Hunted
Chapter.14.
Gotham City
September 14, 2015 – 09:26 EST
"Is this the place?" Nightwing asks, as Helena's Ferrari comes to a stop next to a high rise in the wealthier district of Uptown Gotham.
"Penthouse apartment; it's where he killed my family." Huntress replies.
"Why would he come here?" He asks.
"Because he's sick." She replies. "Mandragora bought the building after the killing, and still owns it. It wouldn't surprise me to find him up there living in the place of his greatest victory."
"We need to do this carefully; saving Stephanie is our top priority." He says.
"I won't let him get away." She says.
"Huntress, you better not do anything to risk her life." He says, grabbing her arm.
"You might as well call me Helena, now." She says, pulling her arm free. "You know who I really am."
"Too risky to do that." He replies. "If I get too comfortable, then I may give away your secret to the wrong person."
"You seemed perfectly fine getting comfortable the other night?" She says.
"Now is not the time to talk about that." He says, looking up at the building, and seeing a shadow swing onto the roof.
"Fine; we'll talk later, Lover." She says, causing him to look back at her. "I'll take the elevator up, and use the front door; drawing his attention. You do what you do best, and save the day, Hero."
Nightwing watches as she walks up to the service elevator, and gets in. Once the door closes he gets his grappling hook ready.
A beeping lets him know that someone is calling him. Tapping his ear, he answers, "Yeah."
"I'm here." Is the reply he gets.
"Penthouse. I'm on my way." He says.
Huntress stops the elevator two floors below the penthouse level, and uses the emergency access hatch to climb onto the elevator roof. It's only a matter of seconds later that she finishes climbing the ladder up to the right floor. She pushes open the doors with her one free hand, and jumps into the hallway, pulling out her crossbows.
She is surprised to see the hallway empty, and looks for cameras; but finds none. "This is sloppy." She mumbles. "Maybe he isn't here?"
She stealthily approaches the door, and listens for any noise. She hears distant shuffling sounds, as well as someone crying.
She kicks in the door, and rushes in, crossbows at the ready. She sees Stephanie, hands still tied, with a gag in her mouth, and her clothes torn to shreds, crying on the ground in the corner of the room.
Something hard slams into the back of her head, and she falls forward onto all fours.
"I knew you'd manage to figure out where I was." Omerta says, standing over her with his gun pointed at her head. He puts the gun away, and grabs the chair that Stephanie had been tied too. With a swift downward swing, he shatters the wooden chair on Huntress' back, knocking her flat. "I finally get to finish the job I started 7 years ago; kill your entire family."
She tries to kick out with her leg, but he stomps down on her knee, bending it sideways, and causing her to scream. He places another kick to her ribs, flipping her onto her back.
He pulls out his gun again, and points it under her chin. "I knew it was you that was poking your nose into the bosses business the moment I heard about Gianfranco; your dad had a thing for arrows too." He backhands her across the face with the gun. "Didn't help him back then, and it won't help you now."
Stephanie cries out through her gag, and Omerta looks over at her, then back at Huntress. "The brat knows nothing; you were wasting your time on her." He says. "She was good for letting off a little steam." He trails his gun down her throat, and in between her breasts. "But I think I'll have more fun with you."
Huntress brings her knee up into his groin, as hard as she can, and is rewarded with a groan, as he rolls off her. She knocks his gun away with her hand, and manages to roll away, but can't stand because of her knee.
She picks up a crossbow, and points it at his head. "The pleasure will be all mine, Omerta." She says.
But before she can fire, a Batarang knocks the crossbow out of her hand.
She looks up to see, Batman standing in the doorway.
Nightwing crashes through the window on the other side of the room, and rushes over to Stephanie. He removes the gag, cuts her hands free, and shields her with his body; holding her tightly, as she cries.
"No." She hears someone say quietly, and she looks over to see Robin standing behind Batman. The look of concern on his face is instantly replaced with one of rage, as he charges at Omerta; but Batman is one step ahead, and he grabs Robin before he can get there.
"Robin; control yourself." Batman says in his gravelly voice.
Omerta has managed to crawl over to the broken window, and starts laughing. "Pathetic." He says. "All of you; none of you has the balls to do what you need to do to stop me. Even if you arrest me; I'll get out. And I'll continue doing what I do."
No one notices that Huntress has grabbed her other crossbow, and is slowly aiming it at Omerta; no one except Robin, that is.
He escapes Batman's grip, and rushes at Omerta again, just as Huntress fires her arrow.
In a blur, the arrow, Robin, and Omerta connect, and go sailing out the window.
"Robin!" Nightwing yells, not releasing his protective hold on Stephanie.
Batman kicks the crossbow out of her hands, and rushes to the window, just as Robin climbs back inside, an arrow protruding from his left shoulder. He helps the young boy stand up, and asks, "Omerta?"
"Got him with a de-cel cable; he's hanging about 7 stories below." Robin replies.
Batman pats him on the right shoulder, and Nightwing smiles proudly at him.
"Robin, give me your cape." Nightwing says.
Robin removes his cape, and hands it to Nightwing, while looking away.
Nightwing takes the cape, and wraps it around Stephanie, making sure she is covered. "Are you okay?" He asks.
"Yes." She replies, between sobs. "Thank...you...for...saving...me."
"Did he..?" Nightwing starts to ask, but can't seem to find the courage to finish his question.
"No." She replies, and everyone visibly breathes a sigh of relief. "He was going to...to...but you guys got here before he could." She breaks down into tears again, burying her face into Nightwing's chest.
Nightwing looks over his shoulder at Batman, and says, "I'll take her to the hospital."
Batman nods, and Nightwing scoops her up in his arms. He walks towards the front door, glaring at Huntress as he does.
Robin starts to follow, but Batman places a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "No, Robin; you need to go see someone about that arrow."
"But..." Robin begins to say, but a glare from Batman silences him.
"We'll talk later." Batman says, as Robin leaves.
Batman walks over to Huntress, and helps her stand, before slamming her back into the wall, and pinning her there with his forearm. "You listen up and you listen good; the Huntress dies tonight."
"But..." She begins to say, but he presses his forearm into her throat, cutting her off.
"I know who you are, and what you're trying to do. I know about what you did to Gianfranco, and a half-dozen other mobsters; and I don't approve." He says. "You nearly got an innocent girl raped and killed today, and you shot Robin while trying to exact your petty revenge." He leans in until his nose brushes against hers. "That's not how we do things in 'my' city. You can stay here and continue living your regular life, but if I ever so much as catch a glimpse of you in costume, or hear a rumor that you are back at it, you'll have me to answer to." He leans back, and lets her go. "I'm not turning you in because Nightwing vouched for you, but this is the only time I grant you that privilege."
Batman turns around and walks over to the window. He looks down before turning back to face her. "I mean it, Helena Bertinelli; no more." Then he jumps out the window.
Back at the Batcave, shortly after Alfred locked them in, Robin presses a button on his gauntlet, opening a channel to Nightwing.
"You can't do this to me, Alfred. I have to go." Robin says, knowing that Nightwing can hear everything he's saying.
"I'm sorry, Master Timothy; but Master Bruce was very clear." Alfred replies. "I am sorry, but I agree with him; this is too personal for you to be getting involved."
"If anything happens to her...I don't know what I'll do." Robin says. He hears a click on his communicator, and smiles. Jumping on Batgirl's bike, he starts it.
"What are you doing, Master Timothy? All the exits are locked." Alfred says.
"Not anymore." Robin says. He kicks the bike into gear, and takes off down the road, timing it so that he squeezes underneath the door as it opens for him.
He presses a button on the bike's computer, and it soon shows a map of Gotham with three lights flashing on it. Finding the one representing Nightwing, he adjusts his direction, and heads into town.