Chapter 8

My visit back to Blake's lab proved not to be a large waste of time. I entered the almost, dark, dank lab and gave it a quick sweep with my eyes. Nothing seemed to be outwardly odd about it. It was a normal lab, tables, chairs, scientific equipment but no clues as to what was really going on in it. Obviously no one had been there in a while because of the deserted feeling of the room and the collected dust. I crept along the floor as silently as possible just in case looks were deceiving and the lab was occupied. I sat down at a desk that had computer on it and switched it on. I searched through all of the files and was about to give up when I came across a record of processes the computer had performed. The most startling of them was on a date a year ago where someone had deleted over five hundred files in one day. I pulled out a disk from the pile of odd papers and junk in the corner and downloaded the process records. When I stood to get up a small piece of paper fluttered from beneath the keyboard. A scan of it showed that it was a bank statement and account number. Someone had transferred millions of credits from an account in Gotham under the name, J. Ford to an account in Switzerland under the same name. I took the piece of paper too and returned to the batcave.

"Find anything?" Bruce said when I walked in.

"I think you might find these interesting." I said handing him the slip of paper and the disk. He quickly began inspecting them.

"It looks as if someone had deleted all of these files in order to clean up a trail and the name on the bank statement is obviously false." He said matter-of-factly.

"Why?"

"Because J. Ford or Jameson Ford is the name that Howard Blake used to acquire illegal substances for his formula."

"He or somebody working with him are probably transferring the money to the account in Switzerland so they don't get caught doing whatever they are doing. I thought Blake was in this for the cure…not the money." I said. Nothing seemed to add up once again and it was becoming frustrating. Every time we figured something out a new development would be uncovered and our theory would be thrown out the window.

"I'm going to look at these some more. You can go home, the city is quite tonight." Bruce said. I left the batcave and was on my way home when I decided to stop at Dana's. She hadn't answered any of my calls and Max wouldn't tell me one thing about what was going on. She said I needed to talk to her myself and that's what I planned to do right now. There were things that needed to be said and it was now or never. I pulled my hands from my jacket pockets long enough to ring the doorbell. I instinctively jumped back when the large frame of Mr. Tan, Dana's father, filled the doorway.

"What do you want, McGinnis. Dana doesn't want to see you." He said with an irritated edge.

"Please, Mr.Tan can I just have a second…"

"I don't think…" He started when Dana's voice interrupted.

"It's okay, Daddy." He looked at her lovingly and then moved aside so she could come out. He shot me one last warning with his eyes before closing the door. Dana didn't even look at me as she began to walk down her driveway to the bench at the end of it. I had to catch up with her and when I did we walked in strained silence for a few moments.

"Dana I…" I began but she stopped walking and looked up at me with tear rimmed eyes.

"Please Terry, this is hard enough for me already." She turned her eyes towards the ground again. "That night…,at Max's, when you confessed to her, well, to me what happened between you and Kat was probably the worst ever. I hated you and I blamed you and I wanted you to hurt as much as I did but then I realized that it wasn't entirely your fault. You were always with Mr. Wayne or Max and I felt left out of your life. I tried my best but sometimes I wanted to just give up. I think it all went downhill when I stopped believing in you…when I stopped believing in us. It felt like I was just going through the motions when my heart wasn't really in it. I just didn't know how to tell you but I guess I didn't have to because you knew. You see, Terry, you thought you were in love with me but that's why Kat was able to make you feel so much. She woke something in you that had been dead for a long time, something that I stopped making you feel a long time ago. I think that's why I was so upset…because I knew that I had failed where Kat was able to succeed and I will admit that it hurt…it hurt a lot. You don't love me, you pity me because you know that you hurt me and the last thing I need right now is that. So let's try our best to be friends because you're probably the best one I've ever had. I'll always care about you, Terry." Dana gave a kiss on the cheek that had an air of finality to it and then walked away. I stood stunned in the middle of the sidewalk watching her retreating form and wondering where I had stopped loving her and where I had started loving Kat. I knew I still cared about Dana but she was right, I didn't love her the way I used to but she would always be my friend and maybe now Kat could become something more. But then again maybe not.

A/N: This is a short chapter because I wanted it to focus solely on Terry. Thanks soooo much for the reviews and now you got what you wanted. Dana is gone but you may be surprised what happens next….