Hopeful Idiot

Chapter 27: Breadcrumbs

"Father, no third-party teams were set to operate in Metropolis in the last six months."

"Hmm, good work Daughter," Ra's nodded. Which meant that the group that had taken Hope had entered the city anonymously; thus, they had to be legitimate members of a company or government in the immediate vicinity of the city. Close enough to have driven or taken an independent flight under the guise of normal business practices. Such greatly narrowed the field of possibilities. "Send the information to the Detective."

"Why not tell him it's Luthor?" Talia asked, though already doing as commanded.

"He would not accept it without evidence."

"Will the League…?"

"Our presence would be a hindrance rather than a benefit. Keep watch, but do not proceed without my direct order."

"Yes, Father."

+++HOPEFUL+IDIOT+++

Batman left his cowl off, though it was right beside his elbow ready to go as soon as he had enough information. For the moment, he was hacking databases as fast as his fingers could go.

First, he went into the Metropolis Police Department main file to get Kramer's last known location. A fact that was incredibly accurate for they found her purse on the sidewalk. (A piece of his mind was incredibly grateful this occurred in Metropolis and not Gotham, for they'd have never found the purse again if she had been taken in his town.) Then came hacking the Metropolis CCTV database to find the closest camera pointed at the spot where she'd been taken. He had a good idea of when as well, based on the MPD file. Isolating the approximate time and then playing back the footage was next.

His face was blank as he watched the white van roll up, slam on the brakes, grab the redhead, and then race away. The time stamp said it all happened in 7.82 seconds.

He noted the license plate of the vehicle, as well as the 'HVAC RePair' on the side, and ran a check. The van had been reported stolen that afternoon. The business that reported the theft matched the van's decal. The file said that several items had been left in the van's usual location that should have been in the vehicle itself and had been removed. The owner stated that he wasn't sure if the thieves were unaware of how valuable the equipment they took out actually was (which was significant enough to qualify as an additional charge to Grand Theft Auto) or if it was simply 'hooligans getting into mischief'.

Batman sat back slightly, glaring at the screen.

It was obvious these were professionals. They had stolen a vehicle that had no connection to themselves, was big enough for their needs, and nondescript so that John Doe on the street wouldn't think anything of a strange van parked in a single location all day suspicious. They also stole it the same day on purpose, hoping that the owner wouldn't report the theft for a day or two. Given the owner's statement, they would've probably been correct if they hadn't removed the $7500 worth of equipment from the van to make room.

He bent forward again. First to see if the HVAC owner had a CCTV on his garage. He didn't. But there was a camera across the street that had caught the theft. A single figure in black (too far away for any identifying features other than it probably being a male based on the broad shoulders and height) broke in via the side door. A short time later, the garage door lifted and the van exited. In and out efficiently. The side door had been physically broken and the garage door left open. More than likely to suggest 'hooligans' as the owner put it. A second male in black spray painting the side of the business with 'U SUK!' did the same.

If the vehicle had only been taken for a joyride, stripped of parts, and/or sold, Batman would've thought the same. However, it had been used in a crime far greater than simple grand theft auto. Using it in a kidnapping suggested premeditation, efficiency, training, planning, expensive professionals.

Training like that came from small tight-knit groups or companies that worked globally. He had counted at least 4, possibly as many as 6 in the kidnapping itself. All highly trained and professional. The kind of money required to hire such a team would be in excess of $20,000; though probably more in the ballpark of $100,000 or more.

Usually, the next step would be figuring out who had a grudge against Superman that also had access to that type of money. However, since Nairomi and the resulting cascade of anti-Superman propaganda, there were a great many that would make the list. Senators, Congressmen, heads of Fortune 500 companies, governors… The President himself would certainly have access to such a team and have the desire to either eliminate Superman or put him on a much tighter leash.

Batman rubbed his forehead.

That was the crux, wasn't it?

1: She was a top hacker, as evidenced by her ability to crack his own computer. Someone could've taken her for her skills and intelligence. She was living below her abilities, thus easier to get close and capture to use.

2: She semi-regularly sent out emails to very powerful people; himself, Ra's al Ghul, and Superman were all on the list. Who knew how many she had sent out otherwise? She could've been taken for sending out the wrong email. Either alerting a previously-unknown possible-enemy to how many secrets she could potentially hold or creating an enemy out of the recipient.

3: She was similar enough in appearance (especially from afar and in darkness) that she could've been mistaken for Lois Lane. Lane had been forefront in the media lately due to the Nairomi Massacre. Everyone knew that Lane was Superman's girlfriend these days. Holding Lane hostage in order to control Superman was a dangerous, but potentially very effective, move.

Unfortunately, while the first was the easiest to track down, and the safest for Kramer herself, the second and third were the most likely. If she'd been taken for her skillset, it would be simple to determine which major computer system had been breached. She'd have a good chance of being mostly uninjured and her rescue highly likely. If her kidnapping was a result of one of those emails of hers, she would likely be tortured to reveal everything she knew, then killed and the body dumped.

Since she wasn't Lois Lane, the third could spin into many possibilities; they could decide that it was pointless and drop Kramer off, kill her as a witness who'd seen too much, or realize that the note meant that the damage was done and go ahead with their plan anyway. Or perhaps take Lane as well once they noticed the error. Two redheads for the control of one.

There was also the possibility that while the kidnapping team were efficient professionals, the actual man behind the money was not. If that individual never discovered that Kramer was not Lane, the ball went into Superman's court. Superman's own reactions put a new spin on the probabilities. Would the alien play along? Or would he sacrifice the individual to prevent whatever they wanted. Superman seemed the type to attempt to save everyone. To keep doing 'the right thing' no matter the obstacles; as evidenced by his continuing to protect Metropolis and two global disasters since the anti-Superman campaign began. He'd helped put out a raging forest fire in the Amazon and helped evacuate when a tsunami was going to hit Japan. The Kryptonian could've easily said "to hell with it, let them save themselves" and backed off but he hadn't. That he continued to be Superman was an entirely different personality type than what the media was claiming.

Which increased the odds of Kramer's survival, even if the kidnappers figured out she was not Superman's girlfriend.

.

..

…

Batman froze mid-keystroke as his brain caught up to his last thought and followed the chain back to its source before restructuring it into a new possibility.

The MEDIA had started the rumor that Lois Lane was Superman's girlfriend, back when he'd saved her from the falling helicopter. A simple search came up with Lois Lane being saved by Superman no less than seven times in the last eight months. (Another rumor had a different reporter, from ABC, being his girlfriend because of an article mentioning the color of that reporter's underwear, but it had fizzled once nothing else occurred between the pair.) However, Lane held a high-risk job. Her medical records were thick with broken bones, knife and gunshot wounds, and concussions. Superman saved people and worked frequently on global incidents but also in a tri-state area around Metropolis, exactly the same scale as Lane herself.

"Correlation, not necessarily causation," he muttered.

"Master Bruce?" Alfred asked.

Batman eyes were narrow as he pulled up the recording from his birthday night. She'd found 5 of the trackers, but one had stayed in place for longer than the others. Had caught more. He remembered one line and picked it out.

"What do you make of this, Alfred?"

Hope's voice came over the speakers. "Idiot, I think we're ready."

"Play it again, please, Master Bruce." Alfred stood silently contemplating for long moments. "The tone is friendly, making the title an endearment. The rest merely indicates a prior arrangement."

"Yes…" Batman nodded, "I agree."

"To whom was she speaking?"

"Based on who showed up next, Superman."

Alfred was silent for a long minute as the former M.I.6 operative collated the data with what he already knew of the situation and came to many rapid conclusions. He'd been the Wayne family butler for decades, since his retirement from M.I.6 in fact. He had helped raise three generations of Wayne's and hoped to help with a fourth sometime soon. He knew that his current charge wouldn't jump to conclusions; would take into account all the data and possibilities before making any decision. He also knew that Batman (much more stoic and ruthless than Bruce Wayne) was paranoid enough to make contingencies for the highly unlikely event that Superman became an active threat. An event that, unfortunately, just got a bit more likely. "I'll make coffee." It was going to be a late night for his charge.

"Thank you, Alfred." Batman nodded. He needed more information. He'd found as much as he could from the computers. It was time to…he paused as his computer chimed.

An email from an anonymous third-party server.

Father will not move with such an unknown entity, not even to save her.

My sources have the vehicle entering Hanger 4 of Sandford Airways at 2134 local time. No suspicious activity for any independent teams has occurred in the area of Metropolis in the past 6 months.

Have care and good hunting, my beloved.

Talia al Ghul was the only one who called him Beloved.

So much information is so few sentences!

But the most relevant had his fingers typing quickly. Private flights weren't required to log flightplans the way commercial did, but they still had to submit the paperwork… There!

Eclipse 550 (N0L19)

Departing from Sandford Airways at 2140 EST

Destination: LGA ; MCI

Passengers: 3

Batman noted the airport codes, the time and refrained from cursing. He'd never be able to get there in time. And if they made it to their destination, there was no guarantee they'd ever find her. Time for Plan S.

He typed in a command string into his computer, hit Enter, then made his way towards his own vehicle and the surface.

+++HOPEFUL+IDIOT+++

Clark's mind was oh so very calm as he made his way back to the apartment. He placed the purse gently on the side table right by the door, where Hope usually put it when she got home. A quick search let him see the emergency beacons that she hadn't had a chance to push, along with her wallet, cellphone, and concealed carry. It had to have happened quickly for her not to be able to get to any of her emergency supplies, nor have time to cry out.

"Winston, I need your help."

"Arroo?" the pup questioned, bounding over to his side.

Clark knelt to remove the collar, which made Winston still. Clark ruffled and smoothed the fur several times until it was no longer obvious that he had ever worn a collar at all. He knelt, breath steady, as he looked into the dog's eyes. "Hope has been taken." The pup's head tilted and an ear raised. "Bad people took her away." Lips pulled back and sharp teeth were visible; a low growl starting deep in the dog's chest. "I'm going to take you to where they took her and see if you can track her scent."

Winston gave a short snort and sharp nod. The pup was less than a year old. He wouldn't be as strong or as fast as when full grown in another year or two, but his nose still worked just fine.

"Good boy." Clark closed his eyes, praying to Rao that she would be alright, then picked up Winston and flew out of the balcony. He paused momentarily before going up three floors and rapping sharply on the sliding glass door.

It didn't take long before Lois was opening the door, clutching her dressrobe to ward off the chill of the midnight air. "Superman? What's wrong? You look terrible. What's—"

He didn't let her finish. "Hope has been kidnapped." Lois' hand went to her mouth in shock. "You need to stay here. Stay safe. There is the possibility that they meant to take you."

"I'll make some calls."

"Thank you."

"Of course. She's my friend too. Be careful." She went back inside and lights began to click on as she mounted what help she was able.

Clark flew off to the incident site, which was now swarming with cops. Yellow tape and detectives and crime scene techs. "What do you have, officers?" he asked oh so calmly.

The oldest of the group stepped forward with a tired frown. "Not much, I'm afraid, Superman. The camera caught the event itself, but the perpetrators wore black ski masks, so there's no identification. Her boyfriend took home her purse, we'll—"

"Clark called for me and told me everything. This note was the only unusual item present." He handed over the thick white card stock with its elegant calligraphy.

The detective swallowed and nodded. "That matches the guard's testimony. We were able to match the license plate to one reported stolen this afternoon. I've got uni's heading—"

"Where was it stolen from?"

"HVAC RePair main garage, located at" he rattled off an address, "but I don't think there'll be much to find. This looks like professionals to me. I'm sorry."

Superman nodded. "Which is why Krypto is here." He set the pup on the ground.

"Krypto?" the detective asked.

"Kryptonian version of a dog. I've been training him." They all seemed to stop and watch with bated breath as the pup began to sniff everyone and everything. He paused at a particular patch of sidewalk and looked back to give a low woof. "Her purse was thrown there."

The dog gave a short nod and went back to sniffing. He neared the center of the sidewalk and stilled. A low deep growl began and he crept closer to the road, sniffing hard and fast. Winston looked up and left, baring his teeth.

"Yes. Can you track them?"

"ArroOO!" And the pup raced down the street, faster than any Terran dog could ever dream. Superman flying right behind.

"Good luck!" one of the officers called out.

"God have mercy on them."

"Yeah, 'cause Superman won't have any."

Winston was able to follow the scent for nine blocks before he lost the trail. There were too many cars, or it had been too long, or the wind had shifted direction. Any were possible.

However, it was far enough that Clark had a good idea of their destination. He picked up the dog and, on second and third thought, delivered him to Lois.

"I wasn't able to find out much. But none of my contacts have heard anything like this through the grapevine. It's gotta be local and possibly in-house." Lois said apologetically.

"I think they were heading for the private airstrip on the east side."

"Standford? No, Sandford," she nodded. "I'll call my friend at the airtraffic tower."

"Thank you. Winston, stay."

"Woof!" Winston snorted derisively and hopped so two paws were on the balcony railing. No! He could help! They took Hope! They hurt Hope! He'd bite them!

"I need you to guard Lois." The pup whined pitifully. "Whoever took Hope could be after her." After a second, the dog gave a soft whimper, but obediently put all four paws back on the balcony.

"I'll feel better with you here, Winston, thank you," Lois intoned with a scratch behind the ears. The dog whined but sat on his haunches. Big soulful eyes watching his master fly away. She knew that the young dog was more of a hinderance. He was just too young yet to help, no matter how much he might wish. She'd keep him close and safe for however long it took. "Good luck, Clark," she whispered.

She didn't hear as a sub-audible transmission began to play.

"Superman, this is Batman. Meet me at the following address. I have information regarding recent events."

His mind was calm but his feet were restless. He paced as he waited for Batman to show up. It seemed as if he'd been waiting hours. It couldn't have been, but it did seem that way. Clark turned as he heard a slight rustle of heavy fabric.

"This was aimed at you," Batman's voice was deep and grating.

"I know. I don't know if they meant to get Lois or if they…" He shook his head. "I know you want her, but she's mine and I have no intention of letting her go."

"You love her."

"Yes."

"How far will you go to protect her?"

He knew what he wanted to say, but he also knew what a man like himself, giving an answer like that, could possibly mean. "I don't know." Instead, he gave the best truth he had.

Batman nodded as if he understood. Perhaps he did. Men like them… 'anything' was a very big word. "She was on board a private jet, tail number November-Zero-Lima-One-Nine headed for Kansas City International Airport. They should arrive in approximately 4 minutes. If they manage to get out of country, you may never find her."

"Thank you." He barely remembered the courtesy before taking a step to immediately fly off. Once he was in the air and in no danger of harming anyone or destruction of property, he accelerated.

Accelerated.

Accelerated.

Fast.

Faster.

Faster than he had ever gone before.

He would get there before he lost her!

He Would.

HE WOULD!

HE WOULD!

+++++HOPEFUL+IDIOT+++++

Posted: 10.10.2022 Word Count: 3180

AN: Yes, I did plane research. Unfortunately, its complicated for a simple search; even after hours and many sites. Take it with a large grain of salt and just ignore the rest.

AN2: Hope you enjoy the long prezzie! I may not update for a week or more. It's my birthday and I'm heading for a 3-day weekend vacation. ^_^

No beta. All mistakes are mine.

Let me know what you think but please be kind. I know it's not perfect.