Bruce got up early the next morning and began his usual exercise routine in the master bedroom. As he did his rapid-fire pushups, he recalled something that Ra's al Ghul once told him: You must cultivate that which provides your needs. He was talking about their food supply back then but Ra's made it clear later on that his maxim was not solely about the vegetable gardens or the rice fields. It applied to almost everything that the League needed, be it sustenance, weaponry—or information.
And right now, information was what Bruce needed. His meeting with Hugo Strange left him with a burgeoning curiosity about the man heading Powers Technology's newest project.
Alfred came in with his breakfast while he was suspended upside-down on his pull-up bars. "Good morning, Master Bruce," the butler said. "A bit too early to be a bat, isn't it?"
Bruce dropped the weights he held onto the padding below him. Then he unlimbered himself from the bars. "And good morning to you too, Alfred," he said, picking up the health shake Alfred made for him and taking a sip. "What's on my calendar for today aside from work at Wayne Enterprises?"
"You're supposed to meet with the Kanes for lunch today, sir," Alfred told him. As usual, he didn't need to read from a date book or anything like that. Bruce was always impressed with how Alfred kept things organized with a minimum of effort. Alfred, however, told him that making it seem easy involved a lot of work, something that he taught Bruce as frequently as possible from childhood. "You're to discuss your new public-service projects with them. And this afternoon, you're supposed to open the Infantino Street Station for the monorail."
"Oh, yeah," Bruce said. "The train's up and running again, isn't it?"
"Quite smoothly, I might add, sir," Alfred told him. "Lucius truly is an engineering genius."
"That's what my father used to say too," Bruce said, accepting a towel from his butler. He was about to go to the shower when Alfred cleared his throat and said: "Might I say something, sir?"
"What is it, Alfred?" Bruce asked.
"If you and Ms. Kane are truly intent on opening up the free clinics your father once ran," Alfred said, "then you could do worse than to ask for the assistance of Dr. Leslie Thompkins."
"The name's familiar," Bruce said. "I seem to recall my father mentioning her a couple of times."
"Dr. Thompkins was one of your father's teachers at medical school, sir," Alfred informed him. "She considered him one of the most brilliant students she'd encountered—not to mention one of the most generous and most compassionate."
"She said that about my father?" Bruce asked.
"Indeed, sir," Alfred said. "You might not have noticed but she was at your parents' funeral."
"What's she doing now? Is she still teaching?"
"She retired a few years before you returned to Gotham, sir. She used to have a clinic at the Narrows but it was destroyed during your battle with Ra's al Ghul, sad to say."
"I'm sorry," Bruce said. "I didn't realize that."
"It wasn't your fault, sir," Alfred told him simply.
Bruce was about to say something but a thought came to him. "How long have you two known each other?" he asked as tactfully as possible.
"Long enough, sir," was Alfred's reply.
Bruce nodded. "Well, suppose you arrange a meeting Dr. Thompkins for me and Kate, Alfred? Make it at her convenience, of course."
"Of course, sir," Alfred said approvingly. "I'm sure she'll be of great help to you and Ms. Kane."
Bruce was heading for the shower when he stopped. "I almost forgot, Alfred," he said. "Please call Sandra Flanders at Gotham University and ask her to do a little research for me, would you?"
"Certainly, sir," Alfred said. "What topic are you interested in today?"
"I need whatever information she can get on a Professor Hugo Strange," Bruce replied. "Have her fax it or e-mail it to me at the office."
"Of course, sir." Alfred left the master bedroom to make the call while Bruce bathed. By the time he was dressed and ready to go, Alfred had word from Sandra Flanders that she would gather the information and send it to Bruce as soon as possible. Bruce thanked Alfred and went out to the driveway where his Lamborghini was waiting.
Ra's al Ghul's advice was also on Talia's mind as she was doing her morning exercises. The kata was an excellent way to keep herself in shape while focusing her mind on the day's tasks.
And the first task of the day was to learn what she could about Professor Hugo Strange.
The first question she had about him, of course, was obvious: Was Strange a member of the League Of Shadows? His comment about criminals not being complicated was one of her father's favorite maxims. According to her own discreet network of contacts, Strange was most definitely not a member of the League. Although she wanted to be certain, she felt that her first question could be set aside for the moment.
Her next questions sprang from the first: if Strange wasn't a member of the League, then who was he? And why would Powers Technology entrust what appeared to be a very important project to him?
Talia knew that it would be easy to search public databases for information on Strange, if he was indeed as well-known in the scientific community as Earle said he was. But there were other pieces of information that she wanted and those weren't readily available for public consumption. For that, she contacted someone whom she knew could find what she needed—for a price, of course.
Her hands and feet cut the stillness of her bedroom with graceful ease as she went through the kata her father and his lieutenants taught her and Nyssa. She even practiced some of the forms that Nyssa shared with her when she was in the mood to school her bookish half-sister in the martial arts.
Her laptop gave of a soft, electronic chirp. She finished her final form before going over to it. Her contact was online. She typed in a few commands and then the image of her contact appeared on the monitor.
"Privacy at last," her contact—an information broker named Looker—said. She wore her green-tinted glasses as always. Talia asked her about them once and Looker told her that it was to protect her eyes from the ambient radiation from her monitor as well as to conceal her identity. It was one of Looker's quirks; Talia couldn't seem to remember a time when she hadn't seen the information broker without her glasses.
"I trust you found something interesting?" Talia asked.
Looker smiled. "I believe I did. Hugo Strange was quite the whiz kid when he was younger. And he was a busy man before Powers Technology hired him. It's all in the file I'm sending you now." Indicator lights on Talia's laptop blinked as she received the data. It was a fairly large file, she noted. Once it was done uploading, she transferred a considerable sum to Looker's account.
"It's always a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Van Garde," Looker said with a smile. She logged off and her image disappeared. Talia immediately made several copies of the file before saving it in her flash drive. She would have it printed after completing her exercises. She wondered what she would discover about Strange.
Katherine's first stop was Gotham General. She went right to the hospital director's office. The director was flustered by her visit but, after she explained the reason for dropping in unannounced, she was taken first to the pharmacy and then to the storage area for the hospital drug supply. Katherine checked the inventory and ascertained that they had the right quantity of bacteriocin. Katherine made note of it in her palmtop and thanked the director and his personnel for their time.
Next stop, Gotham Mercy, she thought. I wonder how Selina is doing. Part of her was still worried about letting her go off alone especially since she would be going to one of the less savory neighborhoods in Gotham. Selina trained with her and Mr. Trafford semi-regularly and Katherine knew that she was more than capable of defending herself but that didn't stop her from feeling more than a little anxiety. After all, there was Maggie to consider.
Stop it, Kate, Katherine told herself. She can look after herself. She's an East End girl, after all.
Selina got off the bus and made her way across Aparo Park. It was noticeably cleaner than it used to be, she had to admit. Of course, it was still day time. She knew that come nightfall, the park would be the exclusive territory of the drug pushers, muggers, hookers, and various lowlifes who were from this area. That brought a small grin to her face because she was from this area. This was where she and Maggie were born. She grew up tough for both her sake and Maggie's since neither one of their parents was interested in doing much by way of raising them properly. Both of them managed to get through East End's public schools but Selina knew that, if she wanted Maggie to have a future, they would have to leave the old neighborhood. They did leave and, hopefully, Maggie would never have to look or go back to this place again.
She crossed the street and went inside the clinic. She told the receptionist that she was there to speak with Dr. Thompkins. The receptionist asked her to wait. A few minutes later the receptionist returned and brought her to Dr. Thompkins' office.
"Well, hello, Selina," Leslie Thompkins greeted her warmly, the way she always did. It was Dr. Thompkins who inspired Maggie to take up medicine and Dr Thompkins also provided Selina and her sister with a safe shelter and a hot meal when none could be found, even at their home. The kindly woman was the closest thing that she and Maggie ever had to a real mother. She gestured towards a chair and Selina sat down. "I haven't seen you around here lately. How's Maggie?"
"Maggie's fine, Dr. Thompkins," Selina said. "She's been busy at school and I've been busy at HOPE WORKS so I haven't been able to drop by and help out here."
Dr. Thompkins looked pleased that both Selina and Maggie were doing well. "May I offer you some coffee or tea, perhaps?" she asked, going over to a small electric stove.
"No," Selina said. "But thank you ma'am. Actually, I'm here because—" She was cut short by the entry of one of the volunteer nurses. "Doctor," the harried-looking young woman said, "I think you should come see this. We have another recurrent case."
"Pardon me, Selina," Dr. Thompkins said. She went with the nurse to one of the examination rooms. A fourteen-year-old girl sat there, looking pale and miserable. Her worried relatives begged Dr. Thompkins for help. The doctor helped the nurse to escort the patient's family out of the examination room. Then she turned her attention to the girl.
"What happened to you, Christy?" Dr. Thompkins asked the girl.
"I-I feel sick, doctor," Christy replied. "I…I had a cough, remember? But now I feel worse…even after I took the medicine you prescribed…"
Dr. Thompkins felt her throat and forehead. Christy had a slight fever. "Did you finish all the medicine I prescribed for you, Christy?"
The girl nodded. Then she began to cough hoarsely. When she looked at the hand she'd used to cover her mouth, she saw flecks of blood. "Doctor—? What's wrong with me?" she asked in a frightened whisper.
"Don't worry, Christy," Dr. Thompkins told her. "We'll find out what's making you sick." She motioned for the nurse to come over and told her to start a testing procedure.
"Do you think she's like the other two patients, doctor?" the nurse asked.
"Maybe, Janice," Dr. Thompkins said. "We'll find out after you run the tests." She left the examination room to speak with the girl's family. Selina was with them. After explaining the testing procedure that they were about to do, Dr. Thompkins asked Selina to return to the office with her.
"What was that all about, ma'am?" Selina wanted to know. "And did your nurse say the girl was another recurrent case?"
"That's correct," Dr. Thompkins said. "Two weeks ago, Christy was admitted here for a bacterial infection that was treated with a proper course of antibiotics. Now the symptoms of the infection have returned and are much more pronounced.
"Earlier this morning, we had two other patients in similar condition. They were suffering from bacterial infections that were treated successfully. But now they've returned and they've gotten worse."
"What do you think happened?" Selina asked, taking out her palmtop.
"Preliminary tests indicate that the bacteria responsible for their infection might be developing a resistance to the medicine we gave them," Dr. Thompkins replied.
"Ma'am, you wouldn't happen to have a drug called Neomycocin in stock, would you?" Selina wanted to know.
"That's the new bacteriocin-based drug from Daggett BioIndustries, isn't it?" Dr. Thompkins thought about it. "We had a small amount but it's finished. That's what we used on the three patients we have here now, as well as several other patients who were suffering from severe bacterial infections."
"And you haven't been able to restock your supplies?"
"No, we haven't. According to their representative, Daggett BioIndustries is still in the process of making a new batch at their labs."
"Is that so?" Selina remarked.
"Is that why you came here today, Selina?" Dr. Thompkins asked.
Selina nodded. "Katherine Kane and I wanted to find out where Daggett's bacteriocin went."
"Have you asked the major hospitals?" the doctor asked.
"That's what Katherine's doing right now, ma'am," Selina replied. "I'm handling the clinics."
"Well, I hope you find out what happened to the drugs, Selina," Dr. Thompkins said. "Because I think we're going to need all that we can get if more patients start arriving."
Bruce was reviewing the final draft of the plans for the charity kitchens when his phone rang. Mr. Fox had a workstation set up for Bruce in his office so that they could divide their tasks between them.
"Hello?" he said, typing in a correction to the document on his monitor.
"Hello, Bruce," Sandra Flanders said. "I've got the information you wanted."
"You have? Thanks," Bruce told her. "Send it over." He gave his company e-mail address. Sandra asked him to wait a moment or two. Then she said: "It's on its way, Bruce."
"I hope it wasn't hard finding the information I need," Bruce said.
"Well, it wasn't like searching for Ra's al Ghul and the League Of Shadows," Sandra said, laughing. "I think you'll find what you need there. But if you need more, let me know."
"I will." Bruce waited for Sandra to hang up and then checked his e-mail. The file was there already. He downloaded it and began to read.
"Why the sudden interest in Hugo Strange, Bruce?" Lucius Fox asked over his shoulder.
Bruce looked up, smiling sheepishly. He felt a bit like the way he did whenever one of his professors at Gotham U. caught him doing something else when he should've been paying attention to the subject at hand. "Just a little research," he said. "Talia and I ran into him and William Earle at the Camellia Club last night. He's the one in charge of Powers Technology's project—the one that Earle said was for Gotham P.D."
"Is that right?" Lucius leaned against Bruce's desk. "That's a bit of an odd choice for Earle and Powers."
"Why is that, sir?" Bruce asked. "I thought Strange was supposed to be real smart."
"Oh, he is, Bruce," Lucius said. "Hugo Strange is smart as a whip and sharp as tacks. As you'll see in that file, he's got degrees in psychology, medicine—psychiatry in particular, computer science, and engineering."
"He's that good?"
"Yes, he is, Bruce. Like I said, Strange is smart as a whip and sharp as tacks but he's also just as pleasant as either one. He's not the type to be patient, especially when things aren't done the way he wants them to be done."
"How do you know that?" Bruce asked.
"I've worked with him a couple of times before your father hired me," Lucius replied. "I got to know him fairly well. But I lost track of him when I joined Wayne Enterprises. This is the first I've heard about him in a long while."
Bruce frowned, digesting the information that his CEO had shared with him. "What do you think he's working on for Powers?"
Lucius shook his head. "I can't say until we see it, Bruce. And I don't know if it's something we're going to like."
Katherine was at Gotham Mercy's E.R. when she ran into a familiar face from Gotham U. Charlie Shreck was getting coffee from a vending machine when she tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hi, Charlie," Katherine greeted her. "Off duty already, huh?"
"Hey, Kate—what brings you here?" Charlie asked.
"I had a meeting with the hospital director," Katherine replied.
"Oh. Hey, you want some coffee?" He held out the steaming paper cup to her. "It's my treat."
"Thanks," Katherine said, taking the cup. Charlie got himself another hot beverage from the machine. She couldn't quite hide the smile on her face as she took a sip from her cup.
"What?" Charlie asked.
"Oh, I guess I still can't believe that you're actually working here, Charlie," Katherine said. "Considering that you're one of Gotham's brat pack and all that."
"Yeah," Charlie admitted with a lopsided grin. "Who knew, huh?" Like Katherine, Bruce, and Derek Powers, Charlie was the only child of one of Gotham's founding families. The Shrecks immigrated to Gotham from Germany and started a dry-goods emporium that later evolved into one of the largest mall chains in Gotham, if not the entire country. Later on, however, it was discovered that Charlie's father was actually the boss of a criminal gang who intimidated and muscled out whole neighborhoods for him in order to further the expansion of his properties throughout Gotham. The Batman and Commissioner Gordon (then a lieutenant), of course, put a stop to the Shreck paterfamilias' activities. Fortunately, Charlie was left with the legal part of the family fortune and he used it to send himself to medical school. While he was a student, he often joked that his dad would've bought him his own hospital; now he was working as a medic in one of the toughest hospitals in the state.
Charlie took a sip of his coffee. "Who knew?" he said again. Then he laughed. "Then again, it's what I wanted to do anyway. Running a business wasn't in my blood, I guess, even if dad wanted me to take over the malls. I'm glad your granddad bought them up. That way I don't have to worry about all those people losing their jobs."
Katherine touched Charlie's arm gently. "And I'm glad you stayed on here, Charlie. You're one of the best doctors we've got here."
Charlie shrugged. "Like I said, it's what I always wanted to do. And…I guess I'm making up for what my dad did, you know?"
Katherine was about to say something when the P.A. system sent out a call for him: "Dr. Shreck, to the E.R. Dr. Shreck, to the E.R."
"Duty calls," Charlie said. "Hold this for me, would you?" He gave his cup to Katherine and ran for the emergency room. When he got there, a nurse immediately advised him on an incoming patient as she handed him a pair of rubber gloves and a mask.
"What's going on, Charlie?" Katherine asked, running up to him.
"We've got a possible Code Pink," Charlie told her. "A patient with an infectious disease is coming." A few minutes later, two medics wheeled a stretcher into the E.R. An old man lay on the stretcher, covered in a blood-stained blanket. Charlie put on his mask and approached the medics, who apprised him of the situation. Charlie and two more doctors, attended to by half a dozen nurses, tended to the old man immediately. Several minutes later, the old man was being taken to one of Gotham Mercy's wings where he would be under quarantine.
"What happened to the patient, Charlie?" Katherine asked Charlie.
"It's some kind of bacterial infection, probably TB," Charlie replied. "But we can't be sure until the tests come back. I just hope that—" The P.A. called for him again. "Listen, why don't you wait for me at the patient's lounge down the hall? I'll get back to you as soon as I'm done here." Katherine agreed and Charlie returned to the E.R. A second ambulance disgorged another patient with symptoms similar to the first one. Fifteen minutes later, another patient in the same condition arrived. In the span of an hour, the E.R. was busy as Charlie and his fellow doctors were dealing with what looked like a small-scale outbreak.
Selina didn't much care for the way things were turning out either. Six patients were now lying in Dr. Thompkins' clinic suffering from recurrent bacterial infections made worse by complications. She left a message with the receptionist asking Katherine to wait for her if she should arrive while Selina was out.
It felt strange as she walked down familiar streets. In every street corner were memories, good and bad. Time and again, she saw someone whom she might've known, although they avoided eye contact with her. Some of the people she passed looked at her with some interest since she seemed to be a bit too well-off to be from the area but she went unmolested except for some catcalls and wolf whistles.
She reached her destination after taking several turns that led her deeper into the East End's core. The door before her didn't look like it had changed since she was last there. She pressed the buzzer. Several moments later, she heard a voice coming from somewhere behind the door: "What do you want?"
"I need to speak to you, Mama Fortuna," Selina said.
"Who are you?" the voice demanded.
"It's me," Selina said. "Selina Kyle, Mama." She hadn't said those words in years. That funny feeling went through her again.
She heard locks being unbolted from the inside. "Come in," she was told. Selina pushed the door inward and stepped into a dimly lit corridor. Not even the sunlight that momentarily shone in from outside was able to dispel the shadows that crowded around her.
"Move forward," someone told her and Selina did so. She heard the locks being reset and sensed a presence behind her. "Go on in," whoever it was told her. "But keep your hands to yourself. Don't touch anything."
Selina walked down the corridor. She knew where she was supposed to go but stopped at the foot of a staircase to her right. Hands frisked her clinically but quickly. Nothing was taken from her.
"All right, go upstairs," she was told. "Keep your hands to yourself."
Selina nodded and took the stairs up to a second floor. There would be two more floors, she knew. When she reached the third floor, she was ordered to stop in front of another door. After a wait of several moments, Selina was allowed to enter the room beyond. Her unseen escort did not accompany her. After crossing a short hallway, she was inside.
"Selina Kyle," said the woman who sat behind an ornate writing desk. She looked at Selina with dark eyes that seemed to be peering out from under a hood of shadows. "Well, well—I didn't expect to see you here again."
"I've come for a good reason, Mama Fortuna," Selina said.
"I'm sure you have," Mama Fortuna remarked. "Selina Kyle doesn't come to me or anyone else asking for help unless something is beyond her capacity. Tell me: what help can I offer you?"
"I need to find out if there's been any kind of sickness spreading throughout the neighborhood, Mama Fortuna," Selina said. "It's very important."
"Come now, Selina," Mama Fortuna chided her. "There's always been sickness in the East End. You should know that. Has your time with the Kanes made you forget all about your life here?"
Selina didn't know if the woman was trying to insult her or if she was merely making sport of her. She decided to press on with her case. "There are six people who are very ill at Dr. Thompkins' clinic. They were given medicine two weeks ago and they were supposed to be cured. Now they're suffering and they may be dying, Mama Fortuna."
Mama Fortuna waved her hand dismissively. "Such things happen here. You seem to forget that too easily."
"I haven't forgotten," Selina said, her temper showing itself despite her attempt to keep it in check. "That's why I've come here. If something is happening here that I can do something about, then I would like to know about it."
Mama Fortuna leaned back in her chair. "That's very charitable of you, Selina. I thought your only goal was to leave this place and never come back."
"Are you saying you won't help me?" Selina asked. "Let me know and I'll leave."
Mama Fortuna laughed. "You never did manage to rein in your pride, did you?"
Selina held her temper back. "I apologize for bothering you, Mama Fortuna. I'll leave you now." She turned to go but stopped and looked back. "If you think I've changed, well—you haven't. You're still the same. You'll never change." With that, she exited the room. When she stepped out into the daylight, she spared one last glance at the building where Mama Fortuna lived like the queen of a ruined empire before walking away.
