My Father's Eyes Are Blue
By
AJ
Part 11
Damian raced across the rooftops, not slowing until he reached the small five-story building that contained the safe house. He found the entryway in the blind alley to the fifth floor and entered as silently as he dared. The building primarily was unoccupied except for the main floor and that contained several businesses. Those businesses were closed and would not be opening until 9:00 am.
Damian climbed in the window and shut it, blocking out the light of the dawn that was approaching. Every window on this level had some kind of paint on it to hide its true purpose. When the lights were turned on, from the outside, it gave the impression that the place was filled with office workers or apartments. A skilled artist, one that specialized in 3D, did the paintings. Once inside, Damian headed straight for the batphone extension. It was the only means of communication. There was no computer at this safe house because of its location. The bat signal from police headquarters could be seen through the specially painted windows. Any other means of communication had to be brought in. This safe house was just that, a place to be used for emergencies and Damian faced a dire emergency. Knowing what he was up against, Damian lifted the receiver and pressed the button.
/
"What's that?" Tim questioned. He never heard that particular beeping before.
"The batphone. That phone hadn't been used in years," Bruce said. Bruce grabbed the phone oddly enough, expecting to hear the voice of Commissioner Gordon. "Batman here."
"FATHER!"
"Damian? Where are you?"
"In one of the safe houses in East Gotham."
"Which one?"
Damian explained that he was near Woodmont Avenue and Cedar Lane, and about the storage warehouse three blocks away. "Some guy has Grayson. In fact, two other guys showed up. They . . . they're planning on . . ." Damian swallowed not being able to even voice the words. How he knew was because Carson wanted to do exactly the same thing to him. Luckily, Carson didn't get that chance. Still, it was a wonder how he didn't get sick until now. 'Maybe because in the heat of the moment, I was able to control what I was feeling,' he thought. "I marked the spot with some bat stickers I had in my back pack. Please, Father. You've got to hurry."
"We'll be right there, Damian," Bruce said then hung up the batphone.
"I don't even remember hearing that phone go off, even when I was Robin," Tim stated.
"We went to other methods of communication," Bruce said, "But I'm glad for once that I didn't disconnect that phone. Better suit up Red Robin. And bring Damian's uniform. He's going to need it."
"It's during the day," Tim exclaimed. "We never go out during the day."
"Remember the owls," Batman explained.
"Oh yeah," Tim remembered. That was just forty-eight hours ago. How could he forget so quickly? 'Damn, Dick seems to be getting himself into a lot of trouble lately. I think we all need a vacation after this. I'd settle just for a simple night of patrol where all I'd be facing would be someone spitting on the sidewalk.'
Red Robin moved toward his motorcycle after placing Damian Wayne's Robin uniform on the floor of the batmobile.
"I'm not taking the batmobile," Batman stated. "The traffic this time of day will be horrendous. I'll be taking the subway car."
"There isn't a subway station near there," Tim indicated. "I checked. That particular safe house is on the outskirts of East Gotham, near the bridge leading to Arkham Island."
"But the Narrows subway station is, and it will save a lot more time."
"That's still ten blocks away. And it's above ground," Tim reminded him.
"You're right. And they recently just finished rebuilding that part." Rather then continue the argument, Batman climbed in the batmobile and took off. It was becoming a waste of precious time. Batman hit a switch on the dashboard, putting the vehicle in stealth mode. At least Matthew Malone wouldn't hear them coming, but a sinking feeling came over him, and Bruce suspected that Malone would be long gone by the time they got there. Batman tapped the com-link to connect with Red Robin's com-link in his helmet.
"Red Robin, wait a moment." Both stopped briefly along the highway leading to Gotham. Batman waved Red Robin over to the driver's side and handed him the bundle that was Robin's uniform. "You head for the safe house and get Damian ready then meet me at the following address." Batman produced a small card from the portable batcomputer remotely attached to the batcave.
Red Robin read the address. "This house is located near Branch Road and Oakwood Avenue, near the cemetery, almost half way across town. What makes you think Malone will go there?"
"Trust me, I know he will be," Batman growled. "Just get Damian. I'll meet you there." Knowing Malone, Bruce had a feeling that's where he was going. He knew the house had never been sold or rented since that day, the day that Dick had been taken when he was 15 years old. And Bruce somehow knew that Malone knew it, too.
/
Dick's face paled as he heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. There wasn't time for him to work his way out of the harness.
"Malone, you sick bastard, what have you done with the kid?" Dick spat out the question.
"What's the kid to you?" Malone asked, grabbing Dick by the chin.
Dick tried to pull away, "He's . . . he's just a kid I know."
"So you do know him. I wondered about that when he called out your name. Don't worry. Carson will take good care of him," Malone sneered. "You on the other hand . . ." Malone turned toward Jasper. "Is the Wi-Fi set up?"
"It's ready to go, Mr. Madness."
Dick's eyes narrowed. How could he have Wi-Fi here? The house had remained empty ever since . . .
"I see the questioning look on your face Dickie Bird. You see it wasn't hard to keep everything running in this place. I'm a lawyer remember? It wasn't hard to persuade certain companies that this place was being used for a special group home and that social services checks the home every month. So, they needed to keep the utilities on. I had someone pay the utilities, someone who kept a portion of my father's accounts for me. Of course, there really wasn't any group home . . . "
". . .That's fraud," Dick exclaimed.
"Oh you're right," Malone said. "But with someone like me, it really doesn't matter. It's show time Dickie Bird. Got to give the public what it wants. Jasper, give our young friend here another shot. I can't understand why that toxin isn't working so well. You should be screaming for more by now."
Dick once again felt the sting of the needle and the toxin flowing through his system. Dick fought the drug trying to will the electrum to clear his system. He succeeded only partially. The one thing he did notice, he wasn't craving the drug. He wasn't going to tell Malone that. The hallucinations were bad enough to deal with. He didn't need a drug addition, too.
"Pay attention Dickie Boy," Malone slapped him across the face. "We're going to be playing another little game. It's called blind man's buff. Of course this one is different. You'll find out what that is when we're through stripping you down. Of course we won't be using our hands. Have to give the people a show you know."
After being drugged Malone shoved a piece of cloth in Dick's mouth and covered his eyes. With him being blindfolded the images assaulting his mind became more frightening and intense. Dick bucked, trying to work to give his arms the slack they needed to try to free himself, but with his feet hanging in the air as well, there was nothing he could do.
"That's it Dickie Boy, fight. All the more fun for us!"
Dick suddenly felt the sting of the lash as it ripped through his jeans. A few times the whip cracked against his back leaving bloody welts. His jeans got the worst of it. His arms and his back were rarely spared. Tears streamed down his face as silent sobs racked his body.
"Are you watching Mr. Wayne?" Malone stated. "I haven't heard from you. You need to send the papers to the following address." Malone lifted up a card. "And yes, it is an overseas address. Now, with all the comments I received, I can't disappoint my viewers. I promised them a little treat. And since you asked for it, as soon as the last of his attire is removed, Dickie Bird will be getting it in the end."
Dick felt the rest of his shredded jeans being ripped from his body. If he wasn't feeling the terror before, he was now.
Continues with Part 12
