The Meeting
By
AJ
Part 10
Bruce looked over the places that Tim found that had supplies of Digoxin Immune Fab. There were several in Metropolis, some in Washington, DC, and several in New York. And all of them were reserved for digitalis over doses.
"Please, I need your help. My son needs Digoxin Immune Fab."
"Did he take an overdose of digitalis?"
"No, he was poisoned by yellow oleander," Bruce stated.
"That is a highly poisonous plant. How did he get into yellow oleander? Did he ingest it?"
"Not exactly," Bruce stated.
"Can you tell me?
"He . . . got a cut . . ."
"Sir, you must give us a reasonable explanation."
"But my son needs just one vial, that is all," Bruce explained.
"You will need to take him to the Metropolis hospital . . ."
"I'm not in Metropolis. I'm outside of Gotham City."
"Gotham City? Have you tried local sources?"
Bruce didn't want to have to take Dick to a separate hospital and try to explain. He already tried taking him to Leslie's clinic and she wasn't able to help him. "I've tried, but no one was able to help him."
"I'm sorry, we can't give you any. We're not allowed to send potential toxic and controlled substances over state lines."
"Without it, my son will die probably within 24-36 hours."
"There is nothing we can do. Our hands are tied."
It was that way with every phone call that he made. There was just no getting around it. When he told them what poison his son had in his system, they all wanted to know how it happened. Bruce had been somewhat evasive, skirting on the truth, but not actually telling it completely. How could he tell them that his youngest son tried to kill his oldest with a sword laced with yellow oleander nectar. It even sounded farfetched to him. And when he couldn't explain it to their satisfaction, the person on the other line flat out refused to even consider his proposal. Taking Dick to Algeria was out of the question. The trip would be too much for his system as it stood. The rash was slowly spreading from the entry site, and the pain he was experiencing had increased since he came back from Leslie's clinic. Twice Dick raced to his private bathroom to vomit up bile. He also was suffering from diarrhea and he hadn't even eaten since yesterday. His headache was also getting worse and the best thing he could do was keep the drapes closed and the lights turned off to minimize the pain he was feeling from the light.
Bruce ached for his son. Both had been poisoned before in their line of work, but the universal antidote pills they kept in their utility belts usually did the trick. This time, he feared that Dick wasn't going to make it.
"Father?"
"What is it Damian?"
"I . . . I wish there was something I could do," Damian said, his head hanging down.
Bruce turned to his youngest son. In the last few hours, Damian had been very subdued. Though Talia had told Bruce that Damian's training had been extensive, the one thing she did not make clear was whether Damian had indeed killed. During Bruce's time with the League of Shadows, that had been part of the training to become an assassin, to take the life of someone without regard or remorse. It would seem with the way Damian was behaving, he had not. And if Dick were to die, he would be the first person that Damian would have killed. He did not know how that would affect the boy. He suspected it would harm him in some way.
"There is nothing we can do right now," Bruce said.
"I . . . I'm sorry Father," Damian's words went down to a whisper. "I do not want Grayson to die."
"It's all right Damian, you can call him Dick. He is your brother."
"I do not feel worthy," Damian stated.
"Have you gone to see him?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"You did not want me to earlier," Damian stated. "And I fear he would not want to see me."
"Well, I already told him that you did not know there was poison on the blade," Bruce said. "And last time I saw him, he was asking for you."
"Really?"
"Yes. I think you should see him."
"Can you come with me?" Damian asked.
"Of course."
Since there wasn't much more he could do to persuade someone to send him a vial of Digoxin Immune Fab, Bruce took his youngest by the hand and lead him out of the cave and back into the Manor. They headed up the stairs to the second floor and toward Dick's room. Bruce knocked softly on the door. The door opened to reveal Alfred standing in the darkened room.
Bruce could see that Alfred was doing his best to hold in his emotions. Despite the stiff upper lip that the old butler tried to convey Bruce could see that Alfred's eyes were red rimmed from crying.
'He must have sat there in the dark and let the tears fall so no one would see him,' Bruce thought. "How is he Alfred?"
"The same," Alfred replied. "I just gave him another pain relief pill, but I do not think they are doing any good. Any luck on the antidote?"
Bruce shook his head so as not to voice the words, but both knew that Dick would be aware that something wasn't right. Hiding things from his eldest son had been difficult, even when he came to live at the Manor. It was as if Dick had a sense for reaching into another person's thoughts and knew when you weren't telling the truth. 'At least that's what it felt like toward me.' Bruce swallowed the lump in his throat. 'I . . . I cannot let him see that . . . I must not lose hope. There has to be a way to stop the progression of this poison.'
"Father?"
"Damn, even Damian is beginning to feel my distress.' Bruce gave Damian a slight nudge to have him enter the room first.
Alfred gave Bruce a frown at seeing the boy. "Are you sure that is wise?"
"Dick asked for him earlier," Bruce said. "That was soon after I went to see Tim and sent him on an errand. I looked in on Dick briefly and he was calling for the kid. Then he went into the bathroom and . . . I did not want to disturb him so I told him I was going to do some research on finding the antidote."
"You have been gone for more than an hour," Alfred pointed out.
"I made several phone calls. Damian and I will relieve you."
"Please, be careful what you say to him Master Damian. He is in a very fragile state."
Damian nodded his acknowledgement to the old butler. Both Bruce and Damian moved into Dick's room and went to his bedside. Damian was shocked at what he saw. In the gloom of the room, he saw that Dick was curled up nearly into a ball, his forehead beaded with sweat and his eyes screwed shut from the pain. He clutched onto the edge of the bed as if he was trying to steady himself and yet, Damian observed that Dick was muttering to himself as if confused and disoriented.
'Did I cause this?' Damian reached up and placed a hand on the pulse point on Dick's neck. "Father, his pulse is weak."
Bruce was alarmed by Damian's words. "He's lost a lot of fluids and the poison . . . ." Bruce didn't want to voice what he knew. He was afraid that the poison was starting to affect Dick's heart.
"Did not Drake say that active charcoal could be used as an alternative?"
"Yes, but the Digoxin Immune Fab works faster. The active charcoal must be given in several doses and over a period of three days."
"It is better than none," Damian stated. "Please Father, we cannot just do nothing."
'I thought I was doing something, trying to find the antidote,' Bruce thought, but Damian's words hit home more than he knew. "You're right. Go down to the cave in the lab. There should be some active charcoal in one of the cabinets. Bring it here along with a pitcher of water. We better start him on this and see if he responds." Bruce said. 'I just hope Tim will be back with some news soon.'
/
While Bruce and Damian were realizing that Dick was getting weaker and needed something to help him, Robin was still trying to make his way through Ra's al Ghul's home. Before leaving the guard Robin placed a small pill in the guard's mouth. It was one of several sleeping pills that he always carried in his utility belt. The pill would guarantee that the guard would not wake for several hours. Robin raced to the elevator in the direction that the guard had pointed. He didn't meet anyone else, but that didn't mean they weren't around. Examining the area around the elevator, he found a stairwell leading to other levels. There was one level above and several levels below. Rather than take the elevator, even though he had a key, Robin didn't want to alert anyone that he was coming. Looking around, he found a small solarium with various plants. He left the keys there just in case the pill wore off and the guard woke up and discovered his keys were gone. Even so, once the guard did wake, he might report that there had been an intruder. Robin hoped he would be long gone by then.
Continues with Part 11