Synopsis: Someone has stolen all the money from the Wayne Foundation Youth Charity Fund. Batman and Red Hood go after the man who did it. While doing research on the thief, Tim is hit by a mysterious beam from an odd weapon sitting on a shelf and is de-aged. Oh boy, what are they going to do with a four-year-old Tim?

Part 5: Hunting for a Scammer in A Haystack

"He's a Falcone?" Jason questioned.

"He's from a lesser-known branch of the Falcone family," Tim explained. "He's also single. Apparently, he paid some actress with two kids out of wedlock to pretend to be his wife, just in case someone wanted to meet his so-called family."

"So . . . that family thing was just a lie?" Jason questioned. The urge to get rid of the guy was growing strong, but a few words were holding Jason back still.

Tim was aware that Jason was pacing behind him, but he wasn't aware of Jason's private thoughts.

'I don't want Samantha to lose anything, but this guy is just pure scum. She believes I can change but ignorant assholes like this make me want to go on a shooting frenzy.' Jason kept his words as level as he could. "You need to find where this man is located at, now."

"Working . . . " Tim said, as he clacked away at the keyboard. He hooked into some of the international databases. It was like finding a needle in a haystack. Then he thought of another way and turned to face Jason.

"What's up? You find him? You know where he's at?"

"There's someone I need to contact who can do this much faster than I can. He's kind of a living internet junkie, always hooked into cyberspace.

"Who?"

"I call him Intel he calls me Red Bird.," Tim explained. "He'll be able to check if any transactions have been done by Chester Falcone and where they are coming from." Tim turned back to the keyboard and typed in Intel's email and private codes.

"Sounds like a nice partner you got there," Jason replied. "A little like Oracle."

"He's faster than Oracle, besides, Oracle can't help us. She's not available." Tim began a private conversation via a private media link. Jason watched the screen as the conversation unfolded.

#RB . . . Hey Intel how you been?

#Intel . . . Haven't heard from you in a long time. Not bad, considering. What do you need?

#RB . . . Looking for someone.

#Intel . . . Who? And how have you been?

#Red Bird . . . Been rather busy. Family matters. Need info on Chester Falcone aka Chester Farmington. Any intel you can send me on where he can be found?

"How did you meet this guy?" Jason asked Tim as the conversation on the screen scrolled by.

"Met him during a time when things weren't so hot between Dick and me, when you-know-who came to live with us, and we thought Bruce was dead. You never would have believed it."

"I forgot you and Golden boy had a falling out."

"Intel got me leads on where to look for evidence that Bruce was alive.

"Smart cookie he is then," Jason leaned on the chair Tim was sitting on as they waited for Intel to reply to Tim's inquire.

#Intel . . . Falcone in Sicily . . . Deposited huge cash amount matching what was taken from Wayne Foundation three days ago. You going after him?

#Red Bird . . . Nope, can't right now. Will be sending two from family. Poppa Bat and Brother Hood.

#Intel . . . Tell them good hunting.

"So, he's in Sicilly."

"Intel can get you a city, maybe even an address."

"I'd like that," Jason dropped to the ground and started to do push ups. It was something he started that helped to think things through, and to release a little more of the anger that would rise up.

"He's at Sciacca, Sicilly, at the Villa San Marco, on the beach. He didn't even try to hide his real name."

"I'm going to pull that fucker right out of that place bleeding and in a vicious amount of pain."

Tim started printing out everything that Jason needed, including a map of the villa. He then began printing out any relevant information that showed a paper trail for Chester Farmington, aka Chester Falcone and how he stole from the Foundation. "Leave a few scars for me, too. Leave him alive enough to stand trial. What I want to know is why he did it." Tim got another message from Intel.

"You know what? I should shoot him in the kneecaps. That way he won't have a leg to stand on for the trial."

"Poetic Justice. I think that was one of Falcone's favorite ways of hurting people, aside from making people disappear. Looks like he ripped off no less than ten different charity organizations in Gotham alone, all under different assumed identities. He specializes in ripping off charity organizations. He's been doing it for years. Intel indicates that he only stays in a city for a short time, moving on when things appear to be getting hot. Gotham's the longest he's stayed in one place. Maybe because his family is here."

"You just got that from your friend Intel? I hope bringing him back for trial would give those organizations back their money. He has to be sitting on a good couple of stacks."

"At least twelve million, according to my source. If an organization made at least 100,000 he stole every penny and then some, claiming he was making a bank transfer to a better bank with interest, only he would put a hold on the transaction and pick up the money at the bank in cash then leave the country within a few hours to deposit it in his private bank account."

"Well, I'm ready to go whenever Dad is," Jason said.

"I think Dad is still in his study."

"Could you take that up to him and tell him what you found?"

"Why don't you. I might have more. I want to get the names of all the organizations he's ripped off across the country." Tim handed Jason the paper and Jason left the cave to go to Bruce's study.

. . .

"Thanks Lucius," Bruce said as he continued his conversation on the phone. "Yes, I know. I'm glad you were able to do that. Matching the funds that were stolen with Wayne Enterprise money and from Wayne Tech were both smart moves. Tim will appreciate it. You did? How many did you contact? And not everyone was amendable. I always end up matching funds with that crowd. I'm not surprised. Need to let you go, Lucius. I'll let you know what develops"

As Jason walked into Bruce's office, he saw Bruce hang up the phone. He slipped the paperwork onto the desk desk. "His name is Chester Falcone."

"Falcone, are you sure?" Bruce questioned. "They are one of the most notorious crime families in Gotham."

"We're sure. We also know where he's at. He's in Sciacca, Sicilly. Villa San Marco."

"The Falcone's originated from Sicily. Must be another branch that never came over to this side of the Atlantic."

"Uh huh . . ."

"I always suspected there were more," Bruce added. "The Falcone's were a large family. Seems they still had family operating from their ancestral home. Did Tim find all this?"

"With the help of a friend," Jason also added.

"I'll have to arrange to meet this friend."

"Yeah, they seemed to be okay with each other even though it was through messaging. You should try and get him to join the family."

"Maybe . . . He's at least a contact. We haven't heard from Oracle since she left. We could use another internet informant."

"We could."

"We better stop gabbing and help Tim by getting this guy back to Gotham."

"Alright, let's get a move on."

"I have a quicker way down." Bruce opened the head of the bust of Shakespeare that was sitting on his desk. He turned a couple of switches and the bookcase panel opened up behind Jason.

"What? I don't remember this one."

"Ask Dick about it. Use the pole on the left. I'll be sure not to hit the automatic quick change. Wouldn't want you accidentally wearing one of Dick's old uniforms. Besides, it wouldn't fit you."

Jason made a displeased face. He went went over to the pole on the left while Bruce took the pole on the right. They slid down to the cave in record time. Bruce made sure he didn't hit the quick change. Once they landed on the old-cushioned lifts, Bruce went over to the uniform vault and changed into his current uniform while Jason changed into his Red Hood uniform. He checked his guns to make sure he had non-lethal rounds except for two shells. Those he wanted to save for Chester Falcone. He holstered his guns and went out to wait for Batman.

"Tim . . . You have the coordinates?" Batman asked.

"Already logged and uploaded to the jet. You're ready to go."

Red Hood followed behind Batman as they walked over to the jet. Batman hit the access panel to open the gangplank, entered then headed to the cockpit and sat in the pilot's seat while Red Hood took the co-pilot's seat.

"Do a preflight check. I'm going to make sure we have restraints for our passenger."

Tim walked up the gangplank of the jet. "Here," Tim handed Batman a flash drive. "This will give you authority for extradition if someone questions your presence."

"Good work."

Red Hood checked the fuel making sure there was enough, along with making sure the systems were alright. He also checked to see if they had an emergency first aid kit "We're good to go."

Batman returned to the pilot's seat after checking the restraints and placing the flash drive in his utility belt. "We should reach villa San Marco in a few hours." Batman got on the com-link. "Red Robin, alert us if Falcone makes a move."

"I will," Tim replied, and gave the same instructions to Intel via messenging. "In the meantime, I'll try to find more info on Chester Falcone. I'll also alert Commissioner Gorgon that we will need extradition papers and have them sent to the local Sicilian government, even though I've provided you with a digital copy."

"The sooner the better," Batman stated. "We wouldn't want to cause an international incident."

"Good luck," Tim said in the com as Batman and Red Hood lifted off and out of the cave.

Tim looked up from the computer to see Dick come into the cave. "Are you going to be patrolling?"

"I might," Dick said. "Just a short one."

"The Court could be looking out for you."

"Then I'll make sure they know I'm not interested in being their Talon. What they did to me didn't work."

"Just be careful out there," Tim said,

"And you take it easy, too. You're still recovering from that fire at that new location you built."

"I will, but Bruce needs information on the Falcome family."

"Look in the old files, that's where you'll find more."

"Thanks.

Tim waited until Nightwing left before he headed to one of the storage areas of cave that held Batman's paper copies. Since there wasn't much on the computer, it made sense that the paper files might hold more clues, something that might have been missed or had not been uploaded to the computer that had been overlooked as insignificant. Even here there wasn't any mention of any other family members. Tim slammed the file cabinet drawer shut. The vibrations from the noise must have knocked something off a shelf when he was suddenly struck from behind, caught in some kind of beam. He was knocked unconscious and did not remember anything after that.

Continues with Part 6: Waking Up Small