Escalation
The air was still as the woman crouched over the glow of the computer screen and held her breath. Her violet eyes gleamed in victory as she found the information she sought. She released a long sigh of relief as her shoulders relieved themselves of the tension they held. Moving as swiftly as the poor choice in the Windows Vista servers allowed, she looked up at the man peering through the slats of the blinds at the door and groaned.
"Bruce… is going to be so mad at us."
"Well, Kate did say this was going to be a risky job." came his response, almost flippantly.
"Doesn't change the fact he's going to be mad at us." Lois Lane bit at Harvey Dent as she ran more simple searches on the computer while he kept an eye out.
"Should've gone into law while he had the chance if he really wanted to keep us out of trouble."
"Ha!" Lois muttered as she copied files onto her pendrive, "That's the entire reason why he's a doctor. He's so resigned to our shenanigans that he's settled for patching us up after the fact!"
"And my working relationship with Kate… probably doesn't help matters."
"What tipped you off? The exasperated sigh when you congratulated her on becoming Sergeant Riordian or the speech on why being on the fast lane to becoming District Attorney isn't a good mix with the maverick wunderkind of the G.P.D?"
Harvey glared at Lois and sighed. "Just, get those files for your exposé. It'll be easier to back Reighart into that corner for embezzlement and corruption if we've got the media on our side."
As the minutes ticked by in that tense silence, a sudden thud near-echoed in the silence of the office.
"What was that?"
Harvey peered once again through the slats. The dimly lit office floor of Reighart's lobbyist department seemed empty enough - if it weren't for the bulky shape he could barely make out slowly disappearing behind one of the cubicle dividers.
"Lois?" He spoke lowly, in a quiet voice he knew was less likely to be overheard than a whisper. "We did check on the security right?"
"Yeah. This place was somehow considered low risk. Patrols only go past every three hours or so. Why?" came her equally quiet reply as she finished up, disconnecting her pendrive with the precious information.
"They weren't due for another fifty minutes right?"
"Yeah."
"Can you get your big blue friend to help us out?"
Lois winced as she glanced down at her watch. "He's not big into coming into Gotham. Told me once that helping in Gotham would be like using a wrecking ball to open a safe."
"Huh?"
"Basically," she shrugged, "The property damage he'd cause would not be worth it. Something about lead. He'll give us a lift, but that's it."
"Great, just great." Harvey muttered as he backed himself up against the wall, making way for Lois to peer through the slats herself.
"Okay," she breathed, as they watched another goon dressed in some sort of inaccurate security outfit make their way into the floor space of the department. As she and Harvey simultaneously braced themselves to run, the 'guard' promptly seemed to trip over themselves. A dark shadow sprang forth from the cubicles and the lump that was the 'security guard' disappeared into the darkness.
"Well, whatever it is, it's on our side. I think."
"What are the odds of you just being a go-dooder attractor Lois?"
"Really?" She asked Harvey with a single raised brow, before being distracted as they watched the shadow seem to spring forth and shut the the entrance to the floor before racing over to them. As the figure reached them, Lois made a split second decision based on her instincts. "But, we'll trust him." And she opened the door.
It was a him. They could see that all too clearly now. The figure was just about Lois' height and covered head to toe in dark clothing.
"Come," came the low, velvety voice.
A tenor, Harvey noted.
A young-ish tenor, Lois thought.
"Your operation was compromised from the start. The information your contact gave you was designed to catch you and Sergeant Riordian in a position in which they could discredit all of you at once. Both your respective connections to the Waynes would have a knock on effect on the city. That's what they intended."
"Is the evidence even real?" Harvey asked, as Lois fiddled with the pendrive, wondering if all of this was for naught.
He nodded "Yes, high risk, high reward. The possibility of knocking you out of the running for district attorney, discrediting Miss Lane as an honest investigative reporter and revealing the measures Sergeant Riordian is willing to pursue? Too tempting."
Lois interrupted "And who are the they you mentioned? What stake could they have on this? Why are they against the Waynes? I'm assuming that being associated with the three of us when we 'get caught' by security would cast a shadow on their reputation?"
"Exactly. And you should know who they are Mr Dent." He said as he turned away from them, a slight turn of his head indicating they should follow.
"I should?"
The velvety voice grew eerie as he led them towards the roof access. "Beware The Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them, or they'll send the Talon for your head."
"The Court of Owls?" Lois piped up confused, stalling at the maintenance ladder.
"That's a nursery rhyme." Harvey protested.
"You're right. It's not the Court." The shadow said.
"See that's..."
"It's a Parliament."
Harvey and Lois paused as they took in the Gotham skyline.
"A Parliament?" Harvey breathed, "You mean…"
"It's not just Gotham. It might have started here but the net is a lot further casting."
"And how would you know this?" Lois said.
"They'll send the Talon for your head… But what happens when a would-be-Talon slips their hold?" Lois could practically feel the grin in his voice. The defiance that spat back at this Parliament.
"I guess that they would have a renegade on their hands." She smirked back.
The terse, silent nod was all the reply she needed. This was someone that was on their side. This was someone who needed the shadows.
Lois made her decision. "I won't mention you. We promise."
"But Lois." Harvey stuttered.
"When has my gut ever failed us Harvey?" Lois shot.
"Well, never."
"Then you know what? Maybe I do attract do-gooders. Thanks kid."
"My pleasure." Came the reply from everywhere and nowhere. There was no sign of there ever being anyone else on the roof with them. No sign of there being anyone helping them along in their escape from Reighart's office.
To any other duo - this would have been a clear sign of a trap. But for Lois and Harvey, this was the best way to make a discrete exit. Lois tapped her watch. Minutes later, Superman appeared and whisked them away.
-.-.-.-
The Chamber was chaos.
The trap had not been sprung - indeed it appeared that the bait had not been taken at all. They had been so, so sure that Riordian, Dent and Lane would spring at any hint of a corruption scandal. Especially since Riordian and Dent were practically hounding the Owls for any chink in their impeccable armour.
Not that they knew they were after the Owls.
Still, this was highly irregular. This, and the multiple little failings that had been ongoing this past four months built up into an issue they had never quite expected. Those incidents had been dismissed - there was always room and expectation for failure, but now, this was a pattern.
"Sir."
"Yes Jenson?"
"Sir, there has been, let's say, a development."
"A development?" The white masked man reiterated as he turned to Jenson who was nervously shuffling his feet.
"Sir, the Head of Surveillance asked me to tell you to have a look at this evening's breaking news. We've managed to intercept the transmission, but we couldn't prevent it from being broadcast."
"What?"
The Chapter Head scrambled for the remote to the television in the room.
"This just in! Farron Reighart has been arrested for embezzlement of funds and the exposure of an underground group of policymakers seeking to block certain welfare and reform bills in Gotham! GCN will keep you covered as updates come in."
The Chamber went from chaos to stunned silence.
"They did take the bait." Someone muttered.
"They took the bait, but they dodged our operatives." Someone else added.
"There wasn't any sign…"
"Those were our best…"
Cacophony descended upon the Chamber as they wallowed in confusion. This made no sense to the Chapter Head. There had not been any trace of data infiltration. Nor had there been any evidence of an attempted physical break in.
The men they had stationed to coincidentally come across Dent and Lane had claimed they had seen nothing. Clearly, someone somewhere had failed in their task.
"Two weeks. Two weeks since we baited the trap. How have we not known the bait had been taken, till NOW?"
-.-.-.-
"Congratulations Lois, headlines again." said a bespectacled man as he handed Lois a celebratory hot chocolate.
"Thanks Clark. Couldn't have done it without an assist from you-know-who." She winked at him as she made a little flying gesture.
"Voldemort?"
"Oh you." She nudged his shoulder hard, knowing full well it did nothing to him.
"Was sitting on the story for ten days really necessary though?"
"I think so," she said as she stirred the hot chocolate thoughtfully. "You know what I mean though, there's something happening in Gotham. Something big. But we can't touch it - not yet. I don't even know how someone would go about deconstructing it."
Clark Kent leaned back in his chair. "But someone is?"
She nodded. "Someone is. But I don't think an exposé on him would help him any."
"Brave man."
She shook her head. "Defiant one."
-.-.-.-
The Labyrinth was silent - as it should be when no infidels were being taught lessons within. A Talon-in-training should never be seen, or heard from after all.
The Gray Son, their promised Talon of all Talons to lead them to greatness, even more so.
"Talon-apprentice!" The Chapter Head of the Labyrinth called out.
There was no reply, as expected. She turned back to Deathstroke, "My apologies, the Labyrinth is large and.."
"I remember." Slade Wilson interrupted. "The Talon-apprentice's progress is astounding. I don't see why you have called me in again."
"Testing. We need to ensure the skills you've imparted haven't faded. Besides, we've given you the money."
"Make no mistake, if it wasn't for your cash, I would not be here. Not again. I still remember."
They waited a bit more.
The Labyrinth's Chapter Head's iPhone buzzed with an alert. "I'm sorry Mister Wilson, I have to check this."
"By all means."
She walked a ways away and looked at her phone.
The Head of the Labyrinth's chapter was stunned as she took in the news. Reighart's loss was unexpected. Everything had been planned so well. It had all been set up perfectly, just waiting for their prey to take the fall.
There was no way it could have turned out the way it did… unless…
"Mister Wilson," She said, striding back to the mercenary, "would you be amenable to a slight change of contract?"
"You know my rules."
"But sir…"
"No buts, if I am not here to evaluate the Talon-apprentice, I shall take my leave and send a full refund back to your people."
"Fine. Thank you for your time Mister Wilson."
She stared at the deadliest man in the world as he walked away from her, out of the Labyrinth, which she suspected was now completely empty save for the Talons resting in their cryogenic sleep below.
She walked calmly out of the Labyrinth, taking twists and turns as she made her way to a secret panel which various surveillance screens upon them.
This was the control panel of the Labyrinth. This was how they drove the infidels to the brink before they disposed of them.
This was where they should be able to monitor the Gray Son. And they did. They saw him completing a routine like he did for the past five months. One the clock, with a little bit of variance each day.
Proof the Gray Son was still with them.
But now that she looked closer, the Gray Son's condition never seemed to change. There was no wear and tear in his uniform, despite the Owls calculating that he was due another growth spurt sometime this month.
There was little deviation in the food he chose day by day. It repeated, week after week, the same meals in the same order.
How could they have not noticed?
She typed out a message on the Skype group all Chapter Heads were in. Their Gray Son had slipped their reach.
AN: And now the Owls know Dick has flown their coop. Oh well. But! Lois Lane knows! And Clark knows now too!
Thank you for following along so far and feel free to let us know what you think! If you'd like to contact us via tumblr, my handle is eastoniablogs!