CHAPTER 5

Helena and Dinah returned back down to the batcave after making sure no one could break into the mansion again. "Everything is secured upstairs," Helena announced to Barbara and Richard.

"Excellent," Barbara replied. "I was hoping Reese would be back by now, but we can't wait much longer. It looks like all of the escaped convicts are on their way back to Arkham."

"Richard, can I borrow your cell phone for a minute?" Helena asked.

Richard grabbed his cell phone and tossed it over to Helena. Helena caught the phone and dialed Reese' cell phone number and press talk. She brought it up to her ear and listened as it rang once and rang twice. It rang a third, fourth, and fifth time. After the sixth ring, his voice mail recording began to play. Helena hung up and handed the cell phone back to Richard. "I can't get through to him. I hope he's okay; he usually never has his cell phone off."

"We can't wait for him, I'm afraid. We have to act now. We have get inside Arkham somehow."

"That's not going to be easy when it is run by the convicts," Richard pointed out. "Any ideas on how we can get in?"

Barbara shook her head. "I'm working on it."

Helena reached into her pocket and pulled out the thin gray box that she took from Raven and handed it to Barbara. "I think I have an idea."

* * * *

At Arkham asylum, most of the convicts had arrived as scheduled. With them they brought the millions of dollars of loot that they had stolen. Everyone was gathered in the lobby. Bane and Harley were standing on a self made platform to boost them above all the rest. He and Harley held hands as they laughed as all of the convicts were laughing and chatting with one another. It was more of a celebration over a most tremendous victory.

Bane began to wave at everyone and they slowly began to quiet it down. "I see that you have all come back with plenty of money to purchase more of the morphing formula. A great majority of you, as far as I can see, has returned which means you have found the morphing formula extremely beneficial. Am I right?"

Everyone in the room let out a huge affirmative cheer. Bane clapped his hands and laughed. "We will begin the process of exchanging in a little bit, but first, we have a little business to take care off. Bring him in, Crane!" Bane said waving for him to come to the platform.

Jonathon Crane climbed onto the platform, pushing Reese up in front of him. Two men stepped up onto the platform and grabbed Reese by his arms. The crowd began to rant and rave over their captured prisoner. Bane grinned at him as he walked up to him and delivered a painful slap across his face with the back of his hand. "Detective Jesse Reese. You had played right into our hands from the very beginning. I must admit, I enjoyed watching you sneak around with the Huntress while trying to do your job without me finding out about your aiding them. It was quite humorous really."

Reese struggled to break free of the grip of the two convicts but they hold on him were too tight. "I should have realized a lot sooner who you really are."

Bane laughed as he was joined by Harley. "This plot of ours have been perfectly planned out for over a year. If truth be told, you were originally considered for the job, but in order for my plans to work, I had to push myself into the position."

Harley walked seductively towards Reese. "It was perfect. Bane becoming New Gotham's commissioner while I was in here, preparing for this very day. It's just too bad that Barbara and Helena had to miss it."

Reese suddenly realized that they did not know that they were still very much alive. If he had to die now, he would die with that secret to give them a better chance to take them by surprise. Harley leaned into Reese and kissed him passionately on his lips. After several seconds she broke it off and stepped back with an evil grin on her face. Without warning, she spun around and lifted her right leg up high, spin kicking him across the face. The two men kept their hold on his arms, preventing him from falling. "I kissed Wade just like that before I stabbed him in the heart. Call it, my kiss of death," Harley said with a grin.

She pulled out a hand gun and handed it to another convict who stepped up on the platform to accept the gun. "Bring him off the platform and kill him, boys."