Author's Note:

Part 7! Yay! Continue to comment! I love to read them, really! I've gotten so much positive feedback that I just can't help but smile! Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

MeechieNikole

"…And this is one of my most prized possessions, the Russian egg. Each little sapphire and diamond surrounds a solid gold egg. Given to my mother from my father when I was a boy. It's worth 2 million dollars."

Though Asimov thought that money interested me, the only thing I as interested in was listening closely to my left ear for any information Nightwing could give me. So far, during my distracting tour, Asimov had shown me golden hallways and marvelous artifacts. But I knew what he was getting to even though he begged to be discreet. And as we entered his large, zealous bedroom, I felt my body tense. Asimov easily slid past me and walked further into the room.

"Hope you're almost done there!" I hissed into my ear.

There wasn't a response. I honestly didn't know how much longer I could keep up with this façade but I was gonna hold out.

Asimov turned with a bottle of champagne in his hand. A chasseur cat-like smirk rose on his face as he twirled a fragile glass in his empty hand.

"Now what was it you said about liquid courage?" He asked, his massive body dragged closer towards me.

I smiled and kicked my right foot up in the air, knocking the glass out of Asimov's hand. As it tumbled in the air, I raised my hand and grabbed it.

"Be careful, sweetie. You may not know what you're getting into." I smiled and rubbed my lips against the glass.

Come on, Nightwing.

Asimov's momentary gaze of shock immediately flickered to pure lust.

"Let's cut the charades, that dress would look better at your ankles." He growled sexually.

I caught myself from barfing. And when he tried to hurry over in my direction, I easily stepped to the side.

Nightwing!

"No time to play, love. I've got guests outside so I can only take 10 minutes tops."

I was a little offended.

"Ten minutes, why Asimov, what kinda girl do you think I am?" I asked as I realized I was up against a wall.

"Let's find out." He murmered, getting too close for comfort.

"I'm in." Nightwing's rugged voice filled my ears.

"Thank God." I said aloud.

Asimov glanced at my eyes, quite confused. I easily grabbed the space between his neck and shoulders with my middle finger and thumb. I squeezed that area lightly and Asimov immediately fell to the ground, knocked out. As he fell, his jacket opened up and a golden key was peaking out of his inside pocket.

I bent down and retrieved it, silently thanking Phil for teaching me about pressure points on the human body. I dropped the key into my bra and fixed my clothing.

I slipped out of the room and closed the door behind me. I quietly moved back to where the party was. As soon as I made my way back into the unsuspecting crowd, a hand grabbed my arm. I turned around to see one of Asimov's bodyguards glaring at me accusingly.

"Where's Asimov?" He growled lowly so that only I could hear.

I coolly smiled and winked.

"He's a little…worn out." I whispered seductively into his ear. The bodyguard released my arm.

"He should be out soon. Excuse me while I get some fresh air." I winked at him and made my way past the crowd. My eyes were set on the now guard-less corner entrance to the garden.

I turned my head slightly and make sure the bodyguard that caught me was gone. When the coast was clear, I slipped out of the party and into an extravagant garden. I looked to my right and on the ground, knocked out, were the two guards that had secured the area. Nightwing had really messed them up. They were basically sleeping. I smirked and smoothly stepped over them.

"Ok, I'm in the garden." I hissed into the earpiece.

"Make a left at the cupid statue. There will a black tiled door. Go through there and go down the stairs." Nightwing instructed.

I looked up and there, in a sparkling fountain, was a golden cupid glinting in the moonlight. I walked up to it and was immediately covered by thorn bushes. I looked to my left and by a white rose bush, almost invisible in the night air, was a the black tiled door.

"How did you find this?" I hissed as I walked up to the door. Nightwing did not answer.

I looked over my shoulder to check for anyone watching. When I felt sure that the coast was clear, I pushed open the door and walked into the darkness. The door closed behind me and the slam echoed through the darkness. I had a queasy feeling in my stomach. This place reminded me of my first training practice in the arena. I took one, scarily step forward and suddenly automatic lights illuminated to show me that I was one more step from tripping down a flight of stairs.

I quietly walked down the steps. When I finally made it to the final step, I realized I had come to a fork in the road. I whispered Nightwing's name but no one answered. My senses began to come alive in the silence.

"Nightwing" I whispered into the earpiece.

Suddenly, a pair of hands slipped over my mouth. I tried to scream but the hands were tightly gripped.

"Shhhh." A voice cooed in my ear.

I knew Nightwing's voice even without words. My shoulders relaxed and my breathing slowed. When Nightwing felt I was calm enough, he released me. I turned to him.

"Might wanna let me in on the 'no talking on ear-piece' thing. Jeez."

Nightwing ignored my comment.

"We've got a problem." He grumbled.

I sighed. As if being in some Russian mafia man's secret lair wasn't problem enough.

Nightwing led me to the left. As we walked further, the lights in the hall darkened again. We finally reached a system panel that was behind secured bars.

"Who puts their machine's in jail?" I asked annoyed that this wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

"Asimov is definitely keeping something from us." Nightwing said.

I glanced at the lock that kept us from the panel. Annoyance and fear filled me. What if we didn't get the info? What would happen next?

"It couldn't just be a secret code we could hack into! Or some lasers that we could slide through. It has to be a key. A simple, normal, everyday key…. Wait…WAIT!" I shouted happily.

Nightwing eyes turned wild with frustration for my loud voice. I covered my mouth to calm my excitement. Then, when I was finally calm, I lowered my hand.

"I've got the key!" I hissed.

"You…. WHAT?" Nightwing shouted. I giggled and covered his mouth with my hands. While covering them, I began to explain.

"When I knocked Asimov out, he fell to the ground and a shiny key came out. I didn't think anything of it really. I just picked it up."

After my explanation, I lowered my hands from his lips to reveal a very impressed smirk on his face.

"You're brilliant." He complimented.

"It's a gift." I reached into my bra and pulled out the key. I then put it in the lock and turned. The locked clicked magnificently and the barred door opened. In front of us was a large control panel with a wide, computer screen.

Nightwing and I quickly stepped in. Immediately, we spotted a bundle of usb drives next to an empty can of coke. Nightwing grabbed the first one and plugged it into the computer.

Instantly, a picture of Asimov on the beach appeared. Nightwing clicked through all the pictures.

"This isn't it." I declared.

Nightwing unplugged it and went on to the next one. It was videos of Asimov's vacation to Italy.

Nightwing unplugged it and went on to the next one. It was pictures of Peruvian models.

Every usb port was meaningless and annoying. Nightwing went through every picture but there was nothing.

"I can't believe this." Nightwing groaned, running his fingers through his hair.

"This can't be right… Why would Asimov lock up photos of him on the beach?" I asked Nightwing and myself.

Nightwing decided to click through photos again but look more carefully. I stood back and watched him, wondering what was it that Nightwing and I were missing… Then my eyes landed on the empty coke can. All at once, my brain started to connect the dots.

"You know one thing I learned about Asimov while getting a tour of his house?" I asked Nightwing, keeping my eyes on the can.

"What?" Nightwing's voice was somewhat hopeless and annoyed.

"Besides the fact that he's a total pervert…. He has a really clean house. I mean spotless. Not even a spec. I don't even know if I could live in a place this clean-…"

"What's the point, Leila?" Nightwing growled, jerking his body towards me. My eyes did not move from the coke can.

"The point is, Nightwing. I bet Asimov has OCD or something. I bet that he would murder one of his bodyguards if they left anything unattended or misplaced."

"Soooo…" Nightwing said exasperated.

"Sooooo out of every place in this big old mansion. That coke can is the only trash that can be found. And on a machine at that."

Nightwing looked at the can for the first time. Then he looked back at me.

"You don't think…" He began.

I walked up to the panel and grabbed the can. I looked closely at the opening and bent back the tab. I then showed it to Nightwing.

"No stains or residue. The inside is wiped clean."

I then shook the can and felt a rattle. I felt the top of it, then the middle, then the bottom. I then realized that the bottom was loose. I grabbed a hold on it and turned it counterclockwise. After a few turns, the lid slid off and gripped to the bottom was a silver usb drive.

I looked up at Nightwing in victory.

"You're amazing." Nightwing smiled.

I had never seen him smile before. But the happiness didn't last long. One after one, the darkened lights re-illuminated.

Someone was coming.

I looked at Nightwing in horror. He silently pointed up to the vent. He had been prepared for this. I grabbed the usb drive, climbed on his shoulders, opened the vent, climbed up, and jumped in. I leaned over the edge to grab Nightwing. But he was busy putting everything back the way it was. He finally closed the barred door, taking the key, and jumped up to grab my hand. When I had a good grip on him, I pulled him up with all the strength I had. He closed the vent just as footsteps were right under us. Because there was little room, Nightwing was on top of me and we remained still as the figure shook the barred door.

"It's secure." A man said.

I stared into Nightwing's eyes and the footsteps disappeared. Slowly, each light darkened once again.

Finally, Nightwing and I could breath. He crawled off of me and leaned against the wall.

"Boy do I have a thing for vents." I breathed happily.

Nightwing genuinely laughed.

"Oh darling!" I laughed loudly as we easily weaved through the crowd. Nightwing held on tight to my waist. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Asimov. He was talking to the blonde's as if nothing had happened.

"Temporary memory loss." I whispered to Nightwing the side effect of my pressure point trick. I excused myself from his grasp and strolled over to Asimov. He took one look at me and a hint of memory washed onto his face. I winked and grabbed his jacket.

"You were wonderful, tonight, darling." I proclaimed, I grazed my hand on the inside of his shirt, slipping the golden key to its rightful place, "But alas, I am engaged. So let's keep this our little secret." I stepped away and waved goodbye leaving Asimov's ego bigger than it had ever been. I went back to Nightwing's hold.

"It's done." I whispered in his ear.

He smiled triumphantly as we walked out of the party. We reached the valet and he brought our car around.

Nightwing opened the door for me and I slipped in. As soon as he was in the driver's seat, he sped off.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"So this it what it feels like to have an accomplished mission?" I laughed.

Nightwing's grip on the steering wheel was tight but he smiled.

"You were amazing, Leila." He glanced over at me.

I smiled and stared out the window. Though a lot had gone wrong so far, tonight was just about perfect.

When we reached Mount Justice, everyone was waiting for us; eager to hear news.

As Nightwing and I strolled in with Batman, we were bombarded with question. I saw Superboy and Beast Boy in the background; Beast Boy was waving frantically and Superboy had his arms crossed with a satisfied smirk on his face. I made my way towards them.

"How did it go?" Beast Boy asked eagerly.

I couldn't help but reflect my pure excitement.

"It was awesome! I'm going on every mission from now on." I laughed.

"Slow down kiddo. What did you find?" Superboy asked.

"I was wondering the same thing." Batman's voice boomed over me. I turned to see him and Nightwing behind me. I took off my mask and took the usb drive out of my bra.

"One secret usb drive." I announced, placing it in his hand. Batman eyed the evidence and looked over at Nightwing.

"Did you look at it?" He asked.

Nightwing shook his head.

"We didn't have time. Asimov's guards were on our tail. But Leila was an amazing asset to-…"

"Let's figure out what this is." Batman turned and walked towards the main computer in the center of the room.

Nightwing stared after Batman, annoyance clear on his face. He looked back at me and I gave him a reassuring smile in return. We all then followed Batman to the computer.

Batman slowly put the drive in the usb port. Abruptly, data appeared. But this data didn't make any sense.

"It's a bunch of scribble!" Beast boy exclaimed exasperated.

Mal Duncan, an expert at computers stepped forward.

"It's a bunch of symbols… meaningless…"

Batman glared at the screen, as did Nightwing.

"I just don't get it. It has to mean something! Asimov had it hidden!"

I took a step forward and looked closely at the screen. Yes, these symbols were basically meaningless, but I felt a sense of familiarity rush through me. My heart pounded as my eyes chased every line, searching for some sort of clue. But these symbols weren't making any sense…

Then it hit me.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. It hit so hard that I had to gasp from the mental and emotional impact.

Everyone's eyes left the screen and were now on me. But my eyes were staring at the screen with a mixed emotion of realization and horror.

"I've seen those symbols before! Those are the same symbols that were on the usb drive I held on to when I found myself at Phil's door. Those symbols are the last memory I have…"