CHAPTER 7
7 p.m.
By dinner time, Dick had given up arguing, cajoling, explaining and pleading with the butler. Alfred had been given his orders and was pleased to carry them out. Glumly, Dick ate the steak Dianne that Alfred had lovingly prepared and sipped at the fine wine that had been decanted. He had to admit that Alfred must be feeling guilty or he wouldn't have been feeding him so well. When Alfred was mad, you knew it because Hamburger Helper might make an appearance on the menu and the salad had bottled dressing.
When Alfred arrived to take the dinner dishes, Dick was subdued and contrite. "Alfie, please can I have access to the Crays if I promise not to suit up and kick ass?" he asked.
"You will keep your leg elevated and take your pain medicine when needed?" the butler queried, stacking the dishes.
"I'll do exactly what you ask," Dick replied glumly. "I slept all day and I can't stand watching television any more."
"Very well," said Alfred. "I shall unblock the computers and you may continue with your work." He lifted the tray and prepared to leave the room.
"What about this?" Dick lifted his good leg, making the chain rattle. A twinkle appeared in Alfred's eye. "A shame I never tried this sooner….ah, we shall see…" And he left the room.
Grateful for the meager win he'd managed, Dick shrugged and sat down at the computer table and began to work. It soon became clear to him that Bruce had nothing compiled on Asim; the man must be new to the hierarchy. A recent promotion maybe? Or imported from another continent?
Dick had been pondering all day just what it was that Bruce could be working on for al Ghul. Whatever it was, it had to be dangerous since Bruce was so adamant that Dick stay out of it. Damn! If only Bruce weren't so compulsively secretive. Dick couldn't count the number of cases Bruce had taken him off over the years. And for many of them, Dick had simply ignored the orders and saved Batman's ass for him!
From the start of this fiasco, Dick had known in his gut that Bruce needed help. This was the Demon after all. Ask yourself what the Demon could want from Bruce? Money? Power? Al Ghul had both already. A husband for Talia? Less obtainable but possible without Bruce. But that peculiar combination of brilliance, effectiveness and charisma that was Batman? Al Ghul had been lusting after Bruce's sheer competence for years. Batman's soul, and nothing else would satisfy. Al Ghul had been trying to lure Bruce into the fold for years, attempting to get his hooks in, using Talia, or Bruce's own best intentions. Dick frowned, more deeply. Bruce could hardly be ignorant of al Ghul's blatant longing to subsume Batman in to his organization. But, Bruce being Bruce, he wouldn't be able to resist the challenge and his own damned curiosity.
Dick sighed. The search for Asim was fruitless; there simply wasn't any computer record on the man. Too bad Babs was away in New York getting her masters in Library Science; he could use her help with this. What else?
While he was glaring at the computer screen, he heard a soft noise behind him. He swung around and found himself face to face with a lithe form in black, masked in black except for the eyes. The figure held a long, wavy knife in his hand and Dick had the distinct impression that the assassin was smiling.
GOTHAM SATRAPY
7 p.m.
Having spent the day with his new son, Bruce excused himself early for bed. He needed to think about the ramifications of the situation without distraction. And he had to admit that Talia was distracting. And Damian? The boy, for all his scowling, was endearing and frighteningly intelligent. He suspected some genetic tinkering had gone into the boy's genome, but absent a DNA test denying the boy's ancestry, he was prepared to accept him as his child.
Three men. The boy wasn't six years old and he'd already killed so many. But he was young yet, maybe his bloody-mindedness could be trained out of him; generosity, tolerance and patience instilled somehow? Damian was the person Bruce himself would have become, absent Alfred's benign presence and the sheer optimism Dick had radiated all those years. He would need both men's help if he took Damian on.
The gist of al Ghul and Talia's conversations bothered him. Neither of them considered Dick a person of consequence to Bruce, even though he'd adopted him as a boy of thirteen. They spoke as though Dick would somehow be….absent…during Damian's future upbringing.
But why cure Dick only to…remove…him later? He'd suspected for some time that Ra's was up to something but the enormity of it was staggering. Remove Alfred and Dick, replace Dick Grayson in Bruce's affections with a more acceptable son and heir, Ra's' own grandson. Talia to be his consort. The Wayne billions under the control of the League and Batman under the control of Ra's himself. No wonder Ra's had been so anxious to supply a cure, and had monitored the result such that when the cure failed, Ra's magically appeared and provided a better drug. Dick was the bait and once Bruce was hooked, was no longer needed. He could be discarded….
Bruce's eyes widened. He should have shipped the boy off-planet forcibly; nowhere on Earth was out of the Demon's reach. Simply penning the boy in the manor would keep him safe only if he wasn't a target of the Demon. He reached under the bed for the case with his Batman uniform. Maybe it wasn't too late.
WAYNE MANOR
"Hello," Dick said calmly and stood with his back to the computer. With his left hand he reached under the desk frantically for the panic button Bruce had installed when Dick first came to live at the manor. But if this intruder had gotten past the multiple layers of security surrounding the manor, there was a good chance the panic alarm had already been disabled. "Care to tell me why you're here?"
"Justice," said the assassin and pulled off his mask. The face was a familiar one, last seen in defeat.
"Boone," Dick acknowledged him, meeting Boone's gaze with a serene look. "Come to try beating me again. You know that never works." Leaving his weight on his good leg, he tucked the broken one behind him, mentally taking an inventory of the room for potential weapons. He was still chained down; that would limit movement. Still, the chain could be used as a trip wire or a weapon if he could get enough slack in it…
Boone's smile grew to a grin as he took in the chain cuffing Dick's good leg. "I heard that Asim broke your leg for you, but it looks like you pissed of somebody else now, didn't you? Chained up like a dog, huh?" He began to move toward his old nemesis. "I've learned a few things since you broke up my vengeance academy." Boone lunged and thrust the heel of his hand swiftly toward Dick's chin.
Dick veered to one side, pushing himself against the table. "Oh?" he replied, the breath coming fast. "And what's that?"
Boone studied his face for a moment with a look almost of pity. "Asim. He broke your leg, deliberately I hear. Well, you know who Asim really is, don't you?" Seeing the puzzlement on Dick's face, Boone's expression took on a look of glee. "You don't, do you?" He laughed and lunged again, driving Dick in the opposite direction.
"As a child, you probably pulled the wings off flies," Dick commented, looking for an escape route with his peripheral vision. "If you have a point, make it."
"You always were impatient, Freddy. Or should I say…Dick," Boone said with a smug grin. "Asim is new to the organization; nobody knows him because he's really Batman. Your mentor, isn't he? He's joined the League of Assassins and apparently Talia had his child five years ago. You," Boone added. "have been replaced."
Dick started and caught himself in time to dodge, just before Boone lunged with the knife. "No. That's not true," he gasped as he moved out of reach. He tried to edge closer to the bed, put some slack into the chain. He grabbed the computer monitor and threw it at Boone.
"Believe it or not," Boone said triumphantly, dodging the flying monitor. "Batman deliberately broke your leg with his own hands. He doesn't have time for an adopted son; he's got the real thing now. You must be a real disappointment to him."
'Batman doesn't have any kids," Dick threw several punches in succession, driving Boone back until he could feel the chain pull taut. "I'd know."
"He doesn't tell you everything, does he?" Boone slashed with the knife, catching Dick across the left forearm. As Boone closed in for the kill, Dick vainly kicked at him but the one leg was chained and the other in a cast. He could feel it crunch as it connected with Boone's gut. Boone grabbed at his abdomen, but his grin never faded. "You lose, Freddy." Slash. "You've lost your home!" Another slash, across the chest. "You've lost your father!" Another slash, drawing more blood. "You've been replaced by the real son!" Slash, hit the right wrist. Dick's blows were getting less effective; he was bleeding from half a dozen places, but the words hurt worse than any knife wound. "You've lost everything you ever had and I'm the winner now." He raised the knife and drove it down with all his might.
GOTHAM SATRAPY
Batman was propelled by a sense of urgency. He made his way out of the Algol building, silently easing past the sentinels on guard. He disabled the electronics and made his way past the gates. He gave a thought for Damian, then dismissed the possibility of taking the boy with him. It was too dangerous and Damian was well cared-for where he was. He'd come back later and make arrangements with Talia for some kind of joint custody. Dick and Alfred needed him…he knew it.
He found the batmobile parked and also located the booby-trap al Ghul had left for him. Similarly, he disabled the tracker that had been installed under the hood. The engine fired up and soon he was roaring for Wayne Manor and the cave.
The cave was untenanted and looked normal until Batman eyed the security monitors. The video had been knocked out and the perimeter alarms disabled. Batman's face took on a look of concern as he tried the intercom to the butler's pantry and kitchen. There was no response, as there should have been at this hour. Leaving the security systems behind, Batman took the stair quietly up to the mansion level.
His first stop was the butler's pantry where he found a semi-conscious Alfred, tied up and gagged. "Alfred?" Batman whispered, removing the bonds and gag. "How many are there? Where are they?"
"Th…there was only one that I saw, sir," Alfred's dazed look transformed into a look of sharp terror. "Master Dick, sir. The man said that he had a score to settle with him. You must find him! Oh, what have I done?" he moaned.
"Alfred?" Batman asked in concern." What did you do?"
"I chained the boy to his bed. To keep him in the house, sir. He was proving recalcitrant…" Alfred trailed off and caught a brief grin on Batman's face before he nodded and sped off into the house.
