"I want her..."
The last words of Quinzel two days before were still ringing in her ears. She worked as fast as possible, trying to find her father. She had just finished the results of the analysis from the wheel prints of the pictures that Helena had taken.
It was from a new Limited Edition Roush Racing Patriots "Champions" Ford F-150 XLT 5.4 TRITON 4X4 pickup. Offered only in New England, commemorating the Patriots. It would be useful, only 1,000 vehicles; from there she needed check how many were in New Gotham. It would be easy to check the files of the Department of Transportation.
'But I'll be nice, Barbara,' Harleen's words danced in her mind, 'I'll give you a chance to do it when you want, but before your twelve labors are finished.'
Dammit.
She felt she'd never hated anyone so much before. But she couldn't let her feelings betray her, it wouldn't let her work properly. At least it would give her time to work. Time to try to find her father. She knew it didn't matter what she did, in the end, surely Quinzel would kill him. But until she finished, she would keep him alive, it was the only way she could force her to commit crimes.
Her eyes were fixed on the monitor. Harleen's men were now outside the Museum where the golden belt was.
"I'm working on disabling the alarms," she said through her mic to them. "Wait for my signal."
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The brunette saw the vehicles stopping at the rear of the museum. A blue van. The street was empty. The man moved out of the vehicle. The guy hadn't lied. He was telling the truth.
Who had sent her the message?
Whoever it had been knew where to find her. It could be a trap as Oracle said… but this was a real robbery, maybe it was someone who was trying to prove he could be trusted.
Her feral eyes followed the movements of the criminals. What were they looking for? Maybe someone had discovered their plan and was trying to help.
Who would know?
The temptation was too much. Cats were curious.
And she was terribly curious.
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"Alarms disabled. You can move in."
Something distracted the redhead's attention, a signal on the screen. A familiar signal that should not be there: Huntress' signal, she was a few meters from the Museum.
What was she doing there?
"What the h…?" she growled and turned on the young woman's mic. "Huntress? What are you doing at the Museum?"
:: I thought you were resting.::
"I was… I…" she hesitated "… I just came here to look for something and I noticed your signal is moving. What are you doing?"
::Following a clue. ::
The redhead brushed her hair back, she needed to get her out of there. "What clue?"
::A little bird told me.::
"What are you talking about?"
::A guy was following me, I intercepted him, he told me he had a message for me… And, as I can see, he was not lying.::
Barbara moved her hand nervously and touched her chin. "Who is that guy?"
::Uhm… I forgot to ask him… I really have to remember to do that before I knock people out.::
"Who sent the message to you?"
::I dunno, the guy said he didn't know."
Quinzel. Must be Quinzel.
"Let me see if I understand this, you got a message from an unknown guy sent to you by an unknown person. Is that right?"
::Pretty much.:: the brunette answered ::And he was right, men are moving into the museum. There are six.::
Quinzel was planning something, she had told her she wanted a bird down. The Museum was a trap for her. She needed to get her out of there.
"Huntress, it's a trap, don't go in."
::I thought that, but don't worry, maybe it's not… I'll keep my eyes open.::
The redhead noticed her signal moving toward the museum.
"Don't go there," she said .
::I'm already are here.::
"No, Huntress."
Harleen had planned something, She needed to stop Huntress, prevent her from being killed, avoid the police and get the belt. Great, just great.
::I'm on the rooftop. Any help here?.::
"It's a trap."
::Maybe….. maybe not. I'll be careful.::
Barbara bit her lips in frustration. It was a trap, Why wouldn't Helena listen to her? Why did she insist on being so stubborn? She needed to move quickly. This was part of Quinzel's game and she needed to move using all her ability.
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She could hear the sigh of her mentor. Maybe she was angry because she had disobeyed her orders. But... whatever. She was a crime fighter and crime fighters must fight against criminals and stop them.
That was a rule.
Who'd written that stupid law?
The brunette moved inside, she crawled into the duct until she found an empty corridor. She opened the grate that connected toward it and jumped down. She walked a few steps and found one of the security guards on the floor. Blood on his head.
She put her hand on his neck. He still had a pulse.
"Oracle, send me an ambulance, a guard is hurt," she said in a low voice.
Walking toward the door, she stopped at the door frame and gazed outside. A man with a gun was a few steps from her. Easily, she knocked the man out, as well as a second one that was downstairs. She walked toward the upper floor and found another guy in the main corridor. He had his back to her.
The man felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned to find a fist smashing against his face.
"Score 2-0, me," the brunette whispered, dragging the man inside the room. She put him behind the door and ran toward the main room. She found three men, trying to open a crystal box.
Inside was something that looked like a belt. Narrowing her eyes she observed it, she had seen it before, it was a temporal exhibition. Yeah, she remembered it. It was a very valuable item, but really hard to trade.
So, the criminal behind this must be a private collector.
She could think about it later. Well, time for some fun.
"Looking for something,guys?" she asked, standing at the entrance.
The leader turned.
"Who the hell? Get her!" he shouted to his two partners.
The brunette jumped over them and hit them in their backs. They charged against her, but she dodged them easily.
"You need fighting lessons." She grinned, punching one of the guys in his face and kicking the other one.
She knocked them down easily and turned to the leader.
"Don't move!" he shouted, pointing at her with a gun.
The young woman rolled her eyes. Why did everybody loved to aim guns at her?
"She wants you dead," the leader grinned. "I'll do it now and not wait."
The brunette frowned. Her secret identity was not very secret anymore. Maybe Barbara was right about using a mask. First a "he" had sent her a message and now a "she" wanted her dead. Who was 'she´?
"She?" the young woman asked, "May I ask who 'she' is?"
"Of course."
"So?"
"You can ask, but I'm not obliged to answer you."
"I paid all my bills." Huntress said, "Is it someone I know?"
"I'll do this job with pleasure," He walked toward her. "She would be grateful."
"We will see." With a fast kick, she disabled him. She hit him again and put him against the wall, twisting his arm back. "You don't say. Now we can talk.. Who is your boss?."
"I don't know."
She twisted his arm roughly.
"Guess what? I don't believe you and I'm not in a good mood today," she growled "And when I'm in a bad mood I'm a real pain in the ass. I hate people trying to kill me. Now, tell me, who is your boss?"
"I don't know…"
Helena felt a soft hit on her back.
She recognized the sensation.
Crap. A narcotic dart.
It was her last thought. The drug worked quickly, her knees bent and she fell over the man she was holding.
He noticed the dart and grinned.
"I don't know who that was, but hanks." He growled and slapped the semi unconscious woman on her face. "Now it's my turn."
He kicked her hard on the floor. The young woman grunted.
"Let's see who's the boss now." The thug picked up his gun on the floor and pointed it at her head. "Say goodbye, bitch."
A birdarang hit his head, the bullet slammed into the floor next to the brunette's head. He fell backwards.
"If you touch her again you are dead," a voice said in the darkness.
"Quinzel wants her dead."
"As I recall, you must only follow orders."
"The orders are to kill her." he said.
"Those are not your orders. Take the belt and leave."
"Harleen…"
"I said leave now!"
Annoyed, he picked up the belt and helped his men to their feet. They moved outside the place.
Oracle sighed with relief and walked toward Huntress slowly, she had to use the transponder and race the Hummer to arrive in time and stop her, she didn't know what Quinzel was planning.
She stopped by Huntress' side and kneeled. Gently, she removed the dart from her back and turned her on her side, the girl was knocked out. She had use a drug that was potent enough to put her to sleep her in seconds and keep her quiet a few hours.
"I'm sorry, Huntress..." she mumbled, moving an arm under her to lift her and move her out of the building.
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Daybreak. Looking through the window and dressed in her robe, Barbara laced her fingers on her lap. She felt bad, really bad, she was betraying her friends and herself.
She lowered her head, Quinzel had planned this very well, it was totally clean -- no clues, no way to find out where she was keeping her father restrained. Maybe she needed to change her tactics. Time was running out and she was still at the beginning.
Her eyes followed the movement of people walking on the sidewalk below. Sometimes she wondered if it had been a mistake to turn into a crime fighter, she quit it once. The first time she had touched death.
Supergirl had visited Gotham and shared an adventure with her. She was shot and nearly killed by a criminal called the Commorant. She remembered the nightmares she had. Commorant appearing at midnight in her room, while she was recovering, to finish his job and kill her. She'd had a serious crisis of faith and briefly retired. She had asked herself if her life was the price she wanted pay to help others.
She had spend weeks scared, afraid of everything, feeling that every person that she found in the street was one of Commorant's men and would take out a gun and shoot her again. For the first time in her life, she'd felt as if she didn't have control of her destiny.
And she hated not being in control.
After a talk with Batman, she returned to face down and capture Commorant. It had been hard -- facing her fears.
She couldn't quit and as she'd told once Helena, "it's who we are."
She heard a soft sound behind her. She turned her head, Helena, lying on her oversized bed was coming back to her senses. She turned her wheelchair and moved toward the mattress.
The young woman stirred and slowly opened her eyes.
"Feel better?" the redhead asked, pouring a glass of water from the night table.
"Uh?" the brunette asked, trying to focus on her. Her mouth wasdry, she hated the iron taste in it, typical after being drugged.
"Do you feel better?" Barbara gave her the glass.
The young woman rested her weight on her elbow and took the glass of water. She finished it in three swallows. The redhead took the glass and put it on the table.
She let herself fall in the mattress and sighed. "What happened?"
"I was going to ask you the same."
"I told you there was movement in the museum."
"And you were inside with no back up. Why didn't you listen to me?"
"I did, but there was a robbery there!"
"Yes, and you almost got yourself killed."
"There was a robbery in there, Barbara!" the brunette said, annoyed.
"Why are you so stubborn? I don't want to see you with a hole in your head."
"And what do you want me to do?" Helena shouted "You are lost in your own world! You don't act like Oracle anymore!... Shit…" the brunette felt her stomach roll, which wasn't a good thing. Suddenly, she ran for the bathroom to avoid puking the complete contents of her stomach all over the bed.
"I don't want you patrolling alone again. Understand?" Barbara shouted "And I'm not asking, That is an order."
Helena felt she was like she was emptying the food she had eaten for the last two weeks. She coughed and rested her arms on the sides of the toilet. After a few minutes, she stopped.
A hand extended a wet cloth, she took it and cleaned her mouth.
"I don't follow orders and rules… you know it." Helena mumbled, glaring at her mentor.
"Good, if you want kill yourself, do it alone," the redhead said. "I'm not going to help you. Clean the bathroom when you finish."
She wheeled outside the room and closed the door behind her. Helena coughed and rested her head on one of her arms.
Dammit, she hated when Barbara was in her Oracle mode.
Her stomach clenched and she threw up again.
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