Part 14 – Captured

There was silence following Roy's words. He had readied his bow and he used the stunned silence to nock an arrow and draw back the string, ready to fire.

Reflexively, Dick moved to shield Catalina, standing defensively before her.

"Arsenal, what are you doing?"

Roy raised his eyebrows and Jason sighed. He knew that any shot at Catalina would mean going through Dick.

"Helping you," Roy responded. He turned to Catalina. "And you, get away from him."

"Have we done something wrong?" Catalina asked, curling an arm around Dick's bicep. "Are you here to arrest us?"

Dick's face paled. "Arsenal. I know we did something wrong, killed a man but still!" Dick's voice trailed off as he struggled to figure out what to say.

Jason's chest constricted. Dick thought they were there to arrest him. Jason remembered that despair. He recalled the way it always hurt to see someone he had known before turn up and try to stop him.

Jason was good at being seen as the bad guy. Maybe it was time to remind them of that. This was not a situation they could solve by jumping in and arresting the criminal. It required a certain finesse.

Each step he took sent a thump through the floorboards.

"Catalina. Let him go," Jason ordered. Her hands tightened around Dick's arm. Jason pulled his gun. "Renegade, you're going to get out of the way."

"What?" Dick's voice sounded weak after the certainty and strength in Jason's.

Jason lowered his head a little, simulating a disappointed stance. He did a little flourish as he put the gun away. "I'm not going to shoot her, if you get over here right now. You work for me and I'm not going to let you go running off with two-bit crooks."

Catalina glared. "I run a successful gang and you're a loner! You don't need help, Red Hood."

"I usually don't. But he's one of the few people I'll allow to work directly with me," Jason countered with a nod at Dick as Dick slowly extracted himself from Catalina's grasp.

"Sorry. But he's right. I work for him." Jason rolled his eyes at Dick's apologetic tone. Only Dick could apologise to a woman who was trying to make him turn his back on family.

Catalina frowned. "Alright. I'll go then." She turned towards the window, which Robin dropped in front of.

"S-Stop right there," he said, blocking off the escape route. "I can't let you escape."

Jason felt Dick tense at the sight of Robin. He couldn't be sure if it was because Robin was in the room or if it was because Robin was standing up to Dick's abuser.

"You really think you can stop me, kid?" Catalina asked.

"Leave him alone!" Dick barked at her, his voice echoing Batman's for a moment. It was close enough to make the hairs on the back of Jason's neck rise.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Catalina said. Dick flinched back. "He's just standing in my way."

"Don't talk to him," Roy said, stepping between Dick and Catalina. He pulled up his bow, aiming the tip of the arrow at her shoulder.

"Arsenal?" Dick questioned quietly. So quietly that Jason could only hear him because he was standing right next to him.

"You've got a past with her. Let us deal with her instead," Jason countered, somehow sensing that Dick was a moment away from either trying to help Catalina or from running out on them and attempting to contact or arrest Catalina later on.

"You've got to be kidding," Dick hissed a little fire coming back to his eyes.

"You're planning to fight in pants and shirt?" Jason queried, eyeing Dick's clothes.

"I've fought in less." And wasn't that a disturbing thought.

"You're not fighting her. We don't have history with her, we're here so we're taking her down."

"She hasn't done anything wrong!" Jason took a moment to suppress the heat of rage which rushed through him during which Dick grabbed his arm. "Have them arrest me! It's my fault."

"You shouldn't believe that," Jason said, physically recoiling. Dick still gripped him, arm extending as Jason moved back. "She has done wrong and you know it. She's manipulating you!"

Dick yanked on Jason's arm, face pale with fury and horror. "Shut up, Jason! It takes one to know one, you insane murderer!"

"Don't compare me to her!" Jason bellowed back.

"Red Hood, Night-I mean, Renegade! A little help!" Robin cried out, ducking as Catalina tossed a knife in his direction. A moment later, she was in his space. Robin cursed.

Jason focused back on the fight. Roy had been forced to put his bow away or risk hitting Robin. He was now trying to grapple Catalina, who kept using gymnastics to keep out of his hold.

Their fighting was sloppy and it was the only reason she had managed to hold out as long as she had.

"They're letting their emotions decide the fight," Jason huffed. He stormed into the fight, leaping over the couch in order to get close to Catalina. No guns, just fists.

He punched her in the face and then swept her feet out from under her. She gave a cry as she hit the ground and then flipped back up, only for Roy to finally have the chance to fire a net-deploying trick arrow at her.

"Whoa," Robin said in awe as the trick arrow deployed.

"You still carry that?" Jason queried, remembering rumours of the trick arrows which captured. He had also heard that the arrow family had stopped using them because they were difficult to aim, the deploying net threw the aimed trajectory off, but also because it was too easy for the criminal to dodge.

"It comes in handy sometimes," Roy responded with a shrug. He couldn't resist kicking Catalina who let out a panicked cry and glared at him.

Dick inched forwards.

"Renegade. Stay where you are," Jason ordered.

"Red Hood," Dick stated. "I don't have to follow your orders."

"But you will," Jason responded with certainty. He needed to be certain of it. Dick was responding to that.

"Y-you know she needs to be tried," Robin added his logic.

"I'm sure they find something to charge her with," Roy muttered under his breath. "Just pick from the list of offences."

Catalina changed her strategy. Instead of glaring at them, she turned a mournful gaze to Dick.

"You wouldn't let them turn me in. Remember the fun times we had?"

Dick tensed, Jason moved back over to him so that they were almost touching shoulder-to-shoulder and Roy gave the woman another kick.

"Arsenal!" Dick scolded.

"Beats Jason shooting her. His hand twitches towards his gun whenever she speaks."

Jason realised with a shock that Roy was right. And very perceptive about certain things. That could be a problem.

"I can escape," Catalina said. "Or they'll let me go when I turn on Nightwing instead."

"You could run," Robin stated nervously. He had his bo staff in his hands but wasn't doing anything with it except keeping himself armed. "But, if you do, you won't have a moment of peace."

"What?"

"We found you before, we found you now and we'll find you again if we have to. I can locate you and freeze your accounts, alert the authorities and any vigilantes in the area, all without leaving Gotham," Tim rambled. "Thanks to Nightwing, I know almost the whole hero community."

"Is that true?" Jason asked Dick, impressed with the kid's intimidation tactics. They were innocent compared to his own but would still get the job done, shown by the way Catalina slumped in defeat.

"He is determined," Dick responded, recalling a scrawny teenager who had turned up at his apartment and then at a manor and then during a mission. "Once he sets his mind to something, he doesn't stop."