Template – by Rob Dew
Chapter Ten –Nightwing glanced at the Captain. He was shaking but pointing a gun at him within four feet. He didn't know it yet but he owned him. In his normal police life people never knew because of the way he held himself. The only hint that he was good is that he walked slightly to the outside edges and balls of his feet and his eyes were never still.
The Batman was already ignoring him and throwing himself through the door. He knew Nightwing would take down the Captain. Nightwing rolled inside the gun ahnd and stamped the instep while kicking the opposite knee and hammer locking the elblow whilst rolling him into the nearest hard surface he could.
He had over 10 years training of hard falling with the circus and being Robin. His body remembered it only too well. Before the Captain had even fallen on the floor he was just a second behind the Batman.
It will take the group of guards outside at least half a second to process what is happening and another second to react. That is if they were very good. Most normal people, even trained people take at least a second to process and another to react. For Nightwing and Batman that was all the time in the world.
The guards were armoured but not wearing metatarsal protection. The metatarsals bones are a group of five long bones in the foot in between the mid foot and phalanges of the toes. Few people wear steel toe capped boots or shoes in their normal life, even highly trained guards. In a little under a second two of them were screaming and staring at the ceiling because Nightwing had shattered a foot and the opposite knee.
"Safe!" shouted Batman as he casually threw a guard through a glass partition.
Nightwing somersaulted back into the office and grabbed an object from the safe. What was it? It looked like a small notepad. Was that all there was? Was that all there was in there? A bullet buzzed past his ear making a sound like a wasp before making a rather sizable hole in the partition behind him. No time to think. He threw himself back out of the room where the Batman was just finishing off the last two guards. He hoped the bank had good health insurance before he threw himself out of the window through the hole they had made earlier. He could see the Batman behind him, his cloak billowing behind him like leathery wings. He reached to his belt and fired a grappling gun at a window cleaners gantry. He still had one hand grasping the notepad. His costume, although bullet proof, fire proof (to a certain extent) and full of more gadgets and devices than a swiss army knife wasn't really over furnished with pockets. He really should bring that up with the Batman at some stage.
The grapple caught the gantry and the cable started slowing him down gently to protect his shoulder. He landed in an alleyway with less speed than stepping off a sidewalk. The Batman landed next to him his scalloped wings and horns making it seem like a devil was walking the earth.
Now what was this he had?
Melanie Wilkinson looked up in shock at who walked in. It was Captain Bridges his normal smile was gone. He was holding a gun steadily at her.
"Are you really going to shoot me Captain?" she asked. She was surprised at how calm she felt. "What is the matter, have I not achieved my yearly appraisal targets? I am sure I adhere to the Bludhaven PD guidelines." She stood up and held her chin up. "Besides I am on sick leave at the moment. See I got shot?" She pointed at her shoulder wound. "I haven't had a chance to get a doctor's note yet. I have had rather a busy few days.
"I don't want to have to do this but you and Grayson got too close the truth." He waggled the gun at her in a vaguely threatening way. "If you had just left the case alone. This is Bludhaven there are always other murders to investigate. If I shoot you it won't even make the evening news." He threw a set of handcuffs over to her. "Put these on." These were Viper professional heavy duty police handcuffs made of nickel plated steel. They had a double lock mechanism stopping movement in any direction. "Behind your back," he growled.
"Not sure how," she said. "I mean I can't see. You will have to help." She turned with her back to him and her hands behind her back. If he managed to put her in these she would never get out. She clipped one wrist into one of the cuffs and waited nervously for him to put the other wrist in. As soon as she felt his hand on her wrist she lashed out at him one hand pulling his nose back her heel stamping down on his foot.
She was too slow though. Bridges punched her in the back of the skull making her head spin and she collapsed to the ground. "Do you think Grayson would come out of hiding to rescue you?" He put his face so close to her she could smell his foul breath. "Yeah I think he would and when he does I will kill him in front of you and then kill you!"
The Batman pressed a button on his utility belt and a sleek black car pulled up next to them. It was so black you could barely make out its shape. Light just seemed to fall into it. There was a click and whirr sound and then a hiss as two doors gullwinged open. The Batman and Nightwing leapt into it as is drove away a mere shadow in the night.
"What is that thing?" growled Batman.
Nightwing looked at what he had taken. It was a notebook. Was that it? Was that what all this about. Just a notebook. His eyebrows went up as he looked at the list of names. "We need to find Melanie Wilkinson, she is in serious trouble. And we need to find Captain Bridges now!"
"Your boss?"
"Yeah," said Nightwing.
"Computer, track Captain Bridges last known location." He turned to Nightwing. "If his cell phone is switched on we can track him down."
"Police cell phones are confidential," said Nightwing. Batman just glanced at him. "Of course, not for you."
"Captain Bridges is located in the Industrial area of Bludhaven," toned the computer. "Programming the sat-nav. Do you want automatic or manual drive enabled?" The Batman pressed the manual drive and the car shot off down the dark, rainy streets.
Nightwing was tapping the notepad impatiently to his knee. He was worried about Melanie. Would she still be alive? What if Bridges had killed her. "I can't go as Nightwing," said Nightwing. "I will go as Grayson."
"Your alterego?" queried Batman. To Batman Bruce Wayne was the mask and Batman who he was.
Nightwing struggled to get changed in the Batmobile. They were racing seats designed to protect the driver in pretty much every eventuality. It was not the easiest to get changed in though, especially when his costume, which although designed with protecting the wearer against knives, bullets, electric shocks and chemical hallucinogens, was not the easiest to get out of when being driven at great speeds through the streets of Bludhaven. "Sorry!" said Nightwing as he accidentally elbowed Batman in the face. Batman glowered at him. "Sorry!" he said again as he elbowed him again the face as he put on a shirt. "There isn't much space here."
"I thought you were an acrobat?"
"Done!"
"Generally speaking your tie should be inside your collar."
"Thanks."
"And your trousers not tucked into your socks. That's better. Shall I drop you outside?"
"Yes thanks."
The car door hissed open and Grayson, straightening his tie, got out. What was this building?
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