Look! I'm not an awful person, I said I was going to update and I actually did! :D I'm so proud. But seriously, it's almost midnight so I hope you all know I'm slaving to get these chapters out for you guys. It is NOT easy to write something that has to make sense to other people. xD
A special thanks to schubskie for writing the Jason parts, it was fun to write another chapter with you buddy! I'm so proud of us for finishing it tonight. C:
Please review and let me know what you think!
I do not own any of these characters but Joseph Hench and the Hench family.
The storm that was over Gotham for the past couple hours was finally dispersing. It was nearing 2 A.M. that next morning. It was still early.
The chilly air outside made the warm heat from the small local café even more enjoyable. Not many people were in at this time; in fact not even the young man at the register seemed to be there entirely. He would rest his palm against his cheek and stare vacantly across the shop, either very good at doing nothing, learning how to sleep with his eyes open, or on some sort of drug. In Gotham, it was never clear.
Two young men were in the back of the café, sitting in the high stools by a long bay window. The rain drizzled lightly with the soft jazz music playing the background.
The older of the two was tapping his fingers against the tabletop. It made a rhythm of clinks! as it connected, moving mindlessly.
A sleek black computer was placed in front of him. The screen was blue and switching through constant matches for the blood sample that was collected. One of them was definitely Tim's, and the computer recognized that. However, while it was 92% of the sample that was found, another 5% percent was rainwater. That left 3% of a liquid substance that was unknown.
Dick wasn't sure what he was hoping it was. Maybe another blood sample that they could identify. That would make this a lot easier to find the suspect. But flashbacks to the crime scene were making that hard to believe. It would be nearly impossible for Tim to defend himself with a fall like that and all those broken bones.
He felt his stomach knot and his fingers stopped tapping. His other hand was through his hair, gripping it a little tighter as he remembered the scene.
With a fall like that… their time could be limited. It probably was limited, and they were running out of it quick.
Jason sat with his forearms on the table, a cylinder of coffee or some black liquid to the right of his right hand. But his face was watching the darkness outside. As if something would materialize out of it.
Someone.
His older brother glanced at him after a couple more minutes of silence passed. His face expression changed slightly to a soft frown and he set his computer to the side. The soft blue glow reflected off the window now instead.
"Need more coffee?"
Not one of your better conversation starters but you could have done worse, he thought to himself as he followed his brother's gaze.
"No." It was blunt.
Dick shifted a little, looking around. His gaze came back to his little brother after a couple moments though, a small frown gracing his features. He released a heavy sigh; like there was a weight on his chest and he couldn't get it off.
"Look." He leaned in a little here, "I know you don't want to hear this. But we're a team now. And teammates sort of include each other on what they're thinking." He gestured between the two of them with the hand that had been tapping the counter top before.
Jason's eyes wavered off the window, but it still looked like a haunting gaze in his eyes. He never stopped watching the dark.
"Dick…you idiot…." He muttered before pausing for a moment. He decided against it though in the very next moment and waved a hand back carelessly, "Just get back to locating coordinates or whatever; I'll be fine."
"It's the blood sample we took." He corrected his little brother before looking back to the computer screen anyway. It was still verifying, searching through all criminal records and blood tests from every hospital in Gotham, and then slowly spreading to the neighboring cities, states, and even countries. It was blinking slowly as it worked.
His blue eyes looked back to the younger and he gave an encouraging smile, "We have time."
There were a couple moments, where neither one of them moved nor spoke a word. Then, finally, the younger ebony tore his gaze away from the window. He brought it to his brother's, as if proving his point.
"I'm fine." He grunted.
Dick was the one who averted his eyes this time. He knew he and Jason weren't on the best terms still. He couldn't press something like this. He was lucky enough he had even agreed to help him. The 24-year old shifted a hand to the back of his neck. His fingers curled.
"Ok. Sorry." He muttered.
Jason stood then, "I'm going to dump this out." He picked up his cup of coffee, even though it was still half full. He walked over to the trash.
His older brother watched him go. He sighed once more and glanced at the computer, resting a hand against his cheek.
At the same time, it blinked with two green boxed in words:
Match Found.
The Bat's eldest son felt his heart stop he quickly sat back up He grabbed the laptop as more information was popping up on the screen now.
Name: Joseph Milton Hench
Origin: Gotham City
Parents: Christopher Hench, Ruby Hench (deceased)
Family: Mary-Beth Hench (deceased), Jonathon Hench (deceased)
Criminal record: None
Dick widened his eyes. Articles from newspapers and news channels were coming up. From across the room, he could feel his little brother's gaze turn to him. He walked back to the older and to the bay window. He closed his eyes a little.
What hurt's more? A? Or B?
Jason shoved the thoughts away and continued on, stoic faced.
"What is it," the ebony asked from behind his brother.
Dick put his hands through his hair. His blue eyes were shooting over the text the computer was feeding him now. It got worse and worse with each word. A sickening thought came into mind as he realized what this was.
Motive.
"It's… It's…" He couldn't form a proper sentence at first. He shook his head and started over again, "I know this guy. I mean we know this. Me, Bruce, and Tim. He was one of the victims from a rampage Joker went on a couple years ago. His house was torched and Tim was on rescue duty…" He trailed off though.
The 24-year old gripped his hair, "This is his motive. This is why he went after Tim." He closed his eyes.
"What? I thought you said Tim saved him."
Forehand? Or backhand?
Jason once again had to shake his head to clear it.
"He did…But Joseph had a wife and son." Dick muttered, "The house… it collapsed… before he could get to them. There was nothing we could do – Tim was only 13 at the time and it…. It was the first time he couldn't save someone in time."
I suppose I'm going to have to teach you a lesson-
"Sounds like Dent but-"
-so you can better follow in his footsteps-
"…without the uhh…"
Nah, I'm just gonna keep beating you with this crowbar.
"I mean with the-"
Uncharacteristically, he froze. There was moment where Dick frowned and looked over his shoulder.
"I need to go outside." Jason turned. His boots clunked against the tile floor as he came to the door. He pushed his way out with one shoulder.
"Jason wait," Dick was already standing. He looked back when his computer beeped again.
It was an address.
665 River Run Drive.
He knew where that was.
With that, the ebony snapped the computer shut. He picked it up and wrapped it under his jacket. The 24-year old zipped up his jacket and jogged after his brother.
He gave a quick nod to the spaced out boy at the register before pushing his way through the glass door with his back, "Jay!" He called.
Jason was standing in the rain, even though there was an awning just over the door. He stood a couple feet away from it though.
He glanced back, his face pale in the darkness.
"Yeah?"
Dick frowned and came to a stop, "Are you ok? You ran out there pretty suddenly." He asked. He had enough of a brain left in his head to keep his distance though. He and Jason were not friends, even though he wanted to be. He had to remember that though.
This was going to be harder than he thought.
But his heart was still racing. He had a suspect for his little brother's kidnapping. And with Jason's help, they could take him down.
"Yeah, what is it?" The younger turned all the way. He put on his best air of indifference, and it was hard to tell he was acting at all.
But Dick could tell.
He didn't act upon it though. Instead, he blinked and slipped his computer out from under his zipped up jacket. He held it out, gesturing to the device.
"We have an address." He said dumbly, suddenly unable to explain anything he wanted to."
Jason looked up at him. His eyes masked something, but it was hard to tell exactly what it was. The rain poured down on his head, while his older brother remained completely dry from the awning above him.
The downpour was now separating the two ebonies.
"Alright." Jason looked back into the darkness, as if looking for something, "Let's go."
So there is it folks! Hope you enjoyed, and I'll try to update a little quicker next chapter. Thanks for reading!
As always, have a great day!
AMW
