Dick Grayson was no stranger to undercover positions, they just normally were in higher stake's locations than the local restaurant in Bludhaven's business district. He thankfully had already completed his mission-the easy going waiter slipping a tracer into the local mafia boss's collar as he gratefully accepted the generous tip.
All he had to do was last a few more hours, reluctantly hand in his resignation to the restaurant's manager (which he was actually a little regretful to do, the restaurant was largely clean, but he was sure the empty job would be taken soon enough) and wait till the night for Nightwing to follow the trail.
His easy night was shattered as his brown contact eyes widened on the man who had just entered the restaurant, holding the door for the older man behind him. Dang.
Slade knew many in the caped community thought he had some sort of fascination with Nightwing. They were only half right. Yes, he did give him more attention than most of the other do-gooders but only because he was interesting. And skilled. He saw past the golden-boy act that had the rest of the superhero community under his thumb to the cunning and talented man underneath. The man whose skills were being wasted running across rooftops and beating up criminals for the Bludhaven corrupt courts to release if they were important enough. There was a reason he had tried to make the boy his apprentice years ago, though now they simply were adversaries with history. Either way, he knew the other man well enough that, disguise aside, he recognized the other the moment he stepped up to his and Wintergreen's table, introduced himself as Timothy and set a pair of menus on the table.
"Welcome to the Blazing Steakhouse, I'll be taking care of you fellows tonight. Our daily specials are the clam chowder and the sea-side scallop special, I'll give you some time to look over our menus. But can I get you something to drink before I do?" The slight drawl "Timothy" favored did little but entertain Slade though he did not let it show.
"Yes, than-" his reply was cut short by a loud explosion by the door of the restaurant as a dozen armed men stepped inside. One (probably the leader if his self-important strut was any indication) pointed his gun up to the ceiling and fired a few shots.
"Right, you lot. This is a robbery, cooperate and you can leave tonight, otherwise," here the man smirked, "you won't".
Dick's attention was pulled to the door as it was blasted open (quite unnecessarily), spilling about a dozen armed men into the room. What were the odds, really?! Well, it was Bludhaven, but still! Nightwing could have taken care of the problem in moments but he wasn't in the room. Instead there were only a few dozen civilians seated at tables, a few waiters frozen in shock, and...a deadly mercenary and his friend. Wonderful.
The masked men (or what did he know, maybe women) circulated through the tables, collecting watches, jewelry, wallets, and any other potential valuables.
Reaching the mercenary's table, the thief smirked at the apparent elderly sitting there.
"Right gramps, you know the drill, drop any val-" the rest of the sentence was cut short as Slade moved.
As Slade's fist collided with the first man's skull, he was already turning to the other criminals, a kick slamming the forehead of another into the white-clothed table. Two more men were down before they seemingly reacted, pulling out their guns. An additional four men were down before the first shot was fired, which sunk into one of the table's oak legs. The remaining four would-be thieves glanced at each other, then apparently deciding they weren't brave enough to continue the robbery, stepped back. Slade took a step forward, matching the men, one of which, panicking, grabbed "Timothy" by the arms, jamming the barrel of his gun under the waiter's chin.
"Ri-right," the man stuttered, glancing at his incapacitated companions lining the floor, one with a steak knife lodged through their wrist, staining the carpeted floor red. "We're leaving, and if any of you take a step toward us, this guy gets it, ya here?"
Slade raised an eyebrow, glancing at the young man at gunpoint. Dick, seeming to recognize he was made anyway, slammed his head back into the nose of his assailant, while at the same angling the gun toward the ceiling with his hand. A shot went off, shattering a light hanging from the ceiling at the same time a kick connected with the broken-nosed man's head, knocking him unconscious. The remaining men knelt slowly down, seemingly resigned to having chosen the wrong high-end restaurant to rob that evening, and Dick sighed as the sound of sirens outside drew nearer.
Well, if nothing else, Dick now didn't have to make an excuse to leave his new job. Acting the shocked, adrenaline filled civilian wasn't exactly new to him, but he smarted as he watched the mercenary and his companion slip away into the night. A few newscasters were taking interviews of the stunned customers, and as Dick shrugged off his shock blanket which he had been given a few minutes prior, one approached him.
"Sir, sir, would you have a few words for the Gotham Gazette?" Dick smiled just slightly before he looked up, seemingly startled at the newswomen's approach.
-Breaking News!
Bludhaven's favored celebrity restaurant, the Blazing Steakhouse, was the target of an attempted robbery this evening. Eyewitnesses state that a dozen armed men entered the establishment wearing masks, and proceeded to rob clientele. However, the robbery did not go as planned as a seemingly elder man proceeded to take down criminals. Some clientele are calling this man a hero, others simply an arrogant man who risked the lives of everyone inside the restaurant. Timothy Green, a college student at Bludhaven academy who was serving as a waiter at the time of the attack only had this to say: "Yeah, sure the guy seemed to know what he was doing, and should know that many here at the Blazing appreciate their actions. However, their hero-gig definitely needs some work, maybe they should take lessons from that other guy who fights criminals in Bludhaven, erm… Nightwing!" Thankfully, there were no casualties this evening and the establishment is expected to reopen in the coming weeks. This has been Cheryl Brekker of the Bludhaven Gazette!-