Chapter 11

Robert Rand woke up in a panic as a iron grip slowly strangled him.

"Where's the Joker?" a voice growled in his face.

"Ack! Agh…" Rand sputtered. Panic made him choke around the hold on his neck. A fist shot out of the dark and popped his head back into his pillows. The hand on his neck loosened slightly.

"You have one more chance. Where's the Joker?"

Robert Rand had faced down Mob bosses, psychos, and professional assassins. He had never in his crooked life, been as terrified as he was in this moment. But still, he hadn't gotten this far by scaring easily.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Rand squeaked out.

"Wrong." Rand was whipped out of bed, and carried to his balcony. The Bat threw him against the wall, his strong grip never letting go of his neck, and Rand tipped over the edge, seeing the streets twenty stories below. He reacted instinctively, grabbing a hold of Batman's arm and kicking his legs to push himself back onto the balcony.

"You have ten seconds." Rand stared at the masked visage in silence. Batman started to push him over the edge.

"Wa-wait! Aren't you going to count?" Rand shrieked.

"Why?" Batman growled. Then let go.

Rand had never screamed so loudly in his life.

"Okay!" he screamed on his way down. "Okay, okay, okay!"

A black line wrapped around his ankle and his leg nearly ripped out of his body, as he was jerked back up. The fear didn't lessen as he watched the street pull away back to twenty stories. He was hanging from the top of his balcony, the Batman standing, implacable in front of him.

"Tell me what I want to know."

"Lewicki secured the joint, I don't know where the Joker is. Honest!"

"Where's Lewicki?"

"He disappeared. He said you…you came to see him. He fed you some bullshit about his daughter and skipped town." The line holding Rand swayed ominously. "I don't know where he set the Joker up! He…he was supposed to kidnap the girl and…and rough her up a little. Just enough to scare Gordon. The Joker, he's a wild card. I told Rand not to use him! I wanted to just snipe Gordon while he was leaving the police station, b-but Lewicki said we should make it look like, like an attack."

"What did Lewicki get out of this?"

"A…a promotion. An-and in a couple of years Commissioner."

"Why the Joker?"

"Be-because Lewicki said, he said that no one would question it. If the Joker killed Gordon nobody would wonder why. But he, the Joker, didn't just kill him. He pla-he played with him. And then you got there."

"Who stays in your mansion when you're in town?"

"No-no one."

The Batman took a recorder out from his cape and set it on the balcony out of reach from Rand.

"The police will be here in two minutes. Don't fall." Rand watched as the Bat leapt off the balcony and swung away into the night, while he swung from the building, twenty stories high.

Alfred's voice flooded the Batmobile as Bruce flew towards Rand's mansion outside of town.

"Sir? Are you there sir?"

"Go ahead Alfred."

"Sir, the news of Miss Gordon's capture is all over the news and Master Dick is en route. He has asked for any news."

Dick. The last thing he wanted to worry about was Dick.

"Tell him I'm taking care of it Alfred. He should stay where he is."

"With all due respect sir, I don't believe Master Dick will do any such thing."

Batman ran through scenarios. In all of them Dick's help could make the difference between saving Barb and not. Bruce knew that Dick and Barb had had some sort of thing in the past. He knew it was over, but that didn't mean Dick might never forgive him for what happened. Even though Dick was with Kory now; he didn't need to know what had happened. What wouldn't happen again.

"I'm on my way to Robert Rand's mansion north of Gotham." If he got there in time so be it.

Bruce stopped the Batmobile far enough back the growling engine wouldn't be heard by anyone in the mansion. Invisible in the shadows he went East, approaching the main house from the concealment of the woods on its Eastern edge. There were lights on inside and several armed guards posted at various entrances. Looks like he'd found the right place.

Barbara could be anywhere inside there. And so could the Joker.

"What do you think?" Nightwing's voice whispered from behind him. Bruce kept his attention on the mansion.

"Side door. Least guarded, and poorly lit. That's our best shot of getting inside undetected."

"Okay how about-" Nightwing stopped speaking when he realized Bruce was already on the move.

A batarang shot out, taking out the light above the door before two more hit the two guards standing in front square in the forehead. They dropped to the ground soundlessly. Batman opened the door and slipped into the interior hallway, Nightwing right behind. The mansion was eerily quiet. They reached the main foyer quickly, and Bruce signaled he was going upstairs while Dick should finish searching the first floor.

Bruce stealthily climbed up to the top floor. The lights were out on the middle floors with no sign of movement. As he reached the top landing he worked his way down the hall towards a half cracked door. The sounds and flickering light of a television lit the hall. He peered in carefully and saw the two chairs in front of the T.V. were empty. An open door behind them led into another room. Feeling a shift in the air he turned and saw Dick approaching behind him. Wordlessly Dick followed him into the first room as someone grunted from the back.

"Sonofabitch!" a male voice cried out. "Stupid fucking bitch!"

Bruce looked carefully into the room and saw Barb. She looked worse than she had in the pictures. Blood caked her face and hair, one eye was swollen shut and the other almost so. Seven men circled her, the one in front holding his family jewels like someone had tried to rip them out. So this is where the guards inside were.

"I thought you said she was out!" the man holding his crotch, the same voice as before, screamed.

"You're the dumbass that stood in front of her," the man to his left smirked.

Their guns were slung across their backs. The five on either side and behind her were the most immediate threat; the one in front of her was still hunched over, whining. A third man, without saying anything, backhanded Barb. It was the last thing he ever did.

The Batman was a shadow of fear and pain as he ran into the room. Nightwing came in beside him, cutting right, as Bruce went left. The man who had mocked his friend went down with a punch to the face. The one behind him, flew backwards as Bruce's boot slammed into his chest. The third man was backhanded, then hit with an elbow. The fourth, the one who hit Barbara, was grabbed, his hand jerked up behind his back, and smashed against the wall.

Without care or pity, Bruce yanked his shoulder out of socket and bashed his head into the wall leaving him a mewling mess on the floor.

"Get their guns," he growled to Dick. Dick looked unhappy at being kept from helping Barb, but he swept all the guns away from the groaning thugs.

Tenderly, Bruce cut the plastic cuffs holding Barb's hands behind her back, and caught her as she slumped off the chair. She groaned softly in pain as he picked her up, holding her across his chest.

"Bru-Batman?" she whispered softly.

"I've got you," he said. "Just hang on a little longer."

Nightwing stepped over, gently brushing Barb's bloodsoaked hair back from her face. Bruce fought a sudden bought of jealousy, and tightened his hold.

"Hey Bab's," Dick said with a small smile. Bruce turned away, taking Barbara out of Dick's reach and started for the door. It was an unexpected reaction, but one that didn't seem suspicious to Dick.

Without being told Nightwing jumped in front of Batman, leading the way as they began their escape. All went well until they were almost down the stairs. A group of guards, laughing, came around the corner shocked into silence when they saw the two heroes with their captive. In the instant it took the guards to swing their guns around and start shooting, Nightwing kicked the first one in the forehead, knocking him back into the group as both he and Batman spun, taking off down the second floor hallway. Gunfire peppered the walls behind them as they ran.

Dick threw the hall table through the window at the end of the hall a second before Bruce hit it, letting him jump through without having to worry about Barbara. Turning he jumped up, surprising the guards on their tail as he took care of them in short order. Jumping out the window he raced to the woods behind Batman.

Barb was out cold in Bruce's arms. Dick felt something inside him twist as he looked at her broken face. Sure, he was with Kory now but part of him would always feel-something-for Barb. Certainly it broke his heart to see her like this. He knew Bruce would take care of her; he trusted Bruce implicitly, though, Dick wasn't sure he'd ever seen Bruce this gentle with anyone.

They worked their way back to the Batmobile and Dick's motorcycle in short order.

"Which hospital are you taking her to?" Dick asked.

"Gotham Central." Bruce's reply was terse. He was carefully placing Barb in the seat of the Batmobile. There was an emotion Dick hadn't heard before-was it, fear?

"What about the Joker?" Dick asked.

"He's mine," the Batman growled. "Go home. I'll take care of it from here."

"Sure," Dick replied sarcastically, sitting on his motorcycle. He had no intention of leaving until he was sure Babs was healthy and safe.

Starting his bike, his back tire kicked up dust as he took off for the manor. He needed a change of clothes. Bruce Wayne couldn't visit Barbara Gordon in the hospital without raising questions, but Dick Grayson could.