"What's taking so long? We must get those schematics before the power cell runs out!"
"I'm working as fast as I can, sir. We underestimated their security measures."
"Don't give me excuses! Get the files!" Gavron Colmes, known to the organization he works for as Brother Fang, is getting extremely nervous. He is convinced that this whole operation is cursed.
It had started with their inside man. His mission had been to cut power to the security systems and then make it look like a malfunction (one that would take several hours to repair, of course). Instead, he'd blundered and cut all the electrical systems. Kobra would find him and punish him for such incompetence, when this was all over. At least the security systems were down, and the lack of light and working elevators would keep the security guards confused for a while. But there was no power for the computers, which made the job a lot harder. Fortunately they'd managed to get a power cell out of a cleaning robot and jerry-rigged it to power the computer systems. However, the battery was not meant to support a machine as extensive as the mainframe computer for any significant amount of time, and it would soon be out. The delay caused by the power problem – and the security programs that were keeping them from the files they needed – had set them back considerably. Every second means that they are that much more likely to get caught. Someone has probably alerted the police already. If they don't get out soon, they'll be trapped.
So Brother Fang is very, very edgy. It doesn't help that the computer room is so full of shadows. Since the room is tucked deep within the bowels of the building, there are no windows. The only sources of light are the small status indicators on the computer banks, a couple of flashlights they brought in and the workstation in the center of the room that Brother Adder is using to hack the system. Brother Fang swallows nervously. The computer room is big as it is, two stories tall with a big walkway along the wall at the upper level that houses additional computer banks. It seems even bigger because the light from the flashlights does not reach all the way to the ceiling – it's completely invisible. The upper-level walkway is just far enough from the flashlights to be swathed in shadows, which seem to move when he's not looking right at them. He keeps thinking that someone is up there, waiting to pounce on him. A stupid notion, because they've already gotten rid of (in one way or another) all the techs and security people who were working in here when they arrived. There's only one door into this room, with two guards flanking it, and six more in the corridor outside. There's a big ventilation grate in the middle of the ceiling, but there's virtually no chance of anyone coming in that way. They can't be ambushed in here. That's what he keeps telling himself, anyway.
"Ah! I've got the files!" Brother Adder announces triumphantly. He clicks a few keys, transferring the data to the disk drive. When the transfer is finished, he retrieves the disk and puts it into his satchel. And just in time, too – as soon as he pockets the disk, the fuel cell gives out and the computer dies again.
"Good," Brother Fang says. "Let's get out of here before we're caught."
From somewhere in the darkness above him, an unfamiliar voice says, "Too late."
Brother Fang finds out that he was wrong about that ventilation grate. It comes crashing down on top of Brother Boa, followed shortly by a lithe figure in black. A figure that Brother Fang recognizes in a single chilling instant.
Oh, shit…
Before he can raise his pistol and get off a shot, Batman throws something at him. It's a bolo, which whips around his arms and torso, forcing him to drop the gun. Brother Fang loses his balance, staggers a few steps trying to regain it and fails to do so. He falls over backward, hitting the back of his head on the corner of one of the workstations. The painful sensation is the last thing he feels before he loses consciousness.
~***~
That's two down, and two to go. Terry leaps into the air and does a back handspring to dodge the energy bolts from the guns of the two remaining Kobra guards. He spins around in midair, extends his arms and flicks his wrists in a certain way. A flat metal object shaped like a large arrowhead slips into each hand from compact magazines on his forearms. They unfold into batarangs almost as soon as they reach his fingers, and he tosses them at the Kobra goons – or, rather, at the pistols in their hands. All of this takes less than a second. Terry's aim is good, and both of them are disarmed. Before they can recover their guns, he springs forward and kicks one of them in the face. The second he elbows in the jaw. They go down like a couple of axed trees.
But he can hear that there's a bunch more of them in the corridor outside, and they're closing in fast. He leaps up to the walkway above and pulls himself over the railing just before half a dozen Kobras burst in through the door. The shadowy walkway makes a good hiding place – they can't see him, but with his night vision (light enhancement, augmented by infrared and an ultrasonic broadcast/receiver system), he can pick them out just fine. The bewildered soldiers fan out around the room to look for them, but not one of them thinks to look up. Big mistake.
Once he judges that they've spread out far enough, he makes his move. He leaps from the balcony and lands on the closest of the Kobras, slamming him to the floor. The others turn around and start shooting at him, but he's already moving, leaping and twisting through the air with expertise that would make an Olympic gymnast go green with envy. As he's landing, the remaining five Kobras move in to surround him, putting away their guns and drawing knives instead. They aren't stupid enough to try and shoot him when they're all that close together.
After that, it's a nice old-fashioned scrap. Terry deals out a lot of damage and takes some himself – though not, fortunately, from the Kobras' knives. He gets kicked in the chest, and some part of him guesses that his ribs are bruised or maybe even cracked, but he barely even feels it. Partly it's because he's taken a lot worse, and he's used to it, but mostly because he's just too worked up for it to hurt. But though he may feel only dully the blows he takes, he feels and sees and hears everything else around him with perfect clarity. Every dance with danger, every brush with death, makes him feel more alive than anything else does, and makes the rest of the world more real. Every single time gives him a fresh thrill and a reminder of why he puts on the suit and goes looking for trouble almost every night. It's times like this when he knows that, despite all the difficulties that come with being Batman, it's more than worth it.
He brings down the last of the Kobras with a solid blow to the temple. For a moment he smiles to himself, but then something moves in the corner of his eye. He turns his head and sees one of them running for the door. It's the one who was working at the computer, who still has the disk containing the files he hacked out of the database. He's crawled out from under the fallen ventilator grating and grabbed a flashlight on the way. Terry just catches him darting out the door.
"Slag it," Terry mutters to himself as he springs forward to pursue the fleeing criminal. He has to make sure that the guy doesn't escape with the disk.
The Kobra is surprisingly quick, but he's easy to follow. Terry can hear the sound of his feet on the metal floor and see the beam of his flashlight up ahead. But that 'ahead' is always composed of several meters, or one turn of the corridor – Terry can't get close enough to take him down. He bolts through a door, and Terry thinks that he's finally got the dreg, except that the door leads into a stairwell. Terry follows just in time to hear a door slam shut on the level above him. He doesn't waste time with the stairs; just uses his jets to get up there and exits into the corridor. The Kobra is just turning into a hallway to Terry's right. Terry grits his teeth in frustration and heads after him.
Suddenly the lights flicker to life – they must have gotten the power back up. Compensators in the cowl's visual equipment keep Terry from being blinded. A finger pressed to his right temple for a second deactivates all his night-vision systems. He doesn't need them anymore.
There's another change, too. This part of the building, unlike the utility and storage floor below, is not empty. There are some people here, mostly bewildered scientists, mechanics and clerks, who flatten themselves out against the wall to avoid a collision with the Kobra or Terry and stare after them with wide, frightened eyes as they run past. He doesn't see anyone who looks like a security guard. Probably this place depended mostly on its electronic security systems. The folks in charge will hire a lot more guards after today, that's for sure.
Terry hears frightened screaming in the corridor ahead. He whips around the corner, skids to a stop. The reason for the screaming becomes clear in an instant. The Kobra has taken a hostage from among a group of workers here.
She's a small woman, and looks smaller when compared the big green-garbed bulk of the Kobra who's got her in his grip. He's holding her against his chest, facing outward, keeping her locked in place with his left arm while he holds a knife to her throat with his right hand. The blade glitters against the woman's milk-chocolate skin. Her hair is divided into a multitude of small braids, one of which is being pressed against her neck by the knife. Contrary to Terry's expectations, she looks more indignant than scared.
"Stay back!" the Kobra barks, hoarsely because he is out of breath from the run, "Or I kill her!" He presses his knife against the woman's neck for emphasis. A trickle of blood appears, and rolls down her skin to stain her pale-gray suit jacket. For a moment he sees the girl from last night…
No. Think about now. And think he does, desperately wracking his brains, trying to come up with a way out of this situation.