Any others you don't recognize are mine.
I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.
Rated PG : language; violence.
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"Zucco... Zucco..." Bruce muttered the name, scowling as he flipped rapidly through old newspaper stories. He kept a considerable library in the Batcave, files, both computerized and not, indexes, records of the lives and careers of a considerable number of Gotham City's most notorious criminals. Anthony Zucco was no exception. His file was fat, stretching back for more than ten years.
Small time protection rackets... victimizing the local businesses in the suburbs north of Gotham; bars, restaurants, nightclubs. Vandalism, beatings, a few murders. Nothing proven, nothing that could stand up in court. Zucco was smart, and he had muscle. Witnesses tended to disappear, the cops mysteriously failed to follow up. His men went to jail -- a few of them, once in a while, but the boss kept his nose clean.
It had taken him awhile to work his way into the big city, but he'd done it successfully and been here for maybe five years, expanding his operations. Now he was after bigger game. The Canin building. Bruce turned to his computer next, staring thoughtfully at the information displayed on the screen.
A construction site this time. A new building, part of the city's reclamation project in Eastside. It was ambitious, an office building intended to create new jobs, improve the neighborhood, and bring in business. Funded partly by the city, partly by private industry, the construction being done by a local company as the first step in providing those jobs... Zucco was after protection money again, no doubt, but from whom? Or was he simply going to destroy it to prove how powerful he was? To frighten his future targets?
Didn't matter... the important thing was to stop him. And that brought Bruce's mind back to Robbie. To Nightwing. Why was he involved in this? There had to be a reason. Bruce frowned. A moment of violence and loss in his own past was what had put him into the cape and cowl, what had created Batman and kept him going. Was there some similar demon driving Nightwing? Something involving Zucco? That had to be it.
Whatever it was, maybe it was in these files. Somewhere... With a sigh, Bruce picked up the oldest folder, glancing over the contents. A set of crimes in a small town north of Gotham. Newton. Assault, destruction of property, a suspicious accident in a circus. He settled down to read.
"Sir?"
The shrill summons of the phone had brought him out of the dark world of crime and suffering that was Tony Zucco's history. Bruce had answered it absently, half of his mind still on the article he was reading. "Yes, Alfred?"
"Sir, Miss Kane is here."
"Kathy? What's she doing- Oh, shit, we had a date, didn't we?"
"She appears to believe so, sir."
"Dammit... Okay, I'll be right up. Have her wait in the living room."
"You forgot, didn't you?" Kathy didn't even say hello, her eyes flashing with annoyance.
Bruce noted in passing that it made her even prettier. He grinned, suppressing his own irritation, both at the interruption and at himself. "You know me, Kath. A complete airhead. Sorry."
"Airhead. Right." She stared at him, her expression harder than he had ever seen it. "Are we still going out?"
"Um..." Bruce consulted his watch. "It's nine... I know we were supposed to go dancing, but I have to be somewhere by midnight. We still have time for dinner."
"You have to be somewhere."
"I know, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise." He moved closer, raising a hand to brush his fingers over her cheek, smiling the smile that usually made any woman melt.
Kathy's temperature appeared unchanged as she met his eyes steadily. "What could you possibly have to do at midnight?"
He shrugged, still smiling. "You know... business. Don't want to bore you with the details."
"Try me. I think I might find it very interesting."
"Look, it's not another woman, if that's what you're thinking."
"Bruce, I don't know what to think." Kathy sighed, her face shifting into unhappiness. "I know something's going on with you. You disappear, you break our dates, you always have some mysterious business you have to take care of in the middle of the night." She faced him, raising her chin. "I've tried to respect your privacy. Tried to be patient and understanding. But it's just too much. I keep imagining all kinds of things you might be keeping from me."
Bruce dropped his gaze from her questioning eyes to the floor. "It's got nothing to do with you."
"If it's not another woman... is it another man?"
"Don't be silly."
"Are you in trouble? Are you involved in something dangerous? Something illegal?"
"I -- I'm not doing anything wrong."
"Won't you tell me? I care about you, Bruce. Maybe I could even help."
"No." With an effort, he plastered his habitual casual smile on his face. "Just trust me, Kathy. It's nothing you need to be concerned about."
"Trust you. But you won't trust me..." She searched his face for another few moments and then turned to pick up the purse she had left lying on the sofa. "All right, Bruce. Have it your own way."
"Where are you going?"
She turned with her hand on the doorknob. "Home. I don't much feel like dinner. And I'm sure you'd rather spend your time getting ready for your 'business.'"
"Kathy..."
But she was gone, her heels clicking rapidly across the foyer, then the front door closing. Bruce hesitated, he started to go after her, took a few steps... but then it seemed to make more sense to let her go; let her cool off first, he'd talk to her later. And his thoughts were already returning to his research, and to the night ahead. Kathy would keep. It only occurred to him for an instant that he had wished for her to show more of a serious interest in him, to care more about what he did. Be careful what you wish for.
"I take it the young lady is not returning." Alfred's voice from the doorway was at its most prim and proper. Showing disapproval. Again.
"Not tonight, anyway. Just as well. I have other things to take care of."
"Things that are more important than Miss Kane?"
Bruce sighed, turning to look at him. "Yes, Alfred. Zucco may be making his move tonight. People could die. I think that's more important than my love life, such as it is."
"Zucco? What's he going to do?"
"That's what I have to find out. All I have now is a tip, that something's up at the Canin building, at midnight."
"A tip? Perhaps it could be another trap."
"I don't think so. This one came from Nightwing. I think I can trust him. And I intend to find out more about him." Bruce crossed the room and stepped out, pausing for a moment to face Alfred again. "I have a little more research to do, and then I'm going." He started in the direction of his study, and the stairway down to the Batcave.
"Sir..."
"Yes?"
"Do be careful."
Bruce turned, and smiled. "I always am. Don't worry, I'll be back."
"Jesus, could have told me a street corner or something," Batman muttered to himself. He looked up at the building from the shelter of deep shadows between a set of construction trailers at the edge of the site. It loomed above him, like a dark and ghostly skeleton in the night. Not a building yet, not really, still a framework of girders, columns, beams, and joists, attended by a few cranes, now silent and idle above a litter of tools and supplies.
It was still a few minutes before midnight. If Nightwing was already here, he was invisible in the jagged pattern of shadows across the ground, or possibly up in the building somewhere. Batman slipped closer, scanning the landscape of blackness and patches of silvery light from the full moon hanging above, watching for a hint of midnight blue. Then he stopped to look around. Where would he be, if he wanted to watch the building? Above ground, where no one would be likely to see him, but where he would have a good view -- and be able to move in quickly -- like the low rooftop of that building on the other end of the block...
As he got closer, movement caught his eye. A dark form materialized above, standing for just a moment to stare down, like the first time they had seen each other. Nightwing nodded, and stepped back. When Batman reached the top of the fire escape, he was crouched behind the low brick wall at the edge, face turned, white teeth gleaming momentarily as he smiled.
"Found me."
"Yeah. Figured this was where I'd go." Batman settled down next to him, propping his back against a crumbling chimney before asking, "What are we looking for?"
"Just what I told you. Zucco's planning something big here tonight. He's going to blow up the building."
Batman blinked at him. "Blow it up? Explosives?"
"That's right." Nightwing's masked eyes turned to him again. "He wants to make a statement. Scare his -- customers -- into paying up. And scare off the competition."
"If all this construction comes down..."
"I know. The buildings around it will be damaged. Several of them are apartment buildings. People will be hurt, killed." A fist clenched on his knee. "Why do you think I want to stop him?"
"Do you have proof of this? Anything that'll stand up in court, that we can use to nail Zucco himself?"
"Just what I've heard myself. But I'll testify. And..." He glanced at Batman again. "Zucco's going to be here himself tonight. Wants to supervise in person."
"If we can catch him here..."
"That's right."
"When?"
"Any time now."
Batman hesitated. "Okay. I'll wait until they show. Then I'll call the cops and make sure they don't get a chance to plant those explosives."
"You mean we'll make sure."
"Look, kid, this is going to be dangerous. Let me handle it."
"No way." There was no softness, youthful or otherwise, in the face turned to him now. "You're only here because I want to make sure. Zucco is mine. I'm going to be in on getting him, all the way."
"This is personal for you, isn't it?"
"Zucco -- took something from me. Yeah, it's personal."
"You joined his gang, as Robbie. If they had found out, you'd be dead, quickly and painfully. Risked your life again, as Nightwing, to fight them."
"There was no other way. Yeah, I got into his gang, to find a way to put him away for good. But I couldn't let his goons go on with their business, hurt more people, not when I knew about it... So I did the only thing I could, became Nightwing, so I could stop them without blowing my cover."
"And you imitated me, didn't you?"
"I guess," The admission sounded reluctant. "Seemed like a good idea. It was a way to fight them, to stop the kind of thing that-" He stopped abruptly.
"To stop the kind of thing that happened to you? Whatever it was that Zucco did to you, whatever makes it so personal?"
"Something like that." Batman could see Nightwing's chest rise and fall as he took a deep breath. "So why do you do it?" he asked, his voice defiant. "You've been at it a lot longer than me. Why? You must have a reason, too."
"Yes, I've got a reason." He paused, still seeing tension in the younger man's posture. "Look, I understand, probably better than you think. But -- this isn't a game. It's deadly serious. You could have died back in that restaurant the other night. You could die tonight. You could be seriously injured, crippled for the rest of your life-"
"So could you!"
"I've accepted that possibility. I know I'm unlikely to live to a ripe old age. Too bad, but that's the decision I've made. But it's not a decision I'd recommend for anyone else, especially someone as young as you."
"I have to do this. No choice."
"There's always a choice."
"Not for me. Not where Zucco's concerned." Nightwing raised a hand and brushed his fingers through his hair, visibly calming himself. "Look, I appreciate that you're trying to help. But you might as well just get used to it. I'm staying. For tonight, we're partners."
"And after tonight?"
"Worry about that when it comes." Suddenly he sat up a little, eyes trained on the shadowy framework of the building facing them.
Batman had caught the same sound and movement, a car pulling up to the side of the street. It parked, lights blinking out, then the doors opening and a group of men getting out. Looked like four of them, gathering on the sidewalk, then opening the trunk and pulling a bag out.
"Looks like it's showtime," he murmured. With a quick movement, he reached to grab Nightwing's arm as he started to get up. "Wait, let me call the cops first."
"Hurry."
The tiny, untraceable cellphone he used was already in his hand. The press of a button to autodial, and he was waiting for the familiar voice to answer. "Gordon here."
"Commissioner. Zucco's hitting the Canin building. Right now. This is big. Send help."
"What? You can't..."
He hung up. Gordon might protest, but he'd send reinforcements. Now it was up to them to make sure the police didn't arrive too late.
"Okay," he whispered. "You ready?"
"I've been ready for this for the last nine years."
Batman caught his arm again before he could move. "Partners, agreed. But I call the shots. Understand?"
"Yeah, I understand."
"Let's do it."
TBC...