Disclaimer: I do not own any characters associated with Batman, they belong to DC Comics
Authour's notes: This was a pretty easy chapter to write, although I haven't been able to spend much time on it. All things considered I pulled it off and hope you like it ! As always, please review, favorite, follow if you enjoy the story, it is a big encouragement. And of course, constructive criticism is also appreciated !
Chapter 7: A Robin takes care of the nest
Commissioner James Gordon straightened up after examining a thin wheel mark on the floor of the Central Bank of Gotham. He'd seen this kind of mark before in hospitals or places where paramedics took people away from the scenes of accidents; it looked as though someone had-
"Looks like a gurney's been through here, wouldn't you say?" a young man's voice called from somewhere above him. The cop looked up to see the slim form of Nightwing jump from the fixed chandelier hanging from the ceiling to the ground besides him. He held out a hand to the older man. "Good to see you, Jim."
"And you, kid." Gordon answered grasping the outstretched hand, before turning back to the tracks. "I was just thinking that, you know. It does look an awful lot like the marks you see in Gotham General. Does that mean he was involved?"
"It's definitely a possibility. It's not like him though to not leave any sign that he's responsible. Joker always leaves a calling card and there isn't one this time, beside this track. If he was involved, there's not much he could have done, he's still in a body cast since Batman brought him in last time. That would mean he didn't have much control over what was going on so he couldn't leave any calling card."
The commissioner was impressed at the young man's detective work. He came to expect this level of reasoning from Batman, but Nightwing had never been as much of a detective as his former mentor. But then, he must be stepping up his game in the Dark Knight's absence; though Gordon didn't know for sure, there was no doubt in his mind he was taking some leave because of the emotional trauma he'd suffered at the hands of the Joker. Shaking himself, trying to rid the image of that poor boy's body from his mind, he turned back to his predecessor.
"Well, let's not rule anything out. We don't know for sure it was him, it could be anyone. This could have been made by a wheelchair as well." He pulled his radio from his shoulder to his mouth, pressing the button on the side. "Bullock." He called, "have we got the surveillance footage from that night yet?"
"Nothing yet, Jim." A low voice said from the other end of the radio. "We're going through all the files, but the one from this morning seems to be missing."
"Damn it!" Gordon cursed. "They must have wiped out the video before hitting the place. Is there nothing in the vaults?" This last question was directed at Nightwing.
"Nothing so far, I took the mold of the drill that was used to get into the vault and am analyzing it now. I'll know where it came from within the next ten minutes. Until then, I'll take a sample of the residue of the tire track and send the data for analysis."
While Nightwing bent down to begin extracting the chemical, the commissioner bent down to speak to him while making it seem like he was examining his work.
"Tell me, kid." He started with a grave tone. "How is he?"
The simple question made Nightwing freeze and, for a second, Gordon thought he could see sadness through the domino mask that covered the young vigilante's eyes.
"Not great, Jim." Batman's former apprentice said quietly, continuing his extraction of the residue. "We've sent him away from the city for a while. We agreed it's not a good idea for him to get involved since Joker's escape, he's in a bad way."
"That's what I figured. He really loved that boy, didn't he?" This wasn't really a question and Gordon hung his head sadly as he said it.
"We all did, Commissioner. But he did love him most of all." Nightwing had finished but stayed close to the ground, his voice low.
"You keep saying we, who do you mean by that?" Gordon asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
This, however, was not the right question to ask. Nightwing's head immediately snapped upright and he straightened himself so fast Gordon had to marvel at the fact he didn't fall straight back down. The younger man then took on the serious no-more-questions tone he had often heard Batman use to say that he trusted him, but there were some people he couldn't betray. He then abruptly took his leave and, grabbing a grapnel gun from his belt, vanished back up towards the chandelier and out of sight. Gordon sighed and called for forensics.
Dick Grayson entered the Batcave concealed beneath Wayne Manor on his Batcycle with a loud engine's roar, alerting Alfred – bent over the computers, analyzing the data from the sample of the tire track Nightwing had sent him – who straightened and walked towards the arrival, asking him what the scene looked like. Nightwing explained his and Gordon's suspicions concerning the Joker's involvement in the hit. Just as they finished talking, the computer started making a beep, indicating the end of the analysis of the mold of the drill used to enter the Central Bank of Gotham's vault.
"The mold doesn't match any known drill models. That means it was a custom made drill, so there's no way to figure out where it was bought, Master Richard." Alfred sighed, reading the words appearing on the screen.
"Hang on." Dick said, starting to type into the computer. "That bit of metal that was left behind. I picked it up and analyzed it myself because I thought it must be from the drill they used. I'll cross-reference the material with ones made in metallurgy factories in Gotham."
Alfred couldn't help but marvel at the young man's rigorousness. He had not thought of the young Grayson as much of a detective as his mentor, but this was something Batman would probably have overlooked in his current state. The computer came up with the results as Nightwing finished typing.
"Ok, so, according to the search, the metal I picked up matches the steel that comes from the Sionis Steel Mill."
"Sionis?" Alfred asked, his eyes wide. "Black Mask robbed a bank owned by the Penguin? Why would he make such a direct move against Cobblepot?"
"I don't know, it does seem rather reckless, even for him…" Dick said slowly. "Have the results of the tire track residue come up yet?"
"I set it as a sub routine because you were already analyzing the mold and the steel. It should be just about done, now I think." The older man took back the controls of the Batcomputer and brought up the analysis he had been working on before Grayson's return. "Ah yes, here we are."
They observed the screen as the composite materials of the track came up on the screen. They both observed the mark had been created by the burn of a thin rubber tire and the pattern and depth made it obvious the weight of the locomotive was distributed in a way that meant the person on top of whatever made the track was lying down. The scratches on either side of the mark led to the conclusion that the wheels of the apparatus had been worn down by a recent fast move and seemed to be consistent with the tracks found in Arkham the night of the Joker's escape from Arkham.
Alfred and Dick looked at each other in horror. Black Mask's steel used to make a drill too large to be anything but custom made, and the same scratch marks as the ones found after the Clown's flight from the asylum.
"Black Mask and Joker were involved in the same robbery?" Alfred whispered, shocked. "Those two madmen are associates now?!"
"Well, now we know who sprung Joker from Arkham…" Nightwing growled, the full meaning of such a revelation sinking in.
End of chapter 7
