The Emperor's Talon
Chapter 12: RobinWhen Bruce got home from work that evening, be dropped his briefcase and papers off in his private den and headed to the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. The whole house was decorated with the antiques his biological parents had left behind for him in their will. The Jedi code had ordered that Bruce renounce such claims; and he would have, if not for the untimely end of the order.
He passed through the opening to the Batcave behind the clock more out of habit than a conscious or deliberate thought. As he descended the stairs, he was enveloped by the cave's cool drafty air. Walking a little further, he could hear hard breathing and the rhythmic pounding of running feet. Richard. That boy was always training. Always moving. He might make a good protégé if he could keep the Talon under control in the field. Bruce didn't want to think about what would happen if someone pushed the boy too hard.
Bruce shelved his doubts and fears for the time being. They were going on patrol tonight. He'd have a chance to gauge the boy's adaptability, skill, and commitment then.
"Heyo, Bruce," called Dick from a handstand on the high bar.
Bruce looked up for a second. "Focus. No distractions."
Dick swung himself through a couple giants before landing a complicated dismount lightly on the balls of his feet. Bruce nodded. "Finished your training homework?"
"Yes, sir," answered Dick running a towel through his damp hair. He smiled lightly.
"Good. Before you go out on patrol tonight, we need to talk."
"We already did," Dick pointed out, "I'm going. End of discussion."
Bruce grabbed Dick's arm to stop him from walking away. "We have to be able to work together. That means you need to tell me ahead of time what your limits and weaknesses are, so I know what to watch out for."
Dick looked up appraisingly. "Are you going to tell me yours?"
"I'm Batman. I don't have weaknesses." Bruce folded his arms over his chest.
The former Talon snorted. "I'm Robin. Neither do I."
"Answers to this question are not optional."
"Oh, so the rules are different for me?"
"Exactly."
"You want to know my weaknesses? You're a detective. Figure it out."
"This is not a game Richard," Bruce growled. He hated not being in control of everything. Hated it.
Dick gave him that look again; the infuriating one. "Trust works two ways, Bruce. You need to have the strength to control the things you can. Faith to release the things you can't. And the wisdom to know the difference. Working together is big; I get it. But I'm not putting all my cards on the table when you're unwilling to show me even one."
"This isn't about my need to control everything!" Bruce insisted.
"So, it's different than everything else?"
Bruce growled again. "It's about protecting you from my city; and my city from the Talon. For all I know he's still buried so deep inside you that you don't even know it."
Dick almost flinched. That cut deep into a wound not yet healed over. No matter how hard he tried to let it, something always ripped it open again. It wasn't that he didn't have his doubts- he did- he just wished someone else would believe in him enough that he didn't have to work so damn hard to believe in himself. "You decided to trust me to become your partner, to become Robin. That's the first step. Don't push two in one day."
"You agreed to follow my lead," Bruce pointed out.
"And you agreed to work together," Dick shot back. "That word means sharing: the work, the burden, the information, the pain, the trust. All of it."
"You trust me, and then I'll learn to trust you."
"That's not how it works."
Bruce wasn't going to get anywhere with this right now. He considered telling Dick to stay in for the night until he was ready to be more compliant, but then he realized that the boy would just sneak out on his own. He would have more control over Dick if he could keep an eye on him. "Fine. We'll try it out tonight," he consented. "The kind of trust you're talking about takes years to build."
Dick nodded. "And seconds to break."
"Yeah," Bruce sighed under his breath. He stiffened again. "Get dressed. We're leaving as soon as the sun goes down."
"Yes, sir."
Bruce nodded again. He headed off towards the changing area.
Crime Alley:
"Good riddance to bad rubbish, if you want my opinion, Commissioner," said Chief O'Hara as he watched the paramedics remove the body of Willis Todd from the crime scene. He propped his cap further back on his forehead and looked down at the chalk outline on the hallway's floor.
"We still don't have a clue as to who did it," said Gordon ignoring Chief O'Hara's remark. He stroked his chin. "I have a bad feeling out this case."
"So, one more petty criminal was murdered. Makes our job easier, I think."
Gordon shook his head. "I don't think this is an ordinary murder, even for Gotham."
"Why…" O'Hara snapped his head around, "hey, kid! You can't be here. This is a crime scene."
A woman, swaying slightly, stood in the hallway of the apartment complex and started down at the outline on the floor. She looked bruised, worn, and quite possibly intoxicated. A few steps in front of her stood a boy- maybe ten-years-old- with black hair and shining eyes. They were both transfixed by the bloodstains on the wall.
"Mam, you and the boy need to leave," O'Hara reiterated.
"Where'd you take my pop?" demanded the boy defiantly.
"That's not your concern right now. Please, you need to leave this place. It isn't safe. We haven't caught the perpetrator yet."
"He…he was my husband," slurred the woman. "I need to see him."
Gordon raced over to her and caught her before she collapsed on the floor. "I'm sorry, mam. Please let me take you and the boy home."
"But…" she tried to protest, but Gordon and O'Hara were already escorting them out of the building.
The Batcave:
Batman leaned against the computer console and stared up at the screen. Police and Storm Trooper alerts spidered across the left monitor in code before running through a decryption algorithm and appearing on the center screen in basic. Distracted as he was, Batman scrolled through the numerous alerts and cases. There were plenty for him to choose from: Deathstick dealers in the industrial district, cat-burglar gem heist in North Gotham, the Todd murder case in Crime Alley, the list went on and on.
"Dick," he called over his shoulder, "hurry up or I'm leaving without you."
"It's Robin in the field, Bats," a voice corrected at his shoulder.
Batman had enough dignity not to jump at the unexpected proximity of that voice, thus the effect of surprise on him was confined to the lift of one jet black eyebrow. "Where were you?" he demanded empirically.
"Alfred had some work to do on my gear. He said it wouldn't be proper to go crimefighting in street clothes, and I burned my Talon armor," Robin explained.
Batman looked over Robin's new gear appraisingly. He didn't agree with the brighter color scheme, but then, there wasn't anything to be done about it tonight. Not for the first time that night, he regretted agreeing to take on a "sidekick" or as Dick called himself, "a partner". Alfred would prefer to call Robin Batman's Padawan and Dick Bruce Wayne's adopted son, but he wasn't ready for that.
Opting not to comment, Batman turned back to the screen. "Look over these files before we go. Pay close attention to the files on the Willis Todd murder and the recent activity of TwoFace's Deathstick cartel. Before engaging an opponent, one must know everything about them. Going in blind is dangerous."
Robin put his hands on his hips and looked up at the screen. "Willis Todd: small time criminal, minor drug dealer, and car thief. He worked for Harvey Dent aka. TwoFace on at least two notable occasions; the most recent of which was one week and three days prior to his murder at 2:54 am this morning." He turned to Batman. "You think the two cases are connected."
"You hacked my files," Batman accused.
Robin shrugged, and the corners of his lips quirked upwards. "I didn't want to go in blind. It's dangerous."
Batman was left speechless. A low growl rumbled underneath his breath as he leaned over to switch the files on the screen once again. "Another thing we have to consider is the recent Storm Trooper activity. Half of the Empire's garrison has been removed from the city to search for the Talon elsewhere on the planet."
Robin looked disconcerted. "Why?"
"Good question. My guess is that this is some kind of trap for us."
"It's common knowledge that the Batman works in Gotham and that the 'Talon' is working with him; yet the Empire moves half of their strength out of the city limits. So, this move is probably calculated to lure us into some kind of carelessness, in the hopes that we'll slip up."
Batman folded his arms over his chest. "That is my read of the situation."
"So, there's probably something worse than half a regiment of Storm Troopers in Gotham right now, or coming to Gotham," Robin concluded.
"I have a feeling it's already here. And it's here for us."
"Ok, there's a trap. Next move, Boss?"
"Spring the trap."
Robin smiled mischievously. "This could be one hell of a night."
"We know something is going on in Gotham. Be alert and not take any unnecessary risks." Batman handed Robin a com-link. "Stay connected at all times. You're to follow my lead and no questions asked. Got it?"
A shrug. "You're the boss."
"I mean it; no goofing off."
Robin sobered a little. "I'm an ex-assassin. I know how to focus."
"Good." Batman tugged the cowl down over his eyes. "Get in the Batmobile. We're starting in Crime Alley tonight."
Crime Alley, Apartment 66:
Slade Wilson sat in front of the largest monitor watching the security feeds from their cameras and probe droids like a hawk. His feet were casually resting on the desk- crossed at the ankles- and disturbing the think layer of dust under his boots. With one hand, he spun a long white knife through his fingers; and with the other, he sipped tea from a chipped china cup. Behind him, Boba Fett was exercising; Slade could tell by the slight panting and steam resonating as his back.
The security cameras showed the empty hallway where the police had just left the Willis Todd crime scene, empty streets around the apartment complex, and the lifeless rooftops nearby. There wasn't even a shadow to indicate the presence of either the Batman or the Talon. But Slade was patient. Although he had initially been annoyed with his associate for murdering the pervious occupant of the apartment, he now thought it might prove very beneficial. Surly the Bat had heard about the murder by now and would be on his way to investigate. All the Bounty Hunters had to do was wait and watch.
"I think your Talon is a no show," mocked Boba from behind him, "we should be hunting not waiting around."
"Patience," ordered Slade. "They will come in time, thanks to you my trigger-happy associate."
Boba huffed. "They'd better."
"Yes. For your sake, I hope they are as easily duped as the GCPD. I don't want to engage them just yet." Slade put the tea cup on the table and took his feet off the desk to get a closer look at the monitors.
"Not engage them yet? What? Are you going to wait for them to die of old age before you bring them in?" scoffed the younger Bounty Hunter.
"No. But I would like to see a test of their intelligence and skill before I face them." Slade finally turned around and looked Boba in the eye. "I leave nothing to chance. I decide who lives and dies. And I decide how the battle unfolds; not my quarry, not my associates. You want to win a game of death? You have to beat the odds by being the most knowledgeable and trickiest person in the room."
"Or you just need the biggest gun," Boba retorted.
"Wouldn't you want to know ahead of time if you had the biggest gun?"
Boba growled.
"Wait and watch. Soon all the cards will be in our hands."
Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update for those of you who were waiting a while. Thank you for your patience, interest, and involvement. Chapter 13 is in the works. Sorry again for the delay.