Author's Note: Have you ever had one of those weeks where everything in the world was happening to you at once? That is how my life is going. This chapter may
not be up to my normal grammatical . . . standards.
Let's See Here:
LordOfTheBooks: Oh, okay then. Then no. Definitely no sequel in the works. Epilogue? Eh . . . to be honest not really, but once someone said something (and
maybe it was you, maybe not) about having more Dick/Bruce moments. And I kind of have something at the end, but I was thinking of maybe adding something
more having to due with . . . something else that is going on in the last chapter. (notice the lack of information) So I might. But it's a BIG might. I'm writing two
other things at the moment, but if I tried to keep it shortish . . . we'll see. I have some time.
Saphire122: Bum, bum, bum, bum, BA! (worst tension building music.)
3 Nightwing 3: It's all very dramatic. Don't be too sad. I'll be sad too. :( I'm so funny. I'm always nervous about starting a new story and then by the end I'm sad.
WawaNisaDCFan: I didn't realize that this was such a cliff hanger.
Godgirl4ever: Thanks! That's aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawesome!
jdcocoagirl: *girlish squeal* Leave it to me to cram everything in at the end.
SkyMyst: In my world—everything ends happily. Thanks for reviewing this and Per Sempre in all its ridiculousness.(I wish the 'legend' that I made up was real too!
I tried looking online for any sort of real one about the circus but I didn't come up with anything.) I actually have a lot of one-shots stored up
along with some two-shots, four-shots and possibly a five-shot that I just need to review and tweak. I have nothing this large in the works at the moment. It took
me several months to write this. My mind is like a strange Dick/Babs factory. I'm never quite sure what it's going to churn out. Thanks!
soccernin19: You're happy= I'm happy.
Guest: All in good time my friend, all in good time.
Disclaimer: After reading this far into this story it has probably become terribly obvious that I do not own the Batman characters. Even more proof is contained in
this chapter as I attempt to continue and finish my horrible mystery subplot that you (hopefully) are not going to pay attention to.
Chapter Twenty-One: Turning the Tables, Relief
Gordon stopped in a shadow and peeked around the corner. No sign of anyone yet. He flexed his hands and placed them back around the trigger of his gun. The
wind was blowing straight across the water sending chills right through him.
He looked at his watch. He had been out here for hours now and so far nothing had happened. He would give up, but he didn't want to give up this chance. There
was too much at stake.
He would continue to wait.
"Robin, report in."
Robin kept running across the roof as he spoke.
"Nothing yet, Batman. Everything seems quiet. Well, quiet enough for Gotham. Stopped a few car jackings, and a mugging. But no Gordon."
He waited for Batman to say something, but there was only silence.
"Batman?" He called across the com.
"Why did he leave the building? What did he go out for?"
Robin was silent.
"Most of the major gangs seem quiet tonight. There is no chatter along the normal lines."
The frustration in Batman's voice was obvious. Robin stopped running.
"Do you think that there was a breakthrough on something that Gordon was working on?" Robin asked.
"He was thinking about the docks."
"He seemed interested in that before. I found him down there after the bank break in. Remember?" Robin spoke up.
"He was . . ." Batman's voice broke off. "Robin, meet me down by the docks. NOW.
Robin turned so sharply he almost got whiplash.
Barbara sat on the hard wooden bench in the police lobby swinging her feet. Waiting was the hardest thing in the world.
So far, there had been no word on her father at all. She was trying not to panic. She stood up and walked around the floor again. No one really paid any attention to
her after she first arrived. She was asked some questions and asked some more questions.
Once it was decided that she didn't know anything and could not supply any more information, she was left to sit and wait.
Somebody asked her if she wanted coffee once but that was a few hours ago.
Now she was just watching people rush around. She was hating the feeling of being useless.
But what could she do?
Giving a hopeless sigh, she made the right turn and walked down to her father's office.
She had seen Baxby go in a few times to grab something. She had always been careful to watch him when he went in keeping in mind Batman's warning.
If he was up to anything, she was going to catch him at it.
She slowly opened the door and walked in.
The room was quiet and not too messy to be honest.
She walked around and stared out the window.
The dark road was dotted with street lights and cars buzzed past. Everything looked normal out on the streets. Barbara crossed her arms. Her eyes traveled to the
sky. The moon was hidden by clouds and a haze hung about the city.
Shutting the blinds, Barbara plopped into her father's chair in hopes of finding something to help lead her to him. There were a few case files lying about but nothing
terribly important. Looking around, she opened a few drawers.
Nothing of interest there either.
A key lay jumbled about in the top drawer. Barbara recognized it. It was the key to the rooftop door. Her father had showed it once to her. Seizing the moment, she
grabbed it and left the office.
Casually strolling past everyone, Barbara hit the elevator button.
Climbing on board, she rode it to the top.
The air was cold. Colder than it had been when she and Dick were out. She wrapped her arms around her waist and the wind cut through her sweatshirt.
She didn't expect to find anyone up there, her father or otherwise. She wondered if her dad had found something out, or that Batman did or something. But
whatever it was, it shouldn't be taking this long.
"You better be out there with him!" She called out to the sky.
She hated waiting.
Gordon leaned around the edge of a shipping crate. People had started showing up twelve minutes ago. Most of them were walking around. Scouting the area it
looked like. A few men stood talking. Low voices, nothing that he could hear.
He pulled his head back around and leaned it against the crate. He was starting to get sleepy, but there was no time for that now. He crouched down low as he heard
footsteps near him.
The footsteps moved away.
Gordon had been tempted to call in the force as soon as men started showing up, but he wanted to catch everyone involved in this scheme—so he waited . . . and
waited.
He listened to the sound of another car driving through the main gates. Something apparently had happened to the night watchmen, but there wasn't time to look for
them now. Headlights hit the area where he was hidden and Gordon held his breath.
Not that stopping breathing would do any good, he thought to himself.
He glanced at his watch wondering when the boat would be coming in. Timing on everything had to be perfect.
Slowly standing back up, he reached for his cell phone. The total of missed calls was now in the thirties.
"Come on, come on." He muttered as he chanced another look around the crate.
It looked as if one of the main people had shown up. The men gathered around him instantly and orders appeared to be given.
Some men spread out again to keep guard. The head honcho walked further to the left and out of Gordon's vision.
He made a decision to try and get closer. The sky was cloudy tonight, a fact that he felt was on his side. He moved carefully around every corner.
A hand on his shoulder stopped him cold.
"What exactly are you doing?" A harsh voice asked.
Gordon's shoulders sagged with relief.
Turning around, he looked into the face of Batman, a sight for which some people would panic.
"Waiting for you to show up." He said evenly with a trace of a smile.
"What are you doing?" Batman asked him. He was never one to waste time on pleasantries. "Do you have any idea of the trouble you have caused?"
Gordon blinked.
"Don't tell me Gotham is on the verge of collapse. I do have some faith in my men you know." He told him.
Batman was silent. Gordon hurried to speak before Batman was forced to repeat the question. Even Gordon feared making him repeat it for a third time.
Looking around one more time, Gordon spoke.
"Last time we talked, we discussed idea that the buyers needed an event to happen that would draw away attention enough to stage an operation here at the docks.
I don't like waiting for things to happen, so I decided to stage something myself. I didn't want to wait for them to stage some sort of calamity that would cost lives or
damage property, so I staged an event myself. I disappeared."
"You what?"
Gordon turned around to face the newly arrived Robin, who was standing there looking completely confused.
"Ah, Robin, good timing." Gordon said in a way of greeting. "Anyway, I have now given them what they needed, a distraction of the police force. A perfect time, to
sail in their ship and for us to catch them."
Batman stood silent.
"And you didn't feel the need to inform me of this?" He said harshly.
Gordon managed a smile despite Batman's mood.
"He is a control freak, isn't he?" He asked turning to Robin. Batman pivoted slightly to give a glance to the younger man.
"He did not tell me that." Gordon said quickly trying to put in a defense for the kid.
"What are your plans now?"
"Well, wait till everyone shows up, and take them down." Gordon said simply.
Batman and Robin exchanged a glance.
"And I would have told you." Gordon said explaining. "But neither of you showed up this afternoon."
Batman was silent to this charge.
"You are putting a lot of hope that they can be ready for the shipment in a few hours." Batman said.
"I have faith in Gotham's underworld to take advantage of my absence in a hurry." Gordon said mirthlessly.
Gordon looked over at Robin who was now staring at Batman.
"Spread out, wait for my signal."
Gordon nodded and looked back out at the water.
"So where do you . . ?" Turning back, both Batman and Robin were now gone.
"That is really quite amazing." Gordon mumbled.
"Mr. Mayor, right this way sir."
Barbara sat up straighter as she watched an officer beckon the freshly arrived mayor into to a conference room. The door was left slightly opened.
"Could I please get a report here? I have news agencies breathing down my neck. I've told them to hold their stories for a little bit, but they can't hold back a story
like this forever. Where is Baxby?" He thundered to a nearby officer.
"He's gone out sir—to help with the search. He's been gone for a half hour. I can get him on the phone for . . ."
"Have we made no progress?" The mayor said in anger. 'Why is it we can't even keep track of our own people?"
No one responded.
Barbara stood silently by the door. There were a lot of people out looking for her father. She hated to sound cold, but she hoped that enough people were still paying
attention to the streets. Why is it that no one in this office seemed to know what to do? Why were all these people panicking?
Straightening her back, she pushed the door open and walked in.
Everyone in the room stared at her.
It took her a moment to find her voice.
"I have something to say." She said calmly.
"Who are you? Who is this?" The mayor asked.
"That's the Commissioner's daughter sir. Barbara." Officer Watson said quietly.
The mayor seemed to take her in as if he was trying to recall meeting her.
"Well, go ahead." He huffed. "No one else can seem to think of anything to say.
Barbara gave a nod.
"I know my father is missing and it is a matter of urgency to find him, but everyone cannot go to pieces over this and forget that there is still a town here to run. My
dad isn't the President, he's just the Commissioner and you guys have to be able to function in his absence. So stop panicking. Let the men do what they do best
and hope for the best outcome. I hardly think that this town is going to collapse just because my dad is missing. The people of this city are too tough for that. So
start acting like professionals!"
Barbara took in a breath as she waited for a reaction. The mayor's eyes looked huge.
"That is actually the first thing that anyone has said this night that has made sense." He said after a moment.
"The Commissioner is our number one priority, but we have to keep up our presence on the streets. We can't make criminals think that we rise and fall on the
shoulders of a single man." The mayor said now going, in Barbara's mind, into 'speech' mode. "Even one of our most important ones."
Barbara felt a thrill of pride run through her.
"So, start back up normal street patrols and get me Baxby on the phone. We are finding Gordon!" The mayor announced.
Gordon shook his arms slightly as he tried to keep up the feeling in his arms. A flashing light had appeared off the coastal waters a few minutes ago causing much
movement in the assembled men.
He was starting to get restless.
"Batman thinks that the ship should be in range in the next couple of minutes." Robin said suddenly dropping in from above.
"Will do." Gordon said trying to get a better look across the water. "I hope they hurry up. I'm getting cold." Gordon glanced at his phone again. "And it's getting late.
Later then I hoped."
"You on a time frame?" Robin asked curiously.
Gordon shook his head with a slight grin.
"Well you see, my daughter was going out tonight and I was hoping to have this whole thing wrapped up by the time she was informed of my absence, but that's the
criminal world for you."
"You're worried about her panicking?" Robin said.
"Panicking? Not my daughter. She'll be worried, but not panicked. My daughter doesn't panic." Gordon said proudly.
"That's good." Robin said after a moment. "She'll need that in this town."
"Sorry about the 'control freak' crack." Gordon said changing topics. He had felt badly bringing it up and didn't want to get the kid in trouble.
Robin shrugged with a grin.
"I think he already knows that I think that." He told him.
A light across the water blinked again. Another car came through the gates.
"Did you find the night watchmen?" Gordon whispered.
Robin nodded.
"Knocked out, but alive. They're in the guard house."
That was a weight off Gordon's mind.
A creaking sound follow by commotion silenced the Commissioner and Robin. Both their eyes turned back to the waterfront. A ship had pulled up alongside the
docks. Men worked quickly to tie it up.
Gordon slowed his breathing and re-clenched his gun.
"How does this usually work?" He whispered over to Robin.
Robin looked back at him in confusion.
"I mean," Gordon said trying to be more specific. "It's usually just you and him, so where do I fit in here?"
Robin looked back at the waterfront and turned back to him.
"It's been a while since we've had someone out here with us. Only on occasion, did Commissioner William come out with us, and never in my mind was he here for
a take down. He usually just came in with the force after the work was done and the proof is in hand."
"Well, the proof is going to be on hand as soon as they open up and start unloading but . . ." Gordon cut off as another vehicle pulled into the docks.
Gordon took in a swift breath as the car drove past their position. Even in the dark, he recognized the car—and its driver.
"Is that . . ." Robin started to say.
"Baxby." Gordon said evenly.
Ever since Batman's warning, Gordon could say honestly that he had been on his toes around the man. But the sick feeling entered his gut anyway as he saw
Baxby exit that car.
He guessed Batman was right that night upon the rooftop. And as much as he hated to admit it, something had been off about Baxby, but he didn't want to distrust
the man from the start.
"I just . . ." He trailed off as he noticed that Robin had already left.
Having no idea really what to do, Gordon sat back and realized that he was about to witness what few men had seen—Batman and Robin in action.
It was like watching a ballet—only with more violence.
To be honest, he couldn't see that much, but every once in awhile he would catch a view of something that would take his breath away. How on earth did they move
that fast? They appeared out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly.
Gordon found himself once again being glad that they were on his side.
Deciding now was as good a time as any, Gordon launched himself into the action. Not that he felt like he did a lot of good. There was barely anyone left to take out.
Gordon walked slowly over to Baxby who, at the present, was out cold.
Gordon gave a sigh.
"I know that you warned me about him, but it still hurts you know?"
He didn't say it to anyone in particular and neither Batman nor Robin decided to comment.
"So what do you want me to do?" Gordon asked feeling lost in the midst of what had happened.
"Call it in. Gather evidence." Batman spoke as he walked past.
The Commissioner looked around at the scene around him.
"Okay." He said simply. This was going to take some getting used to.
Gordon pulled out his phone his hands numbly pressing in the numbers.
"Yes, ah, hello. I would like to report a . . . incident down at the docks." Gordon said as he rubbed his forehead. "Yes, yes, ah . . . goodbye." Gordon hung up and
looked over at Robin whose mouth was currently hanging open.
"What?" Gordon asked while looking confused.
"Did you even tell them who you were?"
Gordon paused.
"No, you didn't tell me too!" He argued now feeling silly for not having identified himself.
Robin shook his head in a gesture of amusement and disbelief.
Gordon cleared his throat and looked at the ground. He felt like it was his first day on a job and he was already messing things up.
"Well, I . . ." Gordon looked back up trying to make something of a defense for himself, but Robin was already gone. Looking around, he didn't see him anywhere.
"Hey, where did Robin go?"
Batman, who was in the midst of doing . . . something, turned and looked around.
Despite the mask, the look was obvious. He had no idea either.
Barbara sleepily swatted away whatever it was that was tickling her nose.
Opening her eyes, she found herself looking into Dick's blue ones.
"Dick." She said softly sitting up more. He gave her a smile.
"Hey, Babs. How are you doing? It took me forever to find you holed away down at this dead end." He told her as he took a seat next to her on the hard wood
bench.
Barbara brushed some hair out of her face.
"Yea, I was getting tired of hearing the phone ring and people discussion different scenarios. I just got tired of hearing all the noise."
Dick reached over and squeezed her hand.
"It's going to be okay." He said firmly.
Barbara smiled. It was nice that he was trying to be positive, but . . .
"Your hands are freezing! Did you go outside?" He asked now sounding concerned.
"I just needed some air, so I went up to the roof."
An odd look of surprise seemed to cross his face.
"The roof?" He repeated. "Good view?" He asked in a brighter voice.
She shrugged.
"Kind of hard to see much of anything between the clouds and the smog." She explained. "Have you been here long? Did you have any trouble getting in?"
"Nope, just bribed a co . . ." Dick caught himself before Barbara had a chance to yell at him. "Ha! See I stopped myself there." He pointed out to her as she glared
at him. He looked a bit sheepish.
"Actually, I really shouldn't joke about that since it is a common occurrence."
Barbara crossed her arms and was glad to see that he at least seemed remorseful about it.
"So did you get done whatever it was that Mr. Wayne needed your help with? What did he have you do, run all over town? Your hair is a mess." She told him.
Dick ran a hand through his hair and gave her a smile.
"There was some running involved." He said with an eye roll. "It wasn't anything that couldn't have waited, say, till tomorrow." He said with a shake of his head.
"Yea?" Barbara said absently.
She sometimes wondered what it was between them. True, she hadn't spent much time around Bruce Wayne, but he seemed to be a nice enough person despite his
. . . eccentricities.
"You two need to talk more." She said staring at the wall opposite them.
Dick's head turned sharply towards her.
"Are you in cahoots with Alfred?" He said eyeing her.
Barbara had to laugh.
"No. Sorry, I don't mean to pry. When I don't want to face my own problems, I usually try to solve other people's to keep my mind off my own." She explained.
"Well if I'm your next target, we could be here for a while." He said without humor.
Barbara stared at her feet and then gave a glance down the hall. As much as she wanted to wander back down into the hub of police headquarters, she was a little
afraid to hear anything bad. So she sat and waited being fairly certain that no one remembered that she was still here.
"What time is it anyway?" She said absentmindedly. Dick looked over at the clock.
"Getting close to three a.m." He reported.
"No wonder I'm getting tired. Thank heavens tomorrow is Saturday." Barbara remarked as she gently slumped against Dick's shoulder.
She smiled as she felt him carefully wrap his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head.
"It will be okay." He repeated again. "Do you want a funny story?" He offered.
She nodded.
"Okay," He said and from his tone, Barbara could tell it was going to be a good one.
"So one morning, probably a few years ago now, Alfred woke up and wasn't feeling well so I volunteered to make him some toast. So I head down to the kitchen
and start looking for the toaster. So I'm looking and looking and looking . . . can't find it anywhere."
He stopped long enough to give her a smile.
"So, after a while, I give up and go find Bruce. I ask him and he has no idea either. So I head back to the kitchen, and start digging in the cupboards taking out pots
and pans. Bruce hears the noise and comes in and we both start looking."
Barbara had to smile at the mental picture.
"So after a while, we both can't find it. The kitchen is a mess and there is still no toaster." Barbara waited as Dick gave a dramatic pause.
"So Alfred walks in. He walked straight passed both of us without a word. He walks over to the pantry, opens the door and pulls out the toaster. Alfred sets it down
on the counter and turns to both of us and says, 'You do both realize that you both would be dead without me correct?'"
Barbara started laughing as much for the story as for the bad British accent that Dick attempted to do.
She paused long enough to wipe a tear out of her eye.
"You know," She told him seriously. "I tried really hard not to like you."
Dick considered this with a head slightly cocked.
"I noticed. Well, I gave you reason to try." He amended. "You were really good at it. I . . . I almost gave up."
Barbara's eyes widened.
"I'm glad you didn't." She said softly. "I'm sorry I was so . . . difficult. I was so willing to overlook my own behavior and act like you were the only one at fault! I
can't believe that . . ."
Dick's finger against her lips stopped her cold.
"What did I say about apologizing? It's unnecessary. It's in the past and there is no need to dwell on it." He said firmly.
Barbara nodded and decided that she was going to try and put the incident behind her.
"Better?" Dick asked her.
"I think so." Barbara said while rubbing her head. "Thanks." She paused for a second to look at him.
"You know, your problem is that you talk to think."
"I talk to think?" Dick repeated.
"Yea, to think about something, you have to talk about it."
"So you are telling me to keep my mouth shut more?" He asked her with a teasing smile.
"And I need to stop acting like I'm always right." Her shoulders slumped. "I hate being wrong though." She muttered.
"Hey, you aren't wrong that often." Dick said trying to comfort her.
Suddenly noise erupted from down the hall. Both of them turned and stared.
Barbara gulped.
"Let's go see what happened." Dick said tugging at her arm. Barbara felt her legs lock up.
"No, I can't. What if it's bad news?"
"Are you panicking?"
"What?" Barbara snapped. "I do not panic! The Gordons do not panic." She told him firmly with fire coming into her eyes.
"Good. Now come on."
The certainty with which Dick spoke gave Barbara a feeling of hope. But she wasn't going to throw aside her fears so easily.
"What if something really has happened to him?" She said hollowly. Dick stopped walking and turned around.
"Then I will sneak you in Wayne Manor and let you live in my closet. But I won't have to because everything will be fine."
Barbara found herself nodding and she began to follow him again. He pulled open the door to the main level. From all appearances, something had happened.
There were officers running around, and the mayor was in the conference room making hand gestures.
Dick looked across the room in confusion and then looked back to Barbara.
"So, who do you want to ask?" He asked as he took a step back to avoid being in the way of an officer walking quickly passed.
Barbara reached out and snagged the man by his arm. The officer snapped back and looked at her with confusion.
"What is going on?" Barbara demanded to know.
The question hung in the air.
There, she had said it. There was no going back now.
"Well, reports are kind of sketchy, but apparently something happened down at the docks and someone reported that they saw Commissioner Gordon there." Giving
a quick glance between Dick and Barbara, the officer scurried off.
Barbara felt a weight fall off her chest.
Turning to Dick, she felt his hands on her cheeks.
"Why are you crying?" He said gently stopped the tears she didn't know that she had. "You haven't cried up to this point."
"I guess I'm just relieved." She said shortly as she wiped her face using the back of her hand.
Her father was safe, but what had he been doing?
"I have to go see him." She said firmly. Dick looked surprised.
"Ah, I don't think that you can just waltz down there Babs." He said.
She narrowed her eyes.
"This isn't that much in public." He said smiling.
Barbara shook her head.
"It's not that. I could go down there if I wanted to." She said fiercely.
Dick patted her shoulder.
"You best stay here. Whatever it is, he probably has his hands full. You'll be able to spend more time with him once he arrives here at the station."
Barbara opened her mouth to protest, but then shut it. Maybe she would let Dick be right for a change.
Random End Notes: Two people! Two! TWO! Chapters Left! And I just want to say thanks to all you people who
have been reviewing—you are all great and make me feel confident that my ideas aren't completely crazy. So
thanks!
{Dick/Babs because, HELLO! They are perfect for each other!}
Alright you know the drill. Advice, and (gentle) [be nice please! :}] criticism, would be appreciated. Or a haiku if you feel like one.