When Alfred picked Dick up from the airport, Dick greeted him jovially, "Good afternoon, Alfred."

Alfred raised eyebrow at the greeting. Apparently he wasn't expecting Dick to be in such a good mood. "Good afternoon, Master Dick." He held open the back door to the vintage Rolls-Royce for him. "Did you have a good flight?"

"It was the perfect day for flying. Just beautiful." Dick said as he got in.

Alfred shut the door and got in at the wheel. He glanced at the rear view mirror at Dick to find him smiling softly out the window. "Seems San Francisco has done you some good, Master Dick."

Dick smiled at Alfred, "You have no idea."

Alfred put the car into gear and pulled out. "Bruce is in a mood." Alfred warned.

"When isn't he?" Dick laughed.

"How goes your studies?"

"Good." Dick couldn't stop the smile on his face. "I'm learning lots. I guess you could say, I'm fully immersing myself." Dick's smile became a full grin at his inside joke.

The rest of the trip was quiet with Alfred glancing at Dick through the rearview mirror. Each time Dick would smile back. He was in such a good mood, he didn't think anything could bring him down. He was wrong.

Bruce was nowhere in the manor, which wasn't surprising. Bruce rarely spent time in the manor. Who was in the manor was Tim. As soon as Dick saw him, he gave Dick a strange look and asked, "What are you smiling about? He's really mad at you."

"Good to see you too." Dick ruffled his hair as he walked by.

Tim quickly pulled out of the way. "Ugh. You are so going to get it."

Dick gave a dark chuckle. "What's new."

Sure enough, he found him beneath the manor in the batcave in front of the computer. Bruce gave no aknowledgement that he recognized that Dick was there, but Dick didn't believe for a second that he didn't know it.

"How's the ribs?" Bruce finally asked.

"Manageable." Dick shrugged.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Bruce asked.

"Not much to say. It was a trap. Deathstroke was there and gave me a good beating. But w . . . I came out on top."

"And just your ribs were injured?"

"Yeah."

"Then who used the IV?" Bruce's eyes narrowed.

Dick saw this coming, and he knew Reyna had counciled him to tell Batman everything, but he also knew the life he led and how dangerous it already was. At least that was his excuse. "My partner."

Bruce's eyes narrowed.

"She alerted me to the kidnappings in the first place."

"She?" Bruce rolled the word around like it were a piece of a puzzle. "Who is she?"

"I'm not ready for you to know that just yet."

Bruce stood up straighter to show his full hieght, an intimidation tactic that worked a lot with criminals, but Dick wasn't about to back down. "Dick, this is getting serious."

"You've no idea." Dick muttered under his breath.

"Without a proper background check, she could be taking advantage of you."

Dick couldn't help but smirk at the comment as thoughts of Reyna taking advantage of him ran through his mind. "I did a background check."

"A thoroughal background check?" Bruce questioned.

"What you don't think I can do a thoroughal background check?"

"That's not what I said."

"No what you said is that you don't trust me."

"I trust you. I just don't trust her."

"If you trust me, then you'll trust her."

Bruce's eyes narrowed, like he was looking for something on Dick that was hard to find.

Alfred cleared his throat deliberately. "The ball starts in a couple hours, so how about we go upstairs and have some dinner."

Dick turned and started heading up. He thought about telling him that she was going to try to be at the ball, but changed his mind. Heknew Bruce was still studying him as he left, but he didn't care.

Bruce and Dick didn't talk much, but that didn't mean that dinner was quiet. Tim filled the silence with nervous chatter that wasn't really directed at anyone. After dinner, Dick got changed into his custom tuxedo. His thoughts strayed to Reyna in her form fitting red dress, and he combed his hair with a little bit more attentiveness and put on some cologne. Once he was satisfied, he headed out. Bruce was waiting patiently. Tim sat in a chair nearby, observing their departure. Bruce held out a phone to him. It has to have a clear connection for at least a minute, two preferably."

Dick's stomach dropped like he'd just fallen off a building. He took the phone. Normally, he would have looked forward to the honey-bait, but tonight it just made him sick. Then he thought of Reyna. Maybe they could figure out a way to do it together. He pocketed the phone, ruffled Tim's hair, eliciting a, "You smell funny." and followed Bruce out to the car. Alfred held the door open for them and shut it behind them. They didn't talk the whole ride. When they arrived at the Charity Ball, the familiar circus greeted them. Flashing camera lights blinded them as they made their way into the ball.

"Bruce Wayne and Richard Grayson." A man next to the door announced.

That was new, Dick thought. He immediately began scanning the room as they walked in.

"She's over there in the black dress." Bruce murmured to him.

Dick's eyes snapped to where Bruce was looking, but any excitement he felt immediately dissipated. Standing at the bar stood a woman who looked to be in her fourtys with her auburn hair done up elegantly and wearing a short black dress with an extremely low cut down the front. Dick got that sick feeling again.

"Go get her." Bruce ordered.

Dick looked around the room. "Uh, it's too early in the evening. Don't want to come off over eager. She'll think something's up."

"Bruce Wayne!" A man Dick recognized as Mayor Wilson called out.

"Mayor." Bruce shook his hand.

Dick took the opportunity to slip away to the bar. He had a good view of the room. He saw Bruce occupied in one corner of the room with a bunch of men. He saw his target on the other side of the room, looking bored and surveying the room. He could see all the entrances oh, so he could see Reyna the moment she walked in. "Can I get you something to drink, sir?" The bartender asked.

Dick pondered the question and realized he hadn't had an alcoholic drink since the evening he met Reyna, nor did he want one. "Water will be fine."

The bartender gave him a strange look, but give him what he wanted. The evening droned on. Dick kept on checking his watch. Reyna was fifteen minutes late, half an hour late, an hour late. With each passing second, Dick's hopes decreased.

"Now what's a good looking kid like you doing all alone?" A sultry voice said next to him. Dick had been watching the entrance so much he lost track of the target, who was now sidling up next to him.

Dick instinctly eaned away. "I, uh, I was waiting for someone, but it looks like she can't make it."

"Now, who would miss the chance to meet with you?" She ran a fingernail up his arm, sending sickening chills through him.

Dick noticed Bruce further down the bar, who glanced purposefully at the bar and then back at Dick. Dick looked down and saw her phone laying on the bar. He did a mental shake and shoved Reyna from his thoughts. Time to go to work. Dick put on his most charming smile, as he pulled out his own phone. "No one that matters now." He placed the phone next to hers and activated it. "What are you having?"

"Martini on the rocks, or maybe I'll just have what your having." She glanced at the glass of water in front of him.

He chuckled at the inside joke. "Two martini's, please." He said to the bartender as he pushed the glass of water to the side.

The bartender got them their drinks. She picked up her drink and held up. "To being unattached."

Dick swallowed thickly. "To being unattached." He smiled.

He drank it in one gulp. As soon as he put his drink down, her lips were on his. Dick was completely taken aback by it. He felt her lips move against his, making him feel sick.

"Reyna Ramirez." The announcer suddenly shouted out.

Dick immediately pulled away and turned to see Reyna standing at the entrance in a royal purple dress that reminded him strongly of her praetor cape. Her hair looked like it had once been elaborately done up, but now had strands falling down around her shoulders, giving her a windblown look. She looked incredible. However, the whole look was marred by her face, which gave a look of horror.

"Reyna." Dick breathed.

"Oops." The woman said not sounding sorry at all.

Reyna immediately turned and walked out. Dickgrabbed the phone and ran to follow her. He was about to leave out the front entrance when he saw her purple dress disappear through a door. She had gone into the stairwell. He followed, desperately trying to catch up.

"Reyna!" Dick called out.

He could hear movement going up the stairs. "Reyna! Please let me talk to you."

He came around a flight of stairs and saw her struggling to get a shoe off at the top of the stairs. "Please, I can explain."

"Really? You can explain your lips on another woman. I thought . . . I don't know what I thought, but that wasn't it." She screamed the last part as she threw the shoe in her hand at him. It would have hit him in the head if he hadn't dodged it. When he turned to see where it had gone, he saw her high heel embedded into the wall. When he turned back to look at her, she was already running up the stairs.

He continued his chase up the stairs. Before long he caught up to her again on the roof. She had nowhere to go. Her back was to him and he watched her hands wipe at her face.

"It's not what it looks like. That was the CEO. I was bugging her phone."

"It looks like you are doing a lot more than that." Reyna turned and snapped at him. "Did you get a lot of information out of me? Gods, I'm so stupid. I've given you everything. You could wipe us all out."

"I would never."

Reyna walked determinedly to the edge of the roof. "Do you have any idea what it took just to get here? Three monster attacks, and me trying to fight in a stupid dress. All for what? To walk into . . ., to see . . ?

Fear flooded Dick. "Reyna, please, please don't."

"I trusted you." Her voice cracked.

"It was just a stupid sting. You mean so much more to me."

"You have a funny way of showing it." With that parting shot, she jumped off the roof.

Dick's screamed and ran to the edge. He looked over the side of the building to see nothing. He looked around and just saw a faint glimmer and something flying away.

Dick was crushed. He felt sick to stomach, and his chest hurt. He walked slowly back down the stairs. When he reach the bottom, he found Bruce waiting.

"Where have you been? Was that your partner?"

Dick pulled out the phone and slammed it against Bruces chest a little bit rougher than needed. "You got what you wanted. I don't know when I'll be back."

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know. Away from you."

Bruce gave him a confused look has Dick walked away. He had to fix this, somehow.