt and get the tracker. I'm good, but not that good, while hanging off of a moving car that's swerving through traffic at forty miles per hour."
"Point," Aaron said.
Dick retreated into the nearby alley as squad cars drove by.
"I can patch the police into the tracker," Aaron said.
"Do that," Dick said, "I've done my part for now. The police can get this now."
"Hopefully," Aaron said.
Dick ran down the alley and climbed a fire escape.
"Blockbuster," one of the man's lieutenants said, "Sir?"
Blockbuster clenched his massive fist as he looked at a computer screen, "I'll kill them," he growled.
"What happened, Sir?" the man asked, taking a few steps forward hesitantly.
"This happened," Blockbuster turned his screen.
"A bank was robbed?" the man asked, "That means…"
"Yes," Blockbuster stated, "That means that a lot of our money is now missing. And guess what? I just got a call not too long ago. Our accounts were hit."
"What?" the lieutenant muttered, "How did they know? Did they just hit ours, or other accounts?"
"The bank didn't tell me. They just told me that accounts under my name and company were compromised," he stated. "I'll have to assume everyone was hit, and ours were just hit in the process. But assuming isn't smart."
"These are just two lowlife bank robbers! There's no way they can know which accounts were yours, or that they'd want to go against us!"
"Nobody is that stupid," Blockbuster muttered, "But they are."
"Nightwing?" he asked.
"Nightwing is also that foolish," Blockbuster stated, "If he's willing to take us on, then surely someone else will also decide to try. These two are hitting banks coast to coast, it was just a matter of time until they came to Bludhaven. I don't know if they came here to prove a point or not, but I guess we'll find out soon. But in the meantime, put a hit out on them. No…not a hit. We don't get our money back that way. I want them. Alive. I'll make them pay when I have them, and then I will be merciful and give them swift ends when my money is back."
"Nobody knows what they look like," he told Blockbuster.
"I know. That will be a problem, but we have resourceful people. They'll find them. Get on it."
"Yes Sir, I will get on it immediately."
"Good," Blockbuster said.
The man nodded and left the room.
"The Bludhaven Central Bank was robbed today," an older man stated in front of a group of officers, "But you already know that. We received a tip this morning with a number of banks likely to be hit by these two. We don't know how this person figured this out, or who gave us the information. It turns out they were correct. We refused to listen, and paid for it.
"The vigilante Nightwing placed a tracker on their vehicle, and we have that information. The vehicle was found, shot and beat up. The robbers were nowhere to be found. Now we have a manhunt, and some DNA from the vehicle, giving us our first lead. We can thank Nightwing for that. The names of our suspects are Tad and Tom Dixon. They are twin brothers who originate out of Gotham City. They have moved coast to coast and back, robbing banks, as we all know. Chances are that they are still in or near Bludhaven, and should be for another day or so, we hope.
"They should need some sort of transport out of town, so we have a small window of time to find them and take them down. They shot and wounded three people today, and fired at the officers who gave chase. We cannot allow them to escape."
Catalina raised her hand, "Chief Redhorn? Why don't we contact Nightwing? If he contacted us and gave us the tracker information, then don't we have a way to reach back?"
"No," the Chief said, "We already tried. It doesn't work. It's encrypted and we can't get through it. But, considering how much Nightwing does for this city, chances are he will aid us in some way, shape or form. And then…"
"You expect us to work with the vigilante?" one officer shouted.
"I expect you to do what you need to for this city! If that means working with Nightwing…," he started to cough and gripped the table until his coughing fit ended, "If that means fighting alongside the vigilante to stop these criminals, then that means yes. He has helped us too many times in the past. He's free to operate here, as far as I'm concerned, until he crosses the line."
"Like the Arrow in Starling City?" one officer shouted, "The police thought he was their ally, and then he turned on them!"
"Yes," Chief Redhorn stated, "But…," he paused for a while, "Nightwing has done nothing yet. We will use him. He will use us. And we will get results. Now, go get your CI's and talk to anyone with information. Find these twins and bring them in."
The officers and detectives filed out of the room. Catalina looked to the Chief as she passed, "Are you ok?"
"I'm…I'm fine," he told her, "Just…just do your job. I'll be fine."
Catalina nodded, "If you say so. I worry about you, you know."
"And I worry about all of you. And this city," he told her.
Catalina stood in an alley by her car as Kate walked towards her.
"Took you longer today," Catalina said.
"We need a new meeting place. I've been moved up," she told Catalina, "New place to live."
"Moved up?" Catalina asked, "That's more information faster, right?"
"Right," she said, "And that's one reason I'm glad you called to meet."
"Is it information on these twins?" Catalina asked.
"Twins?" Kate asked, "You have information on who they are? You know something new?"
"They left their DNA in the car they stole," Catalina said, "Nightwing put a tracker on it, we found it. We ran their DNA and rushed it. They're Tad and Tom Dixon, out of Gotham."
Kate nodded, "Blockbuster put a bounty on them. He wants them alive, but he wants them brought to him. The bank they robbed today? Blockbuster keeps a lot of the organization's money there. He's not happy, and he wants it back. He needs them alive…for now."
"We need to beat Blockbuster to this then," Catalina said.
Kate nodded, "I'm trying to see what I can get from my end, but it's slow going. But now that we have names…"
"Yeah," Catalina said, nodding. She held up a document, "These pictures are a few years old, but this is all we have."
Kate looked at the picture and nodded, "Ok. I'll find these pictures myself now that I have names," she told Catalina, "And if I can't, I can come to you for them, but I'd rather not tell the others where I got the picture from when someone else fails to find them online."
Catalina put the paper back in a folder and set it in her car, "Be careful. These two are dangerous."
"You be careful too," Kate said, "I don't want you dying on me."
"Same to you," Catalina told her.
One of the twins threw the bag of money onto a bench in a dark, dirty garage. He looked to his brother as the man removed his mask.
"What were you thinking back there Tom?" Tad shouted as he pulled his mask off and set it down beside the bag of money. "Were you trying to leave a trail of corpses? Why is an easy job just not enough for you?"
"Don't you want people to fear us?" Tom questioned, "How better to make them fear us than by shooting them like that?" He laughed, "We'll be known throughout the country!"
"Yeah, for all the wrong reasons," Tad told his brother, "We'll be wanted for murder sprees instead of just armed robbery. Do you not understand how much worse that is? Use your damned head for once!"
"Hey, we're not going to get anywhere with you yelling at me!" Tom shouted.
"You need some sense knocked into you. Yelling seems to be the easiest way, because I'd rather not raise a hand to my own brother," Tad hissed as he stood in front of his brother.
"I have no problems with it," Tom said, punching his brother in the stomach. He grabbed Tad's shoulders and threw him to the ground and then moved towards the money bag. "Now, just how much did we score here?" He opened it and started to pour it out on the bench.
Tad came up to his feet, "More than enough," he said, hurrying over and pushing his brother away. He started to put the money back inside, "We'll deal with this later. Right now we need to figure out how to get the hell out of town before they find us. Or before that vigilante finds us."
"What type of city has a vigilante like this?" Tom muttered.
"They're becoming more popular," Tad said, "That's why we're steering clear of Starling and Central City. Too dangerous."
Tom lifted his gun and slammed it down on the table, "I think we need to show that vigilante that we're to be taken seriously. We're not going to just bail because he's here. He just has a mask and sticks, he bleeds like anyone else. I say we show him how good we are."
"You want to murder the vigilante?" Tad questioned, "How stupid are you?"
"There's a bounty on his head," Tom said, "I think. I heard there's a bounty on 'Nightwing', whatever that is. It makes sense now that someone put a hit on this vigilante."
Tad nodded, "Yeah, but we're not going to be able to find or kill him. It's not worth the exposure. We're taking the money and bailing. The amount in this bag is more than enough to get us wherever we want to go and set us up for life."
"That's all you want, isn't it?" Tom questioned, "To be set for life. Where's the love of adventure you used to have? The thrill of the early days? We could have that again! Here, in Bludhaven!"
"We're not," Tad told him, "We're leaving, and that's all there is to it. This is just like any other job. We're not overstaying our welcome."
"We have nowhere to go," Tom stated, "We can't go back home. We could use the stolen money and settle, but then that raises questions from the large amounts of cash. Your idea is to just keep moving and hope we can eek out an existence, but it's pathetic. But if we can cause them to fear us, this city can be ours!"
"What? Do you expect us to rule it as mob bosses or something?" Tad questioned.
"I expect us to rule it through fear, and as conquerors."
"That's pathetic. That can't happen."
"It will happen. I'll show you!" Tom shouted as he walked to the door. He held his gun up, "I'll show you!"
"Tom!" Tad shouted, "Whatever you're going to do, stop and think!"
"You can take the money and leave if you want, bro, but I'm staying. I'll make this city mine! It could have been ours…"
Tad looked at the bag of money and shouted, "Wait!" He picked up the bag, "If we're going to do this, we need more weapons."
Tom laughed, "Yes! Come on! Let's go hit the streets! Let's show them all what they have to truly fear!"
Tad walked after him and left the garage, bag in hand.
"Ok, yeah, I'll see you tomorrow I guess," Dick said as he put his phone back into his pocket. "Guess that's an upside to this situation, I don't have to ride with Catalina," he muttered, then laughed a little as he entered the apartment, "Too dangerous for me? I'm going to be out there anyway…"
"What, no ride along today?" Boone called from the sitting room. Dick walked through the kitchen and looked to see Boone in a chair.
"No," he said, "There was the bank robbery, if you were following that at all."
"I was," he said, "Glad I don't use that bank."
"Right, you hide your money in your mattress," Dick said.
Boone nodded, "Foolproof."
"Unless there's a fire," Dick said.
"Ah, but you're forgetting my fireproof mattress," Boone said with a smirk.
Dick chuckled, "Oh right, how could I forget that?"
Boone let out a breath, "Dick, about the other night…"
"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't either," Dick said, "I know you've avoided me, and I'll accept that."
Boone shook his head, "No, I need to say something about it," he told Dick.
"You really don't. I'm going to leave you alone; I'm not going to talk about my work…"
"No," Boone said, "I apologize. I was a jerk, and…well, just overcome with emotions I guess. I mean, I thought this was our secret to share. I realize that I won't be the only secret keeper in your life, and I'm ok with that. I overreacted, and I'm sorry. Ignore what I said at the bar. And I'd like to see Aaron as well so I can apologize to him."
"I can arrange that," Dick said, "Boone, thank you. I'm so happy you understand."
He nodded, "I was way too much of a jerk. It won't happen again."
"Do you want to be part of this?" Dick asked.
Boone shook his head, "No way. You have a tech guy already, and someone far more qualified than me. I can't imagine being able to do anything to support you. Just forget me, and we'll keep going on how we have been."
"Alright then," Dick said.
"So, tell me, how's the Scofield case?" Boone asked, leaning forward, "I mean, I said some horrible things last time we talked."
"Yeah," Dick said, sitting down in the chair beside Boone's, "About that…I'm at a loss."
"A loss for what?" Boone questioned.
"Sylvan seems into me, and it feels like a huge conflict of interest, but…"
"But you want her too," Boone said, "Well, I don't know what to tell you, policy-wise. That's for you to look into."
"Well, I'm not an officer or detective, so technically there's nothing stopping me."
"Just morals?" Boone asked.
"Pretty much," Dick said with a nod.
Boone laughed a little, "You came to the wrong guy if you want to know about morals."
"I'd really rather not know about the lack of morals you display with women," Dick told Boone, "So please, keep the stories to yourself."
"Oh, trust me, we don't have enough alcohol in us right now for me to tell the stories. No, but I don't know how much I can help you. I guess thing I can say is this. Do you care about Sylvan?"
"I do," Dick said, "I…"
"Wait," Boone interjected, "When you say that, do you care about her as a victim, as someone you can show sympathy and have a shared situation over, or do you care about her as an individual, as a person? As someone you'd want to be with no matter what?"
"I…I don't know," Dick admitted.
"Look. My advice would be this. And feel free to ignore me if I'm making this sound like it's my attempt to get you laid more."
Dick laughed a little, "Oh, now I'm really scared of what you're about to say."
"You should go find another woman," he told Dick, "Go and have some fun, whether you have feelings for her or not. Then after that think about Sylvan, go see Sylvan, do something, and use your other experience as a base point. If you don't feel much, or it feels like your fling, then the answer is obvious if you care about her or not."
"And where do you suggest I find such a woman to try this with?" Dick asked.
Boone shrugged, "How should I know? You're an attractive man Dick, you can do it yourself."
"Oh, I thought you'd suggest setting me up with one of your many women," Dick commented.
"No," Boone shook his head, "No, no, no. It would be too weird."
"I guess I'll have to go looking then," Dick said, "I don't want to keep Sylvan waiting."
"No, that probably wouldn't be a good idea," Boone replied, "Especially not a woman that rich and beautiful."
"Well, we have a bond," Dick said.
"A bond based on a shared horrible experience," Boone said, "I can't imagine that's incredibly strong."
"Well, we'll see how it goes," Dick said.
"Dick…," Boone said. He grabbed the remote from beside him and unmuted the television.
"The police are ordering all civilians to stay well away from the scene. As of now it seems to be controlled at the thirteen hundred block of First Street, but the police are still requesting that people stay well away from the area until the situation is taken care of."
"Active shooters," Dick said, "Those must be the two from earlier today…"
"Are you going?" Boone asked, "Or do you think the police have this one?"
"The police probably have it, but I need to go," Dick said, "I can't abandon them. I can't let these two just have their way." He ran out of the room and Boone followed quickly behind him.
"Dick! Be careful!"
Dick stopped in the doorframe to his bedroom. He looked back, "I'll be careful," he said, then hurried inside.
"Aaron?" Dick asked as he crouched on the rooftop. The sounds of gunshots were easily heard.
"I'm here," Aaron said, "What do you need me to do?"
"Monitor the radio," Dick said, "Feed me information that's relevant."
"And how will I know if it's relevant or not?" Aaron asked.
"I'm sure you'll know," Dick said, "Ok, I'm going in. Inform the police that I'm on the scene."
"Will do," Aaron said, "Maybe this time they'll listen."
"Well, they used your tracking information," Dick said as he dropped to a fire escape and then descended it quickly. He clung to the ladder and looked down to see the police cars and lights below. He heard gunshots and saw officers ducking behind their vehicles.
Dick leapt from his position on the ladder and gripped the windowsill of the next building. He slid down the side of the building and leapt down, landing on top of the squad, sticks now in hand.
"Nightwing!" one of the officers shouted.
Dick didn't respond. He leapt off of the car and looked to his right to see two men in dark clothing and balaclava. One lifted a machinegun and started to fire, so Dick moved quickly and hid behind one of the squad cars as well.
"They have a lot of firepower!" one of the officers shouted to Nightwing, "They probably used the money they stole from the bank!"
Dick nodded, but kept his head turned away. He didn't speak. He kept low and ran, moving from behind the squad car to behind another car. He popped up and threw one of his sticks with a shout, slamming it into one of the men's arms. His gunshots went wide.
Dick tossed the other stick to his right hand and ran forward. The second criminal lifted his weapon, but Dick threw his stick to knock the gun aside. He leapt forward and slammed his elbow into the first man's chest, then span and rammed his foot into the second's chest.
"Glad to see you here," the first one said with a laugh, "Did you know some guy called 'Blockbuster' has a bounty on your head?"
"I'm well aware," Nightwing said in a deep growl to hide his voice.
"Well, we're going to collect!" the gunman laughed as he lifted his weapon. Dick span around, grabbed the weapon, and aimed it upwards. He thrust his other hand into the man's throat and knocked him back, throwing the gun to the ground in the process.
He picked up his stick from the ground and looked to the second gunman. He dashed forward and slammed it into the weapon, breaking the barrel off. He twisted his wrist and rammed the short end into the man's gut. As he stumbled back, he bent down and picked up Nightwing's second stick.
"Ok, let's do this," the criminal said. He ran forward and swung, but Dick sidestepped and gave a swift chop kick to the gut to take him down.
"I'll be taking that," Dick said, tearing his stick free. He span around and slammed both into the man's chest to take him down.
He heard a gun cock behind him and felt a barrel be pressed to the back of his head.
"What better gun to die by than a revolver?" the gunman questioned, "You should be happy with that death. I mean, it's going to be messy. You won't have a head left. I'm sure all that Blockbuster cares about to identify you with is the uniform though."
There were shouts. The gunman turned his head and Dick twisted away, pushing the man's arm away and disarming him quickly. He kicked the man back as he saw police approach, guns trained on the two criminals.
The second one pulled a handgun from his waistband and started to fire. Dick shouted, "Get back!" to the police, but they returned fire.
The two criminals ran. "Is there a full police blockade?" Dick growled to Aaron.
"Yeah, they won't get far," Aaron said.
"Good," Dick said. He kept low and went in pursuit, moving to hide behind a car.
As the two criminals continued to run, the unarmed criminal pulled another handgun out and lifted it. He pushed his partner into an open door to the building.
"Ok Tad, this isn't going well," he said as he slammed the door closed.
"You should have just shot Nightwing," Tad said, "Why didn't you? You had no problems shooting innocent people before!"
"You know…that's an idea," Tom laughed. He kicked the door open and started to fire towards the pursuing police, and then he ran. Tad ran after him and saw his brother jump the police cars and make a run for it.
"Dick! They're breaching the barricade!" Aaron shouted, "They're trying to get away!"
"I won't let them," Dick said, leaping the squads as well as he took off after them. He looked at a nearby building and put his sticks on his back. He leapt onto the ladder and started to climb the fire escape, "I'll cut them off."
As soon as he was on the roof, he ran and leapt off. He drew his sticks and landed on top of a large truck. He rolled on impact and slid off of it, slamming his stick into one's chest to drop him.
"That's my brother!" the other one shouted, kicking Nightwing back.
"You're going to pay for that!" the one who was struck shouted. He lifted his weapon and turned, shooting into windows.
"What are you doing Tom?" Tad shouted.
"I'm dealing with the problem!" Tom shouted. As soon as he saw people running, he shot at them, dropping a number of them.
"You're shooting civilians?" Dick roared, swinging his stick down to drop the gun to the ground.
As soon as Tom lost his gun he grabbed Dick's arm and shoulder. He rammed Dick into the truck and slammed his head into Dick's repeatedly, "I'm going to kill you!" Tom roared.
"The cops are here!" Tad shouted. He lifted his gun towards Nightwing, "Tom!"
Tom tore himself away from Nightwing, "Shoot him!" Tom roared.
Tad kept his gun trained on Dick, but then lowered it, "Go," he hissed to his brother.
"Shoot Nightwing!" Tom roared.
Tad hit him with the back of his hand, "And do what? Drag a corpse as the police chase us? No. We go, now!"
He pulled his brother and started to run. Dick was rubbing his head as he struggled to stand. He looked to see the police approaching, and then quickly started to run, ducking into the first alley he could. He found an open window quickly and closed it behind him as he slid to the ground.
"Dick? What happened?" Aaron asked.
"I…I couldn't stop him from killing innocent people," Dick said softly, "And they got away. I failed…"
"You didn't fail these people, or this city," Aaron said.
"I failed," Dick said, "If I wasn't here, they wouldn't have done that."
"They probably would have," Aaron said, "You can't blame yourself."
"I'm the hero this city looks to, and I couldn't stop this," Dick told Aaron, "I blame myself for it."
"Dick…"
"I just need some silence," Dick told Aaron.
"Oh…ok…"
Dick sat against the wall in silence.
Catalina looked at the bodies which were covered in tarps as an ambulance sat waiting.
"How many?" she asked softly.
"They killed five people," an EMT stated, "One was wounded and managed to get away. She's in the hospital right now."
Catalina nodded absently, "Ok, thank you…" She looked to see two officers approach her, "Does anyone know where the brothers went?" she questioned.
"Nobody has reported back yet," one of the officers said, "Chief Redhorn wants you, Detective Flores. We were sent to inform you."
She nodded, "Thank you," she said as she headed past the officers. She walked over to the squad cars where the older Chief waited.
"Catalina," he said, taking her arm and pulling her away with him a little, "I need you to do something for me."
"What is it?" she asked.
"We cannot let those two just go free after this. I'm not advocating we send our crooked cops after them and…well, let the hit happen. You're the only one I trust, and I trust Nightwing to be able to deal with this situation."
"Nightwing failed," she told him.
"He may have failed, but I still have faith in him to protect the people of Bludhaven," Chief Redhorn said, "I need him found."
"I don't know how to find him," she said.
"Does your CI know anything?" he asked, "She seems to have a lot of good information for you."
"I can ask," Catalina said, "I'll get on that."
"Please do," Redhorn said, "This is the most important case Bludhaven has seen in a long time. At this rate we need to find them before they shoot more civilians."
Catalina nodded, "I'm afraid of that," she said, "May I go?"
"Go," he said, "Find Nightwing."
She nodded and pulled out her phone as she walked away, "Kate, I need you to help me find Nightwing. We need him."
"How am I supposed to find him?" Kate muttered as she stood near the police barricade after putting her phone away.
She stood and watched the police maintain the barricade as they went around taking care of other duties. Kate looked around as they moved, and then felt someone brush into her. She looked to her side to see a young woman with a hood up standing there.
"You need help," the hooded woman said softly.
"What do you mean?" Kate asked.
"I can feel it," the woman said, "You need help. I'm here to provide that help to you, if you wish to listen."
Kate gave the woman a questioning look, "I don't understand."
"There are many who don't understand," the woman said, "But many who also refuse to listen. I believe that you are one who would listen."
"I don't get it," Kate said.
"You wish to seek him," the woman said, "I can help you with that, if you come with me."
The woman didn't wait; she just walked away from the crowd of people. Kate looked around and quickly followed the woman into an alley. Kate reached into her pocket and pulled out a knife, which she kept clutched tightly in her fist.
As the woman turned, she saw the weapon as Kate pushed her to a wall and lifted it, "Are you one of Blockbuster's men, spying on me?" she hissed.
The woman looked straight at Kate, "Remove your hand from me. Now." It wasn't an order; it sounded something like a request, but was soft.
"What?" Kate questioned, "Answer the question."
The knife was torn from Kate's hand and landed against the other alley wall. Kate was pushed back and hit the wall as well, and the woman walked forward.
"If you wish to find Nightwing, I can carry a message, such as the one from your detective friend," the woman said, "I cannot arrange for you to meet him."
"How are you connected to Nightwing?" Kate questioned, slowly crouching to pick up the knife. She pocketed it again.
"We are a part of the same flock," she commented, "What do you wish for him to know?"
"He needs to help the police on this one," Kate said, "They're lost without him, and they don't know what to do about these two brothers."
Raven nodded, "I will see to this message being delivered."
"You can't tell him who had this message. Just that it's from the police."
"I wouldn't give your name away, Kate Hanson." The woman smiled, "Your identity is safe."
"How…how do you know who I am?" Kate questioned.
"Because I know," the woman said, walking out of the alley. Kate ran after her a moment later and looked around, but the woman was gone.
"I…I guess my job is done," she said softly and hurried away from the crime scene.
"I failed today," Dick said as he sat at the kitchen table. He looked up at Boone and Aaron, both of whom were sitting there around the table with him.
"You can't win them all," Aaron said.
"Those guys were desperate," Boone said, "It's not your fault."
"The people of Bludhaven count on me to protect them," Dick said softly, "And yet I let them die…"
"They also count on the police," Boone said, "You're not in this alone, so stop thinking you are."
"So what, blame the police along with myself?" Dick asked.
Boone sighed, "Ok, I guess that's horrible advice…"
"But he's right," Aaron said, "You're not going to take the full blame. And this will just make it more important for you to catch them now."
"You're saying I should use this to drive me harder?" Dick questioned. He got up from his chair and walked to a door, "I'm going to bed."
"It's five pm," Aaron said.
"Bed," Dick said, closing the door behind him. It wasn't a quiet, easy close, but it wasn't a slam.
"Leave him," Boone said, "He needs this time to think."
"Someone should be there to help him," Aaron told Boone.
Boone shook his head, "No," he said, "Dick is strong. If he needs help, he'll ask. For now leave him. It can't be hard to accept what just happened."
"But..."
"No," Boone said, "We're leaving him. Let him work through his pain. Like I said, if he needs us he'll find us. He's the type who'll ask if he needs it, especially in a situation like this."
"I'll have to take your word for it," Aaron said.
"We haven't really had a chance to talk," Boone said, "I'm sorry for the other night. It's just that…it's hard to see that Dick put his trust in someone else. That he told someone else his secret."
"I get it," Aaron said, "I don't hold it against you. I see where you're coming from, and let's just get past it."
Boone nodded, "We'll have to get another drink sometime," he said, "I'd really like to get another chance to talk to you at length."
"Yeah, I'd be up for that," Aaron said, "But not tonight."
Boone nodded and looked at Dick's door, "Not tonight," he agreed.
Inside, Dick was lying on his bed and looking up at the ceiling. He forced his eyes closed and held them tight.
"We killed people today!" Tom shouted, "We left a mark greater than any bank robbery ever would!"
"No, you killed people today!" Tad shouted at his brother. He grabbed his arms and shook him, "Why the hell would you kill innocent people?"
"Because the police and vigilante were closing in!" Tom shouted, pushing his brother back, "I'm sick of you giving the orders! I'm sick of you acting so righteous and mighty! We're criminals, bro, get over it."
"We had a code," Tad growled, "We didn't kill unless we had to! We didn't have to!"
"We'd have been caught if we didn't do something."
"We were more likely to be shot for that! Use your head and think!"
"Oh, I was thinking," Tom said, "It gained us notoriety."
"And what the hell are we going to do with notoriety?" Tad demanded.
"Well, there's a lot of money in mercenary work," Tom said.
"And who's going to hire us?" Tad questioned, "Who needs mercenaries except for people like warlords in warzones in far flung countries?"
"Mob bosses," his brother said with a wicked smile.
"Did you do this just so some mob boss would hire us to be muscle?" Tad demanded, "Do you realize how stupid that sounds? You're such an idiot!"
"No. I'm done listening to you!" Tom told his brother, "I've opened up a door for us." He smiled wickedly, "I'm taking charge now." He pushed his brother back and picked up a gun from beside him, aiming it at Tad, "Now, fall in line or take a bullet. Your choice."
"What do you mean we got some of our money back?" Blockbuster questioned the man in his office.
"Well, it's what it sounds like. Some of our money is back," he said awkwardly.
"How is that so?"
"The robbers made some illegal arms purchases from our people," he said, "They used money from the robbery. We checked serial numbers."
Blockbuster laughed a little, "How much?"
"About ten thousand," he said.
"Nowhere near enough," Blockbuster said, "But…" he pointed to the television, which was showing a news report. He unmuted the television.
"…five confirmed dead in today's gunfight between two bank robbers and the police."
He muted it again, "They showed potential. They dealt with the police; with Nightwing…maybe I should call off the bounty. Work something out with them."
"Work something out with them?" the man asked.
"Hire them," Blockbuster said, "Unless this was just luck. We'll see."
"So, the bounty remains in place?"
"For the time being," Blockbuster responded with a nod, "Now go. Tell the gun dealers to be watching for these guys. I want them captured if they try to buy more weapons."
"Understood," the man said, making his way out of Blockbuster's office.
Blockbuster smiled a little, "Let's just see how events unfold from this point on."
Catalina opened a door and stepped inside. She closed it behind her and walked into the small, cluttered apartment. She set her badge and gun down on the table, then went to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle and a glass. She sat down at the table and poured herself a shot.
She sighed as she downed her drink. She set the shot glass down and looked around.
"I'm going to regret this," she muttered as she got up and turned on the television. She returned to her chair as she listened.
"The police have not yet released the names of the victims from today's shooting. Chief Delmore Redhorn has stated that they are doing everything in their power to apprehend the two gunmen, and have names. They will be releasing names and images at a press conference in an hour, at six thirty."
She poured herself another shot and downed it.
"The vigilante hero known as 'Nightwing' was also on scene today. While we have no video, we do have firsthand accounts from officers who saw him arrive. They state that Nightwing engaged in a fight with the two gunmen and had some success, but was ultimately overpowered, which allowed the men to retreat."
She poured another shot and downed it.
"We count on you," she muttered, "You're always here for this city when it needs you, and when it needed you today, you failed. Just like police do sometimes." She poured herself another drink and lifted the glass, but didn't drink it. She just held it.
"I guess I can't blame you," she said softly, "Everyone fails at some point. It was just that today caused innocent deaths. What you do can't be easy." She looked at the shot glass for a few moments, and then she lifted it to her lips and held it again. She downed it quickly and set the glass down before she got up and turned the television off.
Dick's eyes opened as he stared up at the ceiling. He remained still for a moment, then he rolled off of his bed and grabbed a police baton from his nightstand, extending it with a flick of his wrist.
"Who's there?" he growled.
Raven pulled her hood back, "It's me," she said softly.
Dick glanced to the door, then to the window. The window was open.
"You climbed into my building? I'm on the fourth floor," Dick said.
She nodded, "I am aware."
"H-how?" Dick questioned, "How did you know that?"
"I know your name," she said, "It can be easy to find someone when you know that much. You didn't exactly cover your tracks and try to live a life hidden from the people of this city."
"Point," Dick said. He tossed the baton onto his bed, "What do you want?"
"I needed to find you to pass on a message," she commented.
"From who?" Dick questioned.
"The name doesn't matter. A CI of Detective Flores', however," Raven said, "The police department is at a loss. They need your help to deal with the Dixon brothers."
"I can't help," Dick said.
"Because you already failed?" Raven questioned, "That's not who you are. You're not that type of man."
"No," Dick said, "It's not that. I'm not quitting after one failure, no matter how large it may be. I can't help because I don't know anything. I'm not…"
"You're not who?" Raven questioned.
"Nevermind," Dick said, "Just forget I was saying anything."
Raven walked around Dick's bed to move to his side. She stood in front of him and looked at his face, "You have something else," she said, "Something the police don't have."
"I have plenty of things the police don't have," Dick said, "Be more specific."
"You have me," Raven said.
"You could go to the police with what you know. Whatever cryptic hints that might be," Dick said.
She shook her head, "Do you think they would believe me? If I told them anything, they'd no doubt think I was a part of it and arrest me. Or at least detain me. That wouldn't go well for anyone involved."
"And why are you willing to tell me things?" Dick asked, "You were always cryptic with me. So what's different now?"
"You're at a loss. You don't know what to do," Raven told him, "We're similar. We're both birds, longing for our freedom. We're a part of the same flock. I'm willing to help you for the sake of helping you."
"You don't care about justice, do you?" Dick questioned.
"I care about helping you," Raven said, "That's all."
"I guess it's better than nothing," Dick said, "Ok, what do you know?"
"Suit up," she said, pulling her hood up, "We're going to the Kanigher Garage at Carmine Street," she said.
She moved to his window, but Dick called, "Raven!" It was with urgency more than it was loud.
She looked back, "What?"
"You…you can use the door," Dick said, opening his bedroom door. He looked out at the kitchen, then looked back, but she was gone. "I guess that's what that feels like," he muttered.
Nightwing walked alongside Raven, both sticks in hand. He looked at her, but she was unarmed.
"This is weird," Dick said.
"What part of it?" she questioned, "The believing a woman who can apparently psychically give you information?" she asked dryly.
Dick smiled a little, "Well, I thought that went without saying," he said, "But no. It's more of me walking around in my suit, fully clad as Nightwing, and then having you beside me in street clothes. But I guess you're just guiding me."
"I'm not just guiding you," she said, "I'm assisting."
"You're not assisting. It's too dangerous," Dick said.
"You lost last time. This time they'll kill you if they get the chance," Raven said, "I'm helping."
He thrust a stick out in front of her and stopped. He looked at her, "How do you plan on helping me?" he questioned.
"Do you really have to ask?" she asked him.
"Well, obviously," he said.
"I'll help however I can," she said, "Let's leave it at that."
"No killing," Dick said, "But that aside, no, you're not helping me."
"Fine," she said, "I'll just show you where to go and be done."
"Yes," Dick said, "Now, put your arms up. I'm going to search you and make sure you have no weapons."
"Is this necessary?" she questioned.
"Very," Dick said, "I'm going into this situation blind, but I'll be damned if I don't know what's walking in with me."
"Fine," she said, holding her hands up above her head, "Go ahead and search me."
He slotted his sticks onto his back and patted her down. When he was finished he nodded, "Ok, I'm satisfied."
"Good," she said, "It's a bit farther ahead."
The two continued to walk until they saw the rundown garage. The name was barely visible in the dark, and the letters on the sign were faded.
"This place hasn't been used in some time," Dick said.
"No," she replied, "It hasn't."
"It was rhetorical," Dick told her.
"I'm aware," she said. She pointed to a small walkthrough door, "That's your best way in."
"I was going to take a window from above," Dick said.
"You'll have nothing to cling on," she said, "No catwalks, no beams, nothing to use. If you go in a window up there, you'll fall."
"You did your research then," Dick said.
"You clearly didn't," Raven muttered.
"Fine," Dick said, moving to the door she pointed out. He drew his sticks and moved inside slowly. He looked around in the dark, but there was nothing in here. Raven followed him, looking into the rather empty garage. There was a skeleton of a car sitting there, but not much else.
He glanced back at her, but she shook her head, "I'm staying," she whispered.
He looked ahead, "Stay out of the way," he told her.
As they reached another door, he pushed it open and looked around. Raven directed to his right, where there was a hallway. Dick went down it and then slowed when he felt Raven's touch on his back.
He looked back at her and she pointed to the left. Dick slowly approached the open door on the left and listened.
"I just did inventory," one of the brothers was saying, "For ten grand, we got ripped off."
"Where else do you think we'd get such high quality weapons so fast? It's not a ripoff, it's convenience!" Laughter from the brother.
"Tom. It's a ripoff. We can't go to that seller again."
"Then where do you think we'll get our weapons from? A legitimate store? They don't stock weapons like these!"
"Don't we have enough weapons and ammo for now?"
"We can never have enough!"
"And without proper transport, how can we take it with us? Did you think of that?"
"We'll get proper transport!"
"Our faces are all over the news!" Tad shouted, "Didn't you watch that press conference I had on? They know who we are! They have our names and pictures of us!"
"I'm not worried." There was a shotgun being racked, "I'm ready for them!"
"You can die in a hail of gunfire if you want. I'm bailing," Tad said.
"You can't leave me behind bro!" Tom called, "We're brothers! We're all that we have anymore!"
"No. You also have your precious guns and your fantasies of becoming mafia muscle," Tad stated, "You don't need me for that."
"But I do! I even thought up a cool name for us! The Trigger Twins! What do you think?"
"Sounds ridiculous."
"Oh come on! We're twins! We're both really damn good with guns! It makes sense!"
"Then why not the 'Bull's-eye Twins' or something?"
"Because 'Trigger Twins' sounds better! The double 't' works really well, don't you think?"
A very audible sigh was heard, "Fine, call us whatever you want. I won't use that name."
"No, it's more for the media's sake than anything else," Tom said
"Whatever," Tad said.
Raven grabbed Dick's back. He looked back at her and shook his head. However, she nodded vigorously.
"We can't go in yet!" he hissed.
"When can we?" she questioned.
"You won't, but I'm waiting for the right moment," he told her softly.
She shook her head. He looked ahead again and kept listening.
She pushed past him and moved to the door. He grabbed her arm and struggled, but she slipped free and walked inside.
Dick shook his head and ran after her as soon as he heard one of them shout, "Who are you?"
Dick came around the corner as he saw Raven wielding a knife in each hand, "Where did those come from?" he muttered.
As soon as one brother lifted the shotgun, she threw the one she held in her right hand for him. It lodged itself in the man's shoulder, causing him to scream and lose his grip on the gun.
"No killing!" Nightwing shouted. He ran forward and slid behind cover as the other brother fired with a pistol.
"Come on Tom! Get up and run!" the standing brother shouted. He turned his attention towards Raven and fired, but she just walked forward, unfazed by the bullets.
Tom lifted the shotgun to Raven and was ready to pull the trigger. Dick popped out of his cover and shouted, drawing Tom's attention away. He threw a stick and shoved the shotgun aside before it went off, causing the shotgun blast to tear up the floor instead.
Dick ran forward as Tad lifted his gun towards Dick. However, Raven was upon him, swiftly disarming him before ramming the knife to his throat and holding it there.
"Move and I'll kill you," she hissed.
Dick picked up his second stick and struck Tom in the side, taking him to the ground. He stepped on the brother's chest and put a stick to the hollow of his throat, "Don't move," Dick ordered.
"So, you came back for more," Tom laughed, "Too bad there aren't any civilians here to shoot."
Dick rammed his stick tighter against Tom's throat, "Say that again," Dick growled.
"Nightwing," Raven said, "No killing, remember?"
Dick drew back his stick and reached down. He put his hand on the hilt of Raven's knife and tore it free, causing Tom to scream in pain.
Dick spoke freely, "Inform the police if you could. You know where we are, right? Correct. Have them hurry." He looked to Raven and held out the knife. She took it.
Dick struck the downed Tom with his stick and then stood over Tad, stick poised.
"Go ahead," Tad muttered, "Hit me! Do what you need to do, Nightwing. Just know that this wasn't my idea. I was only involved in planning the robberies. The shooting was all my brother's idea."
"You'll still face a long prison charge just the same," Nightwing growled, striking the downed man to knock him unconscious. He looked at Raven, "We're going. Now."
The two hurried outside. Dick looked at her, "Where did those knives come from?"
"You're not very good at frisking," she responded.
"I'm very good at it," Dick said.
"Well then, you believe that," she said.
"…how did you not get shot in there?" Dick questioned. The sound of sirens was coming in louder. Dick turned his head to see the flashing lights of squad cars, then looked back to Raven, but she was gone, "Again…," he muttered.
He put his sticks onto his back and started to run.
Dick sat at the kitchen table with tequila in front of him. He poured himself a shot and sat there, looking at it.
"That's not how alcohol works," Boone said as he stood in the doorway to his bedroom, "You need to drink it. Staring doesn't work, no matter how attractive you are and how deep and thoughtful your eyes are."
"Deep and thoughtful?" Dick questioned.
Boone shrugged, "It's a thing I've been told," he said. He walked over and sat down, "What's up?"
"We got them," Dick said, "The brothers are in jail."
"Good job," Boone said, "How'd you find them?"
"The psychic girl, Raven," he said, "I…I don't know about her. There's definitely something weird about her, but I'm hesitant to call her psychic. But…I just don't know what else to call her."
"I told you before; you've seen a lot of weird things Dick. Just go with whatever's easiest."
"Psychic is easiest," Dick said.
Boone nodded, "But what matters is that they're in jail now."
"Yeah," Dick said, "And this drink isn't to celebrate. It's more a drink of remembrance. Or, well, that sounds bad."
"I get your meaning," Boone said. "It's like pouring one out."
Dick nodded, "But it's your tequila."
"Pour some out," Boone said.
Dick picked up the bottle and walked to the window. He poured some out before closing the window and walking back over, setting it down on the table. Boone got up and got himself a shot glass. He poured himself a drink to match Dick's.
"Well," Boone lifted his glass, "It's over. You did it."
Dick nodded, "I'll have to work harder to show the people that I'm still here for them. And that I'm willing to make up for my errors."
Boone nodded as their glasses clinked together. Both drank and set their glasses back down.
"Dick, you're the best hero this city could ask for," Boone said, "Believe me when I say that."
Dick smiled, "I wish I could, but…"
"But Gotham," Boone said, "I know. Stop Dick. You did good tonight, just take my compliment and stop shoving it aside. You're the hero this city has. A bird, not a bat."
Dick nodded, "Yeah."
"You're the only hero this city has known. So stop thinking about it and just go with it. You'll become that hero someday. Just keep fighting for this city."
Dick nodded, "I will," he said. He smiled, "I'll become the hero this city deserves."
"You already are," Boone said with a smile.
Dick reached over and put his hand on Boone's shoulder, "Thank you."
Boone gave him a nod, "Yeah, yeah. Now go to bed, you're tired and you need sleep."
Dick pushed his chair back and nodded, "Yeah. Sleep. Goodnight Boone."
"Goodnight Dick," Boone said as he heard Dick's door close.
As the twins sat in a holding cell, they both looked up to see the jailer approach. He opened their cell and stepped aside as a man entered.
"Who are you?" one questioned.
"Which twin are you?" the man demanded.
"Tad," he responded.
"Tad Dixon," the man said, "My name is Roland Desmund. You can call me Blockbuster. I have a proposition for you and your brother, but it will cost you something first."
"Blockbuster?" Tom called, "Yes! I knew we'd get the attention of someone like you!"
"You got it well before your shootout," Blockbuster said, "You stole money from my bank. Where is it?"
"Um…in evidence, I guess," Tad said.
"I can deal with that," Blockbuster said, "Now, should you two find yourselves in need of a good lawyer, here," he held out a card, "And when you're free, expect a call from me."
The large man exited the cell and closed it. He locked it and walked away.
"I told you it would be good to be mercenaries," Tom said.
"Maybe you were right," Tad said, "I'm surprised it worked out so quickly."
"Everything works out in the end," Tom said with a smile, "We just had to wait a little for it."
Author's Note: I changed the Trigger Twin's surname from "Trigger" to "Dixon" because "Trigger" seemed a bit ridiculous and a bit on the nose. Further, "Dixon" is one of the creators of the characters, so that's where the name comes from, for the curious.
