Chapter 12
AN Enjoy. :)
"Fucking hell!" Tony exclaims, slamming his hand into the steering wheel as we're turned away from yet another hotel, and it's then that I realise what's happening.
"We've been blacklisted" I announce to the now completely and utterly frustrated car full of people.
"What?" Gibbs asks, turning in his seat to look at me for the first time since Roy and Lian left.
"Someone, most likely Penguin, knew we were coming, and i'm guessing that Stevenson has made his way into and up the ladder of Penguins... gang I guess you could call them, meaning that we aren't going to find any hotel, motel, or Bn'B that will take us." I tell them, knowing that they are wondering where i'm getting my information.
At Gibbs's questioning look, I continue.
"He runs a lot of the crime in the city, and the territory that he doesn't control, he has allies in, he must have known we were coming for Stevenson, and if he took a liking to him, and his skills, he would have threatened and or bribed every hotel manager in Gotham not to take us, he might not be able to make us leave, but he can make our stay a living hell. I have an in with W.E, but they won't take us either, they would rather be fired, than fired at." I tell them, knowing that not even being the owner of W.E is going to get me a room in one of my hotels, because if he was going to do this, he was going to go all in, not leave holes for us to weasel through.
"You have an in with W.E, the second biggest company in the States?" Tony asks, apparently not reacting to anything else i've just told him.
"Yes, and S.I has been neck in neck with W.E for years, they only pulled ahead last year because of a mishap with the higher ups at W.E" I tell them, and by a mishap, I mean Damian firing all of them for being greedy assholes, and hiring some of his own people, who he is now finding out, are greedy assholes as well.
Stark pulled ahead because it took the new people awhile to figure everything out, but even though Damian despises them, we are slowly but surely pulling neck in neck with Stark once more.
"Alright, I have a few options, but i'm not sure how viable any of them are anymore." I tell them, getting out of the car and telling Tony to move from the driver seat so I can take us where we need to go.
I hold my breath, fingers crossed as I hope that my last ditch effort is available, it's nearing midnight, and I have exhausted almost all of my options, every single one of my safehouses, that were all safe and sound when I left three years ago, are unusable, I called Damian a few hours ago, on my way to the second safehouse, to find that him, and anyone else who had helped him when he needed assistance in Gotham, have used a safehouse while here, seeing as Damian didn't want them at the mansion.
So all 13 safehouses that I had left, are now either filled with squatters, are burned to the ground, are falling to the ground, or are actually being rented out to people.
The last thing I have left is Jason's primary safehouse, the only one he had secured when he died, the one that i've continued paying for, it was a good safehouse, and my last hope.
I knock, the team waiting behind me, before trying the key, I walk into the apartment, the team filing in behind me, only to groan when I see M'gann walk out of the bedroom, thankfully though, she looks like a normal human, and not Miss Martian.
"M'gann" I greet, watching as she looks over at me, her brows furrowed, and I have a sinking feeling that she knows how i'm feeling right now.
"Tim" she greets, kind of spacily
"Why are you here?" I ask, wondering why the last place I could take my team, has to be currently inhabited.
"Damian wanted my expertise for a project, but he doesn't like people staying at the Manor, he told me that I could stay here as long as I was in Gotham, as long as I left it standing. What are you doing here? I wasn't sure you would ever return to Gotham, it has been three years." she says, walking closer to me the whole time.
"A case with my team from NCIS, i'll be coming back for Christmas though" I tell her, leaning over and embracing her when she gets close enough.
"I've missed you Tim" she murmurs, and while she's saying that she misses me, I know who she's really missing right now.
Dick's death had hit his team hard, including M'gaan, she knew him since he was 13 years old, he was the baby of their team, no matter the fact that he was slated to become their leader, or the fact that they respected him immensely for his skills and maturity, he was still the baby.
She had always tried to keep them all safe, and she couldn't help but be overprotective over their youngest and smallest member, even when he outgrew her, and he became Nightwing, struck out on his own and the team disbanded. I saw it when they all got together to hang out like they used to, they had still treated him like the baby.
But he's gone, and it hurt them, it hurt her.
Just because she wasn't as close to him, or as close to us as Wally was, and is, doesn't make her any less affected by his death, and right now, I can see she's struggling with it, i'm not sure what triggered it, whether it was just being in his city, or seeing Damian, but she's upset.
"Are you okay M'gaan?" I ask, pulling away from her and looking into her eyes as they well up with tears.
"It's just, this city, this apartment, and Damian, they just, they remind me of him so, so much." she says, emotion clogging her throat and causing her voice to come out rough.
"I know, believe me, I know. This fucking city, that I loved, so much, it reminds me of every single one if them, and I can't escape it, I can't, get away from it. I was planning on coming here, to spend Christmas with Damian, but I just, I wasn't prepared to be here, today, or now, I wasn't ready, and it fucking hurts." I tell her, remembering how easy it used to be to open up to her, especially because we're both hurting now.
"Do you guys want to stay here? I can figure something else out" she says, wiping her eyes and taking a step back from me with a deep breath and a forced smile on her face.
"No, you stay, I guess i'll just be staying at the Manor sooner rather than later. You are already here, besides, you don't really have anywhere else to go in Gotham, do you?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
"Um, not really?" she says, chuckling softly.
"Yeah that's what I thought" I answer.
"Do you think Damian will let them in the house?" she then asks, indicating at my team, all of whom are still by the doorway, apparently cautious.
"He won't mind. He's been asking me to come back for the last three years, besides, the house, the company, everything, really, is in my name." I tell her, laughing when she giggles at my joke.
"Yeah, I don't think that'll go over well if you tell him that" she says
"Nope, that's why I won't tell him. Besides, he'll let me in, it's my house too" I tell her, knowing that I would never make Damian do something by using the fact that I own the house.
AN Thoughts? Good? Bad? Meh? Lemme know what you think. :)
