©December 2003
Rating: PG
Characters: Dick Grayson (Robin); Bruce Wayne (Batman)
Time Frame: Dick is 14
Disclaimer: Characters herein are owned by DC Comics/Time Warner/AOL. No profit is realized from creation of stories based on these trademarked characters. Not to be archived without permission.
Comments and feedback are welcome to SKHwrite@cranky-dog.com

Dark December

By SKH


Part Four

Bruce Wayne stepped off the JLA teleporter inside the Batcave. Predictably, Alfred was there to greet him. In Alfred's outstretched hand was the letter that had come by courier.

Bruce read the letter, his eyes darkening with anger.

—"The boy will be released unharmed when you remove all Wayne Enterprises interests from Guiana. Publicly announce your withdrawal of all commercial, political, petroleum, mining, and environmental interests from the region. Evidence of your compliance is crucial to the safe return of the boy. Failure to comply within 24 hours will be detrimental to the safety and well-being of the boy."—

Bruce handed the letter back to Alfred and loosened his necktie. "Fingerprints?" Bruce asked.

"None, sir. Spectrographic inspection of the paper yielded no standout elements. The paper is of common origin. The courier company could not identify the sender, who paid in cash."

Bruce rested his hand lightly on Alfred's shoulder. "Thank you, Alfred. Well done." Frowning with concentration, Bruce murmured, "Guiana. Wayne Enterprises won that sealed bid based on our ability to extract and refine mineral ore and petroleum without significant environmental impact."

Bruce wheeled about and headed for the staircase. "Alfred, grab your coat. We're going to Vermont."

During the jet copter flight to Jay Peak, Bruce made inquiries into the somewhat secretive bidding process for the lucrative contract for mineral development in conjunction with the government of Guiana. A well-placed contact confirmed that there were two other bidders, Lascaux International and Althor Mining and Materials.

Bruce knew the CEO of Lascaux, Armand Rainier. Rainier was a dedicated family man and a fair business competitor. Althor, however, was somewhat of a mystery. Bruce made a call to a talented private investigator with whom he'd had previous dealings.

"Bard? Bruce Wayne. I've got an emergency and need some fast footwork. Get me a rundown on Althor Mining and Materials. Call me at this number when you've got an answer...."

The woman stood over the unconscious boy lying handcuffed on the couch. With a scissors in her gloved hands, she snipped off the lock of Dick's hair that fell across his forehead. She then took a Polaroid photo of the boy. With a black marker, the woman wrote "Comply" across the bottom of the photo. As an afterthought, the woman pushed up one of Dick's sleeves and scraped the end of the scissors across his bare arm, making an angry and bloody laceration. She smeared the blood across the photograph. The woman waved the photo a few times to dry the blood before dropping both the photo and the lock of hair into a manila envelope. Sealing the envelope, she wrote "Bruce Wayne, Urgent" across the front.

The woman handed the envelope to the man in the frameless glasses. "Carson — take this back to the Slopes and plant it where it will be found," the woman ordered. Impressively tall, her blonde hair pulled severely back into a bun, and with eyes veiled by mirrored sunglasses, the woman was authoritative and beautiful.

"Wayne will no doubt send a private security force to the lodge to confer with law enforcement. Keep your eyes and ears open and report back what you find out."

Carson nodded and headed out the door.

Despite the heavy snowfall, the Wayne Enterprises executive jet helicopter landed at the Slopes resort, the canny pilot finding a flat area at the base of the nearest ski run.

Bruce and Alfred exited and rushed inside the lodge, leaving the pilot and co-pilot to secure the aircraft against the weather. They were met by the local sheriff, Dean Hartwell of the Gotham Academy, and the hotel's manager, who ushered everyone into his office.

Gonzo passed the entourage in the corridor on his way to the front lobby. He had heard some of the students talking about Dick's disappearance, and guessed that the large man with the sheriff and hotel manager must be Dick's father. Gonzo was still looking back toward the manager's office when he bumped into Sadie, one of the cocktail waitresses from the lounge. She had just come in from a cigarette break outside, and smelled faintly of smoke.

"Oh, sorry, Sadie," he apologized. "I wasn't looking where—"

"Was that the sheriff?" Sadie asked nervously, pushing her dark hair behind one ear.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, and I think that was the father of the missing kid."

Sadie looked anxiously down the corridor. She was usually pleasant and smiling, but now she looked worried.

"What's wrong," asked Gonzo.

Sadie grabbed his arm and pulled him across the lobby and into the outer lounge of the restrooms. "Gonz... did that kid get lost or did someone snatch him?" Sadie asked.

Gonzo shook his head. "I don't think Dickster is lost. He's a really savvy kid, and skis and boards like a little champ."

Sadie's eyes filled with tears. "Gonzo... I think I might have helped whoever took that boy!"

"How?"

"The other night, the night those kids from the school arrived, a man offered me a hundred dollars to point out that boy," said Sadie. "He had a photograph of him. I thought maybe he was... oh, I don't know, like maybe an investigator or something. It was a hundred bucks, Gonzo. I didn't think there was any harm in it."

Carson entered the lodge at one of the side wings. He removed his overcoat and shook the snow off of it. He grumbled silently to himself about the difficult drive on the snow-laden roads. There certainly wouldn't be anymore driving until the roads were plowed. Carson pulled the manila envelope out of the inside pocket of the coat, and then folded his top coat over his arm, hiding the envelope underneath it. "Miss M" had given him his orders, and as he walked toward the central area of the lodge, he began scouting for a place to leave the package.

Inside the manager's office, Bruce couldn't bring himself to sit down. He stood next to the window, looking out at the overcast and snow-covered landscape.

"There are three ski patrol crews on the mountain, with four search and rescue dogs," the Sheriff explained. "So far, all they've recovered is the boy's skis and poles, which they're using to give the dogs a scent to follow."

"What about roadblocks?" Bruce asked, turning to face the sheriff.

"We have one on the main road, Mr. Wayne, but there are a number of smaller roads and private drives off the main road in this area. It's a curse and a fortune that the snow is so heavy — mobility is difficult for everyone."

"Mr. Wayne, if this is a kidnapping, shouldn't the FBI be notified?" asked Dean Hartwell.

Bruce shook his head. "The closest field office is in Burlington, which is a two-hour drive even in good weather."

There was a knock at the door, and Dean Hartwell, who was the closest to the door, opened it. The desk concierge nodded at the educator and came into the room, handing an envelope to Bruce. "Mr. Wayne, one of the employees found this on a table in the lobby. No one knows how long it's been there."

Bruce opened the envelope and looked inside. His throat tightened and his expression became more stone-like. Alfred suddenly appeared next to him as Bruce poured the contents of the envelope out onto a table. Alfred barely suppressed a gasp as he saw the blood-stained instant photo and the wisps of dark hair.

Gonzo recognized Sadie's description of the man who tipped her generously to identify Dick Grayson as the same man he had bumped into at the coffee kiosk near the half-pipe course. Could that guy have been scoping out Dick as he snow-boarded the course? Gonzo took Sadie by the shoulders.

"You've got to go tell the cops, Sadie. If that guy snatched the Grayson kid and you can identify him that makes you a witness and a loose end. C'mon, I'll go with you."

The pair of hotel employees left the lounge and headed for the manager's office. Out of the corner of his eye, Gonzo thought he spotted the man with the glasses sitting at the far end of the lobby. When they were out of sight, Gonzo pushed Sadie in the direction of the office. "Go on, Sadie. I have to check something out. Talk to Dick's father. Tell him what you know!"

The bellman reached the lobby just as the man with the frameless eyeglasses entered the elevator. Gonzo headed for the service stairs, eyeing the readout above the elevator doors. It stopped on the fourth floor. Gonzo burst into the stairwell and took the steps two at a time to the fourth floor. He carefully opened the door and looked into the empty corridor. He stepped out of the stairwell and walked to a cross-corridor, pulling back quickly at the sight of his target. Gonzo peered around the corner. The man stopped at one of the rooms and entered it.

Bruce listened to the waitress' tale, his rage building. Before he could question her himself, his cell phone beeped.

"Excuse me, I'll take this outside," he said, and left the office and walked down the hall, seeking a quiet spot.

"Jason Bard, here, Mr. Wayne. It took a little time, but I've got your information. Althorp Mining and Materials is a shadow subsidiary of LexCorp, through some roundabout channels. It's pretty indirect, but there's definitely a Luthor connection."

"That tells me what I need to know, Bard. Thank you for the quick work." Bruce closed his phone with a snap, and with jaws clenched, slammed his fist into a wall, smashing through the drywall.

Gonzo ran lightly down the hall until he saw the man's room number, then he dashed back to the stairs, slid down the handrails to save time, and ran for the manager's office. At the far end of the corridor, Gonzo saw Dick's father punch a hole in the wall.

"Whoa," he said under his breath, awed by the big man's strength and rage. Undeterred, though, Gonzo walked up to the man.

"Yo, Dick's Dad, sir, can I talk to you?"

Bruce turned to look at the young man, intrigued that he knew Dick by name. "What is it? Do you have any information about Dick?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah. I sent Sadie in there to tell what she knew about this guy who was stalking Dickster. I saw the same dude near the half-pipe yesterday when Dick was freestyling. I just saw the guy, and followed him to his room."

Bruce laid a heavy hand on Gonzo's shoulder. "Take me there."

Carson stood next to the French doors leading out to the room's balcony, speaking into his cell phone. "I planted the envelope, Miss M., and it's been found and taken to the manager. Bruce Wayne himself is here, though. I though you said he was out of the country?"

Before the man got a reply to his inquiry, the door to his room shattered, and a bull of a man came barreling down on him.

Bruce smashed through the door with a single kick and went for the surprised occupant.

"That's the guy, Mr. Wayne," Gonzo called out.

Carson, in his panic, dropped his cell phone and fled to the balcony. Realizing the futility of his move, since he was four stories up, he wheeled and pulled out a small pistol.

Bruce grabbed Carson's gun-arm, twisting it until it snapped. The man's scream was choked off by Bruce's other hand grabbing him by the throat. As the gun clattered harmlessly to the floor, Bruce hoisted the struggling man over the balcony railing, holding him at arm's length by the throat.

"Where is my boy?" Bruce growled.

The man clawed at the sleeve of Bruce's heavy jacket, trying desperately to clamber back onto the balcony.

Bruce loosened his grip, and the man began to drop.

"In a cabin!" Carson screamed.

Bruce caught the man by the jacket with his fists and hauled him over the railing and back inside the room.

"Where?" Bruce demanded, slamming Carson into the wall.

"Up Dyson Drive," Carson choked.

"How many are there?" Bruce snarled.

"Three... two men... and a woman."

"Is Luthor behind this?" asked Bruce.

When Carson hesitated, Bruce slammed his fist into Carson's midsection.

Coughing, Carson sputtered, "Don't know... only contact... is the woman... M-Miss Mercy."

Awestruck, Gonzo watched the irate father extract information from the kidnapper. Dyson Drive. Gonzo recognized the area from a party he'd attended near there earlier in the season.

"Dude! I know that road! My jeep's got four-wheel-drive. I can get us through the snow, man!" he called out to Bruce.

Bruce looked over his shoulder at the excited bellman, and then turned back to Carson. Without another word, Bruce slammed a ham-heavy fist into the man's face, dropping him like a stone to the carpet.

"Let's go," said Bruce.

tbc in part 5