A New Question
Once they settled into the bioship again, they hovered above Grayson's car until he left.
Tailing him above the dirty city streets, they quickly arrived at the BPD. A nondescript, two story grey brick building with a pitifully small parking lot.
M'gann touched down on the roof, the ship cloaking itself as soon as they were all out.
They did have to break the lock on the rooftop door, but it was old and rusty. Hopefully no one would miss it.
Heading downwards, they soon found a surprised officer who took them to the main lobby.
Grayson was standing there with Frank, Deputy McKibben, and Commissioner Griffin. The four looked confused when they saw the heroes were already inside their facility, but evidently wrote it off as more hero theatrics.
Reunited, they headed towards the commissioner's officer, wherein they would view the tapes. Hopefully, the video would answer some questions, like what this all had to do with the new vigilante.
"Showing confidential evidence outside of a safe room isn't exactly procedure," The tall, intimidating woman warned them, her fingers twisting her door locked. "I would greatly appreciate it if you kept to an unofficial code of silence."
"We understand," Artemis quickly reassured, motioning to her own mask. "We're very good at keeping secrets."
The black-haired detective who was setting up the video monitor snorted, covering it up with a loud cough into his hand.
When the room's occupants all turned to him, he muttered a quick, "Sorry, allergies."
His tone was anything but apologetic.
Griffins merely sighed at his behaviour, motioning for them to take a seat in the provided chairs. "Thank you, Detective Grayson, for setting this all up. We truly appreciate it."
McKibben scoffed, "Most of us do, that is."
The commissioner pinched the bridge of her nose at her subordinates' behaviour, sliding into one of the chairs herself.
When they were all seated in front of the monitor except for Grayson, the man clicked on one of the time slots and pressed play, standing off to the side with his arms crossed over his chest.
The security camera recording was a little fuzzy, but the faces of the teenagers relaxing in the warehouse were still discernible.
Some were playing cards while others were simply staring at their dilapidated TV, talking quietly amongst themselves. The tape had no sound, which wasn't the end of the world but did make things a little trickier.
"How long do we have to watch them chit-chat?" McKibben whined, his heel pounding the floor with Flash levels of restlessness. "Did you pick the wrong time stamp or somet—"
On screen, the teenager closest to the stairs suddenly folded over like a broken doll, their body soundlessly colliding with the floor.
Pandemonium broke out as they began to drop like flies, blood spurting as bullets tore through their skin. Each shot was meticulous, delivering a single killing stroke into the victim.
Aqualad wished he could look away, or at least block out the kids' frightened expressions as they fought towards the door.
Only when the last one had fallen did Grayson step forward again, skipping over when the patrol officer came in and reported the incident. Choosing a new time stamp, he hit play again.
The camera shot was from outside; two men stepped out of a lone squad car and did up their vests, one of them obviously the raven-haired detective but the other unknown.
"That's Detective Bollocks," The commissioner's tone was heavy, a broiling mix of weary emotion. "Today was his first time out in the field."
On screen, Grayson lead the taller man towards the building, a camera above the door recording their entrance. The video switched perspective to the same one it'd been before, when the drug runners were killed.
They watched as Bollocks blanched at the gruesome sight, gagging silently. Aqualad didn't blame him, it was truly a horrible thing to witness. The death of so many, so young…
Detective Grayson was all business, kneeling next to the closest corpse and quickly assessing the situation.
"Bollocks and I determined the shot came from the loft," The man himself supplied, face blank as he motioned to the two conversing on screen.
It didn't look like Bollocks was determining much of anything, his hands trembling at his sides and his mouth turned into a grimace. The two spoke for a minute, the junior detective seeming to point something out that made Grayson nod.
Unexpectedly, the more experienced of the two suddenly tensed, his entire body going rigid. It was unclear to the Atlantean what had garnered such a reaction, as there didn't appear to be any immediate threats.
Without warning, the detective suddenly flung himself at his partner as something rocketed through the air towards them. Both men hit the ground, Grayson supporting himself by the elbow above Bollocks.
Their view of the men's faces was blocked. The black-haired detective slumped somewhat, pausing before he pushed himself up and took off towards the stairs. With nothing blocking it, the spectators could clearly make out the hole in Bollock's head.
Though he knew it was coming, Aqualad still winced at the man's abrupt death. It was likely quick and nearly painless, but it was till the loss of a life.
The young detective on screen bounded up the stairs, displaying surprising dexterity for someone of his minute height. As he came closer to the camera Kaldur thought he spotted a red blotch on his arm, slowly spreading across his white sleeve.
Stealing a glance at the man standing to their right, he saw the bandage from earlier still covering it. He'd almost forgotten the detective had been shot.
The cameras switched again, displaying a tall man dressed in a knock-off green military form, a crimson mask tied over his eyes. He was running, sprinting as fast as his uniformed legs would carry him down the length of the warehouse.
The Grayson on screen assessed the situation with an alarming aptitude before flying after the villain.
Aqualad couldn't quite believe how fast the man began gaining, moving with unbelievable fluidity across the warehouse floor.
The killer glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening as he caught sight of the detective tailing him. He paused long enough to knock a shelf over, bottles flying as it fell.
Kaldur briefly wondered how Grayson had gotten over it, seeing as they were watching events unfold that'd already taken place. He wasn't left wondering long, however, as the detective giving chase took no time in leaping upward.
"No way," Kid Flash breathed out. There were similar sounds of astonishment from the room's other occupants. "No way can he make that."
The Atlantean spotted a sly smirk stretch the commissioner's dark skin, looking out of place on her usually stony features.
Curious, he turned his attention back to the screen where the detective was now folding smoothly into a neat roll, popping back up to his feet as if nothing had happened. Evidently, he had made it.
Even Artemis looked grudgingly impressed.
If Aqualad hadn't seen it, he never would've believed it. Stealing another look at the man still standing to their left, arms crossed, the Atlantean shook his head.
However, the video wasn't finished surprising them.
As the runner got closer to the window, they watched as Grayson seemed to mentally calculate something. Pausing, his hands flashed towards his holster and pulled out his gun.
Two soundless shots spiraled forward, the killer crumbling to the dusty boards. The camera clearly made out the detective's blank stare at the man writhing in front of him, an impassive mask covering his features.
Then it passed, as if it'd never been there. He tossed the gun to the side with a look of sheer disgust, wiping his hand absently on his Kevlar vest before bending to cuff the criminal.
Walking briskly forward, the detective paused the video and turned towards them, his arms crossed over his chest.
After what they'd just seen, Aqualad gave the man another once over. Clearly he needed to reassess the detective.
Now that he was looking for it, he could see the tautness of his frame that indicated strength, wariness. The stance he held, the way his clothes fell over his coiled body. This man was trained, and highly so.
The Atlantean's view of Grayson shifted, not for the last time, as he mentally filed away this new discovery.
"As you can see from the video, the killer was Sniper, low tier man for hire." The man turned the monitor off pensively, popping out the tapes and holding them out to Frank. "Take this to the evidence locker."
"Righto, Dick." The older man slid them into his pocket, popping up off his chair in an alarming display of nimbleness for his age. "You can count on me!"
The door slammed shut behind him, leaving the heroes and officers in silence.
The detective was the first to break the speculative silence.
"Well, this has been a blast," Grayson made towards the door, "But coffee calls—"
"Detective Grayson." The commissioner sounded as if she'd been expecting such an impromptu escape, "You're in charge of this case, yes?"
He looked behind him as if someone was standing there, ready to take it off his hands. When no one did, he nodded his head. "Yes?"
"Then I would greatly appreciate it if you would hear these heroes out."
From the look on Grayson's face you would've thought she told him to suck a lemon, then gargle with jellyfish venom after a nice swim with the sharks. "Yes, ma'am."
When no one spoke up, Aqualad realized that he was supposed to be the one speaking. Clearing his throat, he shifted to the front of his chair and fixed the detective with his grey gaze,
"The Justice League believes they're may be a connection with the recent debut of a Bludhaven vigilante and the murders. While only an unbacked theory, it is highly suspicious that he appears and this happens the very next day."
He heard McKibben grunt, "I don't agree with vigilantes. They're greedy, taking all the glory for themselves because they 'work alone'. Makes everything harder for the rest of us."
"But," The commissioner's voice was hard to get a read on. "We have absolutely no evidence that links them, other than the circumstantial. Sniper, for now, is our only culprit and he's unconscious at Bludhaven Central."
Aqualad resisted the urge to look at the raven-haired detective again, beginning to understand that his stares weren't welcomed by the man.
"It's odd, though." Kid Flash was tapping his fingers at lightning speed, "Why target them? Their low, close to the ground. Sniper's a self-righteous hitman, which means this likely wasn't personal. What kind of drugs were they dealing?"
Unfortunately, it was easy to forget that Wally actually had a brain underneath the flirtatious humour. The team leader mentally reminded himself to congratulate the ginger on his thought process in private.
Grayson nodded, eyes glazing over as he fixed his stare on the floor. If he'd been a Kent, Aqualad would've said he was trying to set the carpet alight with some heat vision.
The silence stretched on until one of their member dared to break it,
"Is he…?" Artemis trailed off, obviously not sure how to put it.
"He's just dramatic," McKibben huffed harshly through his nose. "Give him a minute."
Approximately forty seconds later, Grayson's head was snapping upwards.
"They were dealing easy; weed, street crack, prescription drugs. Nothing high enough to warrant Sniper's attention. That means they were being used for something, something. Something like—" It was like a light bulb went off behind the detective's eyes.
The man turned to the door and left, closing it behind him without a backward glance.
Commissioner Griffin and Detective McKibben were quick to follow, as if such strange actions were completely expected.
"I guess we go," Aqualad pushed himself up from the chair.
They stayed on the two police workers' tails, getting led deeper and deeper into the facility. Only once they were underground, the air a little cooler and the lighting less natural, did they finally come to a stop.
The door the commissioner pushed open squeaked on its hinges, slowly swinging to allow the heroes visibility inside.
There were eight bodies laid out on single gurneys, heads and bare chests exposed to the air with tarps around their waists.
Grayson was standing next to a very concerned looking woman in scrubs, her mousey grey hair pulled into a tight bun.
"I sanction this, Mrs. Garcia. Please step aside." Commissioner Griffins flashed her badge briefly, despite them being in her own facility. "Let him do his thing."
The small wrinkled woman nodded her head, taking a single step back. "If you say so, commissioner." She twitched nervously, rubber gloves sticking to each other in the silence. "If you say so."
The raven-haired detective stared down at the dead man in front of him, his face carefully blank, "Did you check them for injections? Carrying?"
"Yes, Grayson." Mrs. Garcia's voice was flat, fixing the short man with a glare, "I know how to do my job."
The man's gaze snapped towards her, studying her as just had the corpse. "I am perfectly aware of your competency," A surprisingly charming grin split his face, causing the woman to cease her nervous tapping. "Just double checking."
"Right," She muttered softly. "Sorry." She stepped up beside him, gesturing to the crook of the dead man's elbow. "I didn't see any injection sights, but they do reek of cannabis. There's no degradation of the teeth or nails either, which means they haven't gotten into anything too hard."
Grayson gestured at the man's lower half, "Carrying?"
"There was no sign of packaging in their anuses, if that's what you're asking." The woman gave each body a calculated run down, grey eyes impassive.
Aqualad heard M'gann choke behind him, "In their what?"
Though the Martian had spent several years on Earth now, she was still taken aback by some of the shenanigan's humanity seemed to get themselves into.
"Yes," She turned, adjusting her scrubs carefully. "It is not uncommon for drug runners to push their wares up their butts to avoid detection. Though a disgusting process, it does merit some—"
"Thank you, Garcia, but that will do." The commissioner cleared her throat, "Please make your point quickly, detective."
"Cause of death is obvious, I assume." Grayson muttered, more to himself than the room's other occupants.
"Bullets to the brain, lungs, or heart. Your hitman knows his stuff." The woman shook her head, the first glimmer of sadness showing on her face, "They all died instantly, at least."
"It's illogical. Who would pay a successful and recognized hitman to take out the Gang? They're low level, barely even amassed their own territory yet. That eliminates petty turf wars. This is something bigger."
He leaned closer to the body, pulling the white tarp back to the man's navel, "Did you do any blood work?"
"No reason to," The woman shook her head. "I'm a coroner, not a doctor. Not that these guys will be needing a doctor."
"Hmm." He nodded, surprising them all by sticking his fingers into the body's bellybutton.
The heroes all recoiled, even the stoic commissioner looking disturbed by her subordinate's actions. "Grayson, gloves. Please."
"A single injection sight in the navel," The detective grinned, though the expression was devoid of feeling, and turned back towards them. "Does that warrant bloodwork, Garcia?"
"Y-yes." The small woman stumbled forward, aiming for one of the empty gurneys and pulling up a large needle. "This will take a few minutes, if you won't mind waiting outside."
"We're good right here—"
The commissioner broke Grayson's protests off by seizing his arm, dragging the man behind her and out the door. "We'll wait, Mrs. Garcia."
The heroes shuffled silently after them, M'gann looking especially queasy.
Aqualad, however, was still confused, his usually ordered thoughts a tangled web inside his head.
None of this was making sense. Why would the League send them to investigate the slaughter of eight teens in a heavily crime ridden area? It couldn't make sense.
More importantly, what, if anything, did all this have to do with their newest vigilante?
(A/N): Guess what?! The next few chapters are going to be in Dick's POV, and I am actually super excited. I love writing his perspective :)
Thanks for reading! And a huge, whopping, double thank you to those who reviewed! They each encouraged me so much 3
See ya next Sunday, folks! Stay safe!
~ASL