I dipped into the cloakroom to steal my hat and coat back, no time to wait around and it was easy enough to do. Posh hotels like this never expect grifters like me to make it through the front door, let alone make it this far. Conveniently set aside from the rest of the clothing for a quick take, I slipped out with no-one the wiser and my target still in sight. His top speed was limited to avoid suspicion for whatever Lena had triggered him to do. He left the hotel and I followed shortly after, I ignored the concierge thanking me for my stay and breathed in the fresh evening air. My eyeline had been broken by the door closing so I looked left and right quickly to get back on the trail. I spotted the man getting into the back of a car, the engine was already running. I'd clocked the registration, but he'd be off soon and that would be a cold lead. Lacking time and options I flagged down a cab and uttered those stupid words. "Follow that car."
The cabby had no questions for me, luckily National City was ridiculous enough for that to work. I took off my bowtie and undid the top to buttons of my shirt, at least it was the end of the stuffiness. It was not enough to stop me grumbling to myself in the back of the cab, it was comfortable and clean at least. I noticed the driver was strangely adept at following on the sly, it did little to assuage my annoyance as the meter ticked ever upward. The lights of the shining city became regular streetlights, then light dimmed further as the tall man's car trundled ever outward to the outskirts where the streetlamps that still worked had bulbs as sad as the residents of these streets. I'd finally noticed the trend in the route. I told the cabby to let me out anywhere and left a generous tip. The expense was less offensive to me than the fact I had to resort to such an amateur method. If the goon's car had been slower to leave I might have been able to convince them to let me ride along and learned a hell of a lot more. Enough confidence and you can get people to believe just about anything, claiming to be some goon on a higher pay grade was always a fun routine. My coat flapped behind me as I darted quickly through the dark back alleys of this run-down part of town. I could already smell the salt in the air, I was near the docks. Lex Luthor had his little slice of them and I was wagering that's where I needed to be. The car I was following would have to take the roads around. My more efficient route of cutting through the streets on foot would probably have me arrive there at the same time. I got the feeling my unscuffed shoes would soon gain their first scars as I enjoyed the harder, bumpy ground these alleys had to offer. I saw movement up ahead in the dim light. I rolled my eyes, the time crunch meant my only option was to stay on course. Predictably the shadowy movement jumped out in front of me, I quickly checked his hands and spotted a knife. A gun would have been a problem.
"Stop... Hey, wait," the gruff voice blurted out as I slipped by him. I had no intention of slowing down and rolled the dice that there'd be no chase. The lack of heavy footfalls behind me told me it worked. Conventional wisdom in this town was a mark that shows no fear or care usually isn't worth it, it was either someone with nothing to lose or someone a hell of lot nastier than a mugger with a knife. Even the desperate have a survival instinct. I also benefitted from the dim light and coat covering up the ludicrously expensive tux, that flash of money could have been enough for him to get stupid.
Air rushed by my ears as I picked up my pace to a faster walk, to avoid a mugger's potential changed mind and hopefully watch the car I'd followed pull into Luthor's territory. Waves were crashing in the distance and the city was brightening. The only parts of the dockside that were in good condition was whatever Lex allowed to be cleaned up. I peeked round the final alley's corner and saw the working streetlamps reveal an opening gate. Just as I'd expected, the tall man's car was pulling in. There was minimal security that I could spot before the gate rolled shut again. Whatever was hanging over Lena's conscience was behind that gate. There was barbed wire above the walls and the local security here would likely have been in no rush, so the "I'm above your paygrade," routine was off the table. The cogs in my mind turned, I needed to get creative to make my way inside. My coat flapped open as another strong sea breeze rushed through the wind tunnel of an alley. I looked down to hold the coat in place, saw the tux on show and smiled to myself. I put my bowtie back on and folded the coat over my arm. With a roll of the shoulders and a deep breath I strode out to the front gate.
"Gentleman, I require a meeting," I barked out and straightened my sleeves. One of the guys in a security uniform came up to the gates.
"With all due respect, sir. Get lost," he said.
"No, I have a proposition for Mr. Luthor that is time sensitive," I said. The beam of his torch shined up to my face, I winced at the sudden brightness.
"You're either drunk or stupid if you think this is an office," he said.
"I am neither, Mr. Luthor is a busy man and as I said this time sensitive. It's also a trade best made off the books, hence no official appointment, this ungodly hour and rather unpleasant surroundings," I said with as much snobbishness as I could manage. I couldn't read the mans face, he was in dim light and I was still shielding my eyes from the torch. I hadn't been told to get lost again or caught a bullet which meant I was pretty sure this was working.
"What kind of trade?" He finally said.
"I'll only talk to the man himself or a direct representative, even if we need to act fast I won't be slapdash," I said. After a hesitation and some murmuring between more mooks, the torchlight lowered and I heard the gate rumble open. The only thing Lex Luthor loved more than money was at chance at making more money, it had been a calculated risk that his men had this philosophy drilled into them. To them the risk of some rich idiot wasting their time was far smaller than the risk of Luthor finding out they had ruined a lucrative opportunity for him. Two more security types marched out, guns on display.
"Come with us," one said. They both marched on in front of me, I followed and thanked whatever God was out there for the rookie error of having no-one behind me. Only the main path was well lit. The large and cluttered area of shipping containers, warehouses and everything you'd expect at a dock were mere silhouettes. I had to ditch my escort fast, there was a strong chance the tall man would have got a decent look at me and my description would start flying around the staff here in short order. It was either the suit or my boisterous display that had my security guards think I didn't require much attention, they were focused on marching me to what looked like the headquarters of this operation. The only building with the lights on looked more like a standard office than the warehouses or admin huts you'd usually find at a dock. I saw my chance, an area where the main road was closest to the wider area of the dock itself. As my new friends walked right on by it, I slowed my pace, stamping my feet a little harder to keep my footsteps louder until I was marching on the spot. Once they were a good ten feet in front, I spun behind a shipping container and quietly walked into the metal maze.
"Hey, where'd he go?" Echoed into my ears as I put my coat and hat back on.
"Weren't you watching him? Spread out and find him," was said with quite some volume. I kept snaking through at a walking pace, the sound of running would carry and there was nothing to panic about. Took very little time for me to hear more footfalls running across the docks, lots of corners and darkness among the shipping crates made it very easy to stay out of sight. I was giving them the run-around as the shouting for security personnel grew more frustrated with my disappearance. At one point I'm sure I heard glass breaking off in the distance, I'd have thought the staff here would at least be competent enough to keep everything intact in the dark. After some twists and turns I ended up in a walkway between two crates. A beam of torchlight perpendicular to my direction cut through the shadows up ahead of me. I pressed my back against one the crates close to the light side, it was surprisingly comfortable against despite the cold metal of it. The source of the light came into view, another security man. His torch turned to my little alley, I was far up enough for the beam to blaze right past me. My neck started to itch, naturally I undid my bow tie and undid the top button of my shirt when the light turned back to its route. Torches in the dark were damned useful, I could see the sightlines of my pursuers from a mile away.
"He's not here either, he must be clear of the crates by now" was shouted. I smiled to myself and stayed leaning on the crate. This was now a place they already considered searched which gave me time to stop and think. I was here, the question was what to do now. I had to find whatever was being kept and link it to Lena or the missing girl to keep this case going. Add to that, if security got frustrated enough more lights would come on despite the attention it would bring. That would make my life would get much harder. That office building was my best bet, I'd largely kept track of my direction through the maze and knew I'd gotten quite far off. The office was also a well-lit already which made sneaking in borderline impossible. If I gave it another minute or two they'd fan out further to allow me breathing room at least. I looked up, my tux and fancy shoes made climbing less appealing. As I contemplated the vertical option, I heard a gun cocking. If it was a guard smart enough to turn his torch off, maybe they were faster learners than I gave them credit for. I stayed still, putting up my hands slow enough to not ruffle my coat as there was a chance I hadn't been seen.
"Don't try anything," was said in a hushed whisper. Not being spotted had been a slim hope. My mind automatically started spinning cover stories or a daring escape, I had to stop this autopilot in full swing when I registered the fact it had been a female voice. I turned to the gun, in the extremely low light I could only make out an outline. Slender, no bulky uniform or hat. I folded my arms and scratched my chin.
"Hey, don't move," the hushed whisper said. Even in the dark I could see the pistol was pointed at me with no real conviction.
"Who am I talking too?" I asked, quiet enough not to carry through the docks. Maybe loud enough to worry my assailant.
"No questions, you're going to get me out of here," she said.
"I'd love to, doll. There's just the matter of all this security," I said.
"You're not with them?" She stepped forward, pistol still pointed my way. I caught her face in the reflection of the moonlight. Glasses, fair hair, pretty thing. Grimier than the photo but no mistaking who this was.
"You were supposed to require rescuing," I said to Kara Danvers, the gun dropped slightly at this. It was re-affirmed to pointing at me when she started speaking again.
"Security fanned out and left me alone for some reason, I used the distraction," she said.
"Well, you're looking at the reason," I said, I leaned against the container again. Even in silhouette her stance told me she had zero intention of using that pistol.
"Drop whatever guns you have and maybe I believe you," she said.
"Why would I have a gun on me?" I said. She ignored that and stepped forward to search my coat pockets. I let her, unless she wanted to steal my wallet I had nothing to worry about when it came to this search. From this close I could see her shirt was a little cut up and there were small pieces of broken glass on her shoulder.
"You might want to brush those off, might cause some undue noise if they fall or they could catch the light," I said. After a quick search that wasn't very thorough, she stepped back and brushed her shoulders.
"Fine, so you're not with them and here to rescue me. Now what?" She said, pointing the pistol down. It was nice for it to finally be at an angle that wasn't pointed at me.
"Honestly, I didn't think that far ahead. Add the wasted time of our greeting and they'll probably circle back around here shortly," I said.
"Great, I get help and he turns out to be an idiot," she said under her breath. I let it slide, she was under a lot of stress.
"They'll be watching the gate, so we can't slip by even if they open it. I'm in a nice tux so don't feel like swimming, risk the current will be too strong anyway," I said.
"We better start moving before they come back," she said. We started walking through the maze, I was keeping an ear for other background noise or footsteps of security and any shining beams. For now, we were clear. Danvers was being overcautious with the corners, poking her head round as if hostiles were going to materialise out of thin air. She wasn't overly amused each time I walked straight past her slow approach.
"You've got to me more careful," she hissed at me.
"I wasn't the one that got caught, now come on we need to stay on the move," I said.
"Says the man who came in here without an escape plan," she said. I was starting to like her, she had some moxy. As we got to the edge of the maze I gestured her to stop. The lighting was brighter here, less dancing shadows to get lost in. I poked my head out of the little alley and both directions. Step one of the solution at least presented itself. I got a better look at Danvers, she must have started out with the same bookworm look that was in her photo. The time spent here or being bounced from place to place would explain the dirt and unkempt everything that was on display. I was a little baffled that they'd let her keep her glasses throughout all this. That was a mystery for later, for now the information I actually needed from this inspection was her shoes. They were flat enough for climbing.
"I hope you're ready for some wall hopping," I said.
"What about the barbed wire?" She said. I pointed at an internal wall to the far side of the containers.
"Won't get us out of the docks, but that section won't be Luthor owned. Much easier to slip out," I said. I hesitated when I did some adding up in my head from my own statement, Danvers can't have been in National City for long, yet LexCorp had resorted to their silencing routine, it was too fast. I shook off these thoughts, a mystery for later. Me and the girl moved quickly through the dark, unhindered on our way to the side wall. We'd found some cover and I could feel her hand on my shoulder as we inspected it from afar. It looked a lot shorter from the container side of the docks, it was also well lit. A fast climb unnoticed would be tricky.
"Okay, I'll get to the top. I'll reach down and you can grab my hand," I said. Danvers' hand was gone and it turned out I was talking to empty air when I turned back. I shot my view around to full attention to notice she had ignored me and already jogged over to the wall. Before I could protest I saw her leap up, grab the top of the wall and start shifting over with ease. She made a hurry up gesture at me to boot.
"Alright, a lot of moxy," I said to myself. I kept my footsteps light on my approach and brought myself to a stop before the wall's lighting hit me. I must have had a good half a foot of height over Danvers, yet this wall would take quite the run up to scale for me. Gymnastics training in her past was the only explanation I think of. I threw my hat over first, then took a few steps back and leaped at the wall. I winded myself colliding into it when I sprang forward, I at least had the height necessary to grab the top. The rough bricks scratched at my fingers, my arms were fully stretched and a took a hell of an effort to pull myself up. My knees scraped on the wall and my arms ached at the struggle to shift my weight. I liked to think myself as reasonably strong, yet any job where I had to resort to physical effort I usually saw as a failure of my skills. One struggle later I pulled myself over and landed on my feet heavily in further shock to my knees. The sound echoed a lot louder through the wide and quiet docks than I'd liked. My hat was pushed into my hands by an impatient Danvers.
"Come on, we have to keep moving," she said.
"Slow your roll, Miss. Springboard," I said, she was right of course, yet I was catching my breath and brushing myself off. My coat protected the shirt and jacket from the scrapes of the wall, my trousers weren't so lucky. Still intact at least, now I had to find a dry-cleaner upmarket enough to keep it that way.
"You're fine, let's go," she said, grabbing my wrist and practically dragging me toward the exit gate. This side of the wall was even more poorly lit and cluttered, we had to watch the ground carefully not to trip over any wayward ropes or cargo. The far smaller area at least made it very easy to navigate. Whoever oversaw this section of the dock was far less security inclined than Luthor. We snuck around a small booth by this gate with a guard who was half-asleep. From the way over I was pretty sure he was the only staff member here, convincing him to let us slide would be easy.
"I'll talk us out, I whispered. I began to step round into view, when at the same time a man emerged on the other side of the gate. Luckily for me my attention and reactions were still on point as I stuck my hand out and pushed myself Danvers back with me to our hiding spot. The tall man from the Hilton shouted through to the booth.
"Hey, can I have a word?" he said. The guard in the booth got up with a groan, he had a lot more urgency to him when he saw the face of who did the shouting.
"Of course, Mr. Golden, right away," he said. The gate rolled open and Mr. Golden approached the booth. I got a good look at his face from my position. He had a black eye, that wasn't there at the Hilton. Mr. Golden was spitting out some words about suspected thieves and how he and his men needed to search this part of the docks. I cursed myself, my landing must have clued them in to our escape route. The dopey security guard was co-operative, seemingly out of fear more than anything else. Golden ordered him to stay at the booth and keep an eye out. Annoyingly, he also left one of his men by the gate. Half a dozen people followed Golden in and torchlight fanned out into the darkness. It was a least satisfying to watch them walk right on by where Danvers and I were hidden, it's easy to overlook what's so very close to you. In short order we were left with our hiding spot, the man in the booth and one goon on the other side of the gate.
"Any bright ideas?" I whispered.
"We have a gun," Danvers said.
Maybe I was wrong about her reluctance to shoot me earlier.
"I said bright ideas, threats or murder isn't bright," I said.
"I meant throw it at something as a distraction," she said impatiently. That made a lot more sense. I peeked through the booth, there were some metal barrels on the far side that would make a satisfying clang if something hit them.
"Alright, hand it to me," I said, holding out my hand. She hesitated, then looked me up and down. She had enough reasons to believe I had nothing to do with Lex, maybe she needed a lot more to hand me loaded gun. I rolled my eyes at her terrible timing.
"Unload the clip if you're choosing now to be nervous about me," I said. She looked down at it with a puzzled look, clearly with very little idea as to how it worked.
"Oh for god's sake," I snatched the gun by the barrel and lobbed it in a high arc above the beams of gate's lamps. The gun whooshed through the air until that satisfying clatter of metal against metal rung out like a resounding bell. The sound of freedom. The booth guard sprung up and moved toward it, Mr. Golden's goon told him to wait while he checked it out. With eyes off the exit Danvers and I slipped through the gap between booth and gate. We were out. I saw a certain look in the eyes of Danvers that said she wanted to book it. I took off my coat for her to wear, took off my jacket and rolled up my shirt sleeves. Easiest way to look different from a distance, we were by no means in the clear.
"Keep walking and stick together, running is noisy and draws the eye. They also might not think to look for a couple," she obliged and put on my coat. I subtly pointed across the road, opposite of dockside there were plenty more back alleys to get lost in. Enough for a handful of goons to know that searching them was a needle in a haystack job. I heard more shouts sound out through the cool night air, no doubt security reacting to the clang and the gun they'd found. Neither of us looked back and kept a brisk pace. The salty air returned to its usual city smell of dead cigarettes as the winding paths we took left the docks behind. A tense half hour of Danvers getting jumpy at any other person that looked our direction and me holding my breath as I side-eyed cars that rolled by followed. After that I was satisfied we had some wiggle room.
"Well Miss. Danvers, hell of a night," I said. She looked at me suspiciously and took a step away.
"I never told you my name," she said.
"I was paid a lot of money to find you and make sure you were safe, your photo is in one of those coat pockets," I said. The coat ruffled as she rummaged around and produced it.
"I guess I should thank you then," she said and repocketed the photo. She hadn't asked who hired me, that would have been my first reaction.
"Not yet, I'd wager Golden and friends know where you live. You got a place to stay?" I asked. A face of realisation hit her.
"I don't," she said.
"Lucky for you I have a spare room," I said, this was met with a nod from her. I refrained from telling her that by spare room I meant the extra unoccupied floor above my office that the landlord never checked. I had procured a key without his knowledge in case of emergencies.