~~ Chapter 2 ~~

Dick opened the door and wandered wearily through the apartment to the study where Barbara had set up shop. She looked up with a smile as he walked in.

"How'd it go?"

"Guy wasn't there," he sighed. He leaned one hip against the desk and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

Barbara quirked her brows in concern. "Was he tipped off?"

Her automatic suspicion brought a half-hearted smile to his face. "Nah. His daughter just had a baby. He's supposed to be back in a few days. Based on Murdock's reaction, I think it's legit." He straightened up and walked into the bedroom to change clothes. He sat down on the bed to take off his shoes. Somehow he was not surprised to see Barbara follow him in. She maneuvered her wheelchair next to the bed and transferred herself next to him. They sat quietly for a minute or so.

Finally, she reached over, and taking hold of his chin, gently turned him to face her.

"Now, you listen to me, Dicky-boy," she said sternly, "you are not going to pull a 'Bruce' on me. You've done everything you can do for right now. This case is going to take time, and you've got to be patient. You have done your duty as Bridget's friend, so now you are going to get cleaned up and take me out for a night on the town. Do you understand?"

Her forceful tone reminded him of earlier days (and earlier lectures) and caused him to smile in spite of himself. She smirked at him in return. A very superior, self-satisfied smirk. Much too self-satisfied. He pounced on her and managed to pin her to the bed and kiss her until they were both breathing deeply. He pulled back to look down at her. The smirk had become a sexy grin. Much better.

"Woman, if we're going anywhere tonight, you'd better get a move on. We need to be at the restaurant in about forty-five minutes," he announced as he rolled off her. She swatted at his back and got back in her chair. As she rolled toward the bathroom, he remembered to ask, "Did you ever decide whether you wanted to go to the concert or the ballet?" He had given her the choice on the drive up from Gotham: New York Philharmonic or American Ballet Theatre.

She turned back around. "Hmmm. Ear candy or eye candy. Decisions, decisions, decisions." She rolled into the bathroom, and he could hear her start the bath water running. He followed her in.

"You going to need your back scrubbed?" he leered with a grin.

"Somehow I think I'll get done faster without your help," she replied as she added some bath oil to the water. "I'm in the mood for eye candy, so let's go to the ballet."

"Eye candy."

"Sure -- all those great-looking guys, wearing costumes that leave very little to the imagination -- definitely eye candy."

Pretending to be hurt, he huffed, "What about me?"

"What about you, Dicky-boy?"

"Aren't I 'eye candy'?"

"Of course you are," she said mock-soothingly. "A girl just likes a little variety, that's all."

"So you wouldn't mind if we went to one of those Vegas-style revues that comes to Bludhaven every few months or so?" he said in an idle tone.

"That's completely different, Former Boy Wonder."

"Why?"

"Ballet is Art; those revues are just tacky."

"Ah, I see -- it's okay for you to look at half-naked men dancing on a stage, because that's Art. But half-naked women dancing on a stage is tacky."

"I always knew you were a smart one, sweetheart," she said, patting him on the cheek. He growled at her and scooped her out of her chair and dropped her into the tub, still fully clothed. She retaliated by pulling him in after her. They eventually decided that since they were already wet, they might as well help each other get undressed. Then Barbara decided she really would like Dick to scrub her back. And her front.

Babs was right -- helping her with her bath did not speed things up.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dick smiled as he swung through the city on a de-cel line, enjoying the warm summer evening. The ballet, Le Corsair, had actually been pretty interesting. More to the point, it had made Babs happy. His smile became a grin as he spotted a man in a fire-engine red costume almost exactly where he expected to find him -- on the rooftop of an old office building that faced an equally old, run-down warehouse. He landed a few feet away from Daredevil and walked over to join him near the roof's edge.

Murdock turned to acknowledge him with a half-smile. "I guess you weren't just boasting about being able to find me," he murmured. "I'm impressed."

Dick replied, "Well, since the Titans are based in New York, I try to stay current on who works where. You mainly stay in the Hell's Kitchen area, and this seemed the most likely spot for a stakeout."

"Any luck on the computer search?"

"When I left, Babs had lots of data, but no matches. She suggested the three of us get together and go through everything to see what we could make of it."

Daredevil nodded. "I have to be in court tomorrow afternoon, but my morning's clear."

"Great." Dick looked down on the decrepit warehouse. "So what's your situation here?"

"You know anything about the Kingpin's operation?"

"I know he's been one of the biggest players in the city's crime scene. I thought he was out of the picture now - I've heard conflicting stories, but I thought he was either in the hospital or dead."

"Yeah, which created a power vacuum. I've heard some rumors that there's supposed to be a big drug delivery here tonight to one of the leading contenders to Kingpin's operation, Joe Fortunato. I've also heard rumors that one or more of his rivals, probably Monty Montgomery, may try to disrupt things."

"Gotcha." Dick sat on the roof edge near Murdock and brought out his binoculars. He gave the area around the warehouse a quick scan to familiarize himself with the area and the layout. "When do you expect the show to start?"

"If my informant's correct, we should see some action in the next half-hour or so."

Dick glanced over at Daredevil. "All Batman told me was that you were 'visually impaired,' and that you favored 'other modes of sensory input.' " He grinned again; Barbara had been so mad about not being told that Murdock was Daredevil. Dick finally got off the hook by admitting that he usually assumed she knew everything anyway, and wasn't it really Bruce's fault for not telling her when he told Dick?

He continued, "If you don't mind my asking, how does your ... gig work? Are you really blind or what?"

Murdock smiled somewhat sadly. "I am blind in the most literal sense -- my eyes don't work. But the accident that blinded me also made my other senses much more sensitive. I can hear a person's heartbeat, follow a scent like a bloodhound, and 'read' a newspaper by touch. The oddest change was the addition of what I call my 'radar sense' -- even though I can't 'see' you sitting over there, I perceive an ... outline of you in my head."

"An outline?"

"It's hard to describe. The best analogy I can think of is to compare it to looking at a statue -- you basically see a three-dimensional outline of something, but there's no color."

"Weird."

"Yeah," Murdock agreed with a laugh. "What I find even weirder is that even though I'm not 'seeing' any of this with my eyes, I still reference everything from eye-level. Including the stuff behind me."

"Behind you?" Dick exclaimed. "Doesn't that get confusing?"

"Sometimes. When I first realized what was happening, I thought I'd go crazy! But over the years, I've learned to 'focus' on what I was perceiving in front of me and treat the other stuff as a kind of peripheral vision."

"I get it -- you don't really notice what's going on behind you unless something catches your attention?"

"Right. I tend to concentrate a little harder when I'm in a fight situation, but I've found that adrenaline helps me do that."

"It tends to sharpen everything anyway."

"Yep." He paused. "I think I hear our boys coming. From the west."

Dick swung his binoculars to the side street on the west side of the warehouse. "Yeah. I count ten guys headed this way."

"Plus two flanking them on either side of the street."

"The sides of the street are really shadowed. Are you sure those two aren't scouts for the rival group?"

Murdock thought for a minute. "Could be. Monty's certainly sneaky enough. Which would mean that the rest of his group should be nearby."

He sat perfectly still. Dick found himself almost holding his breath as he watched the almost-palpable concentration of the other man. Murdock turned slightly and cocked his head. He nodded.

"Got 'em. They're circling around from the northwest, to catch Joe's boys from behind. Fifteen, including Montgomery."

"How do you know Montgomery's with them?"

"I recognized his heartbeat," Murdock said, matter-of-factly.

"O-kayyy," replied Dick, startled. "What would you like me to do?"

"You mean you're actually asking me instead of ordering me around?" Murdock grinned.

Dick laughed. "I can definitely tell you've met Batman. He does tend to get on peoples' nerves a bit. That's why I asked."

"Heh," Murdock snorted. He fired a grappling line from his billy club to the roof of the warehouse and swung over there. Dick followed.

Matt continued, "Anyway, there's a group of narcotics detectives who already have surveillance on the street down there. They heard the same rumors I did about the drug buy. I don't want to tip off Fortunato about the surveillance until the deal has actually been made. On the other hand, I don't want those cops caught in the crossfire of a gang war."

Dick saw that the other gang was several blocks away. "So you want to take out Montgomery's men before they disrupt the deal, and then take out Fortunato and the supplier after the deal."

"Right. The police get a nice-sized drug bust, and I have one less headache. I wish I could get Montgomery off the street as well, but I don't have enough on him yet to make any kind of major case."

"Sometimes you have to take what you can get," nodded Dick. He grinned. "Shall we bust some heads, Mr. Murdock?"

Daredevil grinned in return. "Indeed, Mr. Grayson! If you would care to follow me?" He launched a line and swung down to land gracefully in front of Montgomery's gang.

Dick landed lightly behind him in the shadows. After Matt's spectacular entrance, he doubted anyone would notice him unless he moved. Daredevil stood in front of the surprised group of men and spoke directly to a tall, lean man with dark hair and a large scar that ran down his cheek.

"Why, hello there, Monty!" Daredevil exclaimed cheerfully. "Nice evening for a walk isn't it?"

The tall man growled, "Get 'im, boys!" The men surged forward to attack. Dick shook his head in resignation and began attacking the attackers. He was able to take out most of his opponents with simple punches or kicks, although for a few, he was forced to use his escrima sticks. Glancing up from time to time, he saw that Daredevil was fighting in the same fashion. After several more minutes, they met up with each other, and the three or four men who could still stand were limping away as fast as they could. Not surprisingly, Montgomery was one of those leaving.

Dick looked at Daredevil, and the two men grinned at each other. Daredevil then launched a grappling line at the warehouse and turned to Dick.

"Well, that was a good appetizer! You ready for the main course?"

Dick shot a grappling line of his own. "Hey, as my girlfriend will tell you, I am always ready! Let's go!"

~~ End Part 2 ~~