"We want the artifact," said Ana
"What?" asked Thorne, incredulous.
"You heard me, Mr. Thorne. My brother and, in return for our services, want the artifact."
"And what services exactly are you offering?"
"Your enemy knows you were behind the 'botched' assassination. Although I suspect you never intended your killers to succeed, they don't know that, and the Titans will almost certainly come after you, especially given the bad blood that was already there between you and Robin."
"You certainly know a lot about-"
"Don't interrupt me! Anyway, we can protect you from the Titans. In fact, we will destroy, every last one. Your artifact will be no problem to steal back, and we could even rub out Takahashi in the process."
"In case you've forgotten, that artifact is the only reason I'm in this situation in the first place."
"You're in this situation because you are dedicated to restoring your pride. You had an ancient relic stolen from right under your nose. It is useless to you, Mr. Thorne. We kill the Titans and Takahashi, you keep your reputation for severely punishing those who mess with you, and we the relic."
"Why do you want it so bad? What is it?"
Ana smiled. "All in due time, Mr. Thorne. All in due time."
"Your new safe house, Mr. Takahashi." Robin grinned, stepping aside and affording Takahashi a full view of the interior. After taking the time to look around, the older man nodded and stepped inside.
"For a facility twenty feet underground, it is quite well furnished."
"Solves a lot of problems too," said Cyborg. "The lack of windows and the fact that it's below ground practically eliminates the option of a sniper. This place is practically impregnable from a security standpoint thanks to MY modifications, and the entrance is a complete secret. You couldn't be safer in Fort Knox, man."
"Glad to hear it," said Takahashi. "I can see now that hiring you was a good decision on my part."
"We do our best," said Robin guardedly. Unlike his other teammates, he wasn't really soaking up Takahashi's lavish praise. He was still suspicious of the corporate tycoon, and one of the main things he had learned under the tutelage of the Batman was that it was never good to ignore an instinct.
Kay walked up behind him, her arm encircling his shoulders. "You picked a great place for the safe house," she said.
"Thanks." Robin hesitated as if trying to decide something in his mind. "Kay, can I talk to you?"
"Sure."
"I mean like a private talk."
One of her eyebrows arched up. She grinned. "OK. Outside should be fine. Or there's a burger place across the street."
Five minutes later, the two were sitting down in a Wendy's restaurant, Robin sipping a lemonade and Kay a diet Coke. "So what is it?" Kay asked.
"It's about Mr. Takahashi."
A look of disappointment, then a frown, flitted across Kay's face.
"What about Mr. Takahashi?" she asked guardedly.
"I-I think he's hiding something from us."
"That's ridiculous," Kay exclaimed. "I've known Mr. Takahashi a lot-"
she quieted down slightly when Robin raised his index finger to his
mouth in a shushing motion. "A lot longer than you, and if he's hiding
something, its because we don't need to know. He's a good person."
"I think he stole something from Rupert Thorne."
"Why?"
"Because, Kay, Thorne wants the guy dead really bad and according to
Takahashi, he's never had any dealings whatsoever with him. It doesn't
add up. He must have done something to royally tick off Thorne to
provoke all of these attempts on Takahashi's life."
"Maybe he's just mad because of the crime and drug prevention programs
that the company has recently enacted. Those have probably cost Thorne
and lowlifes like him a lot of money."
"That's what Takahashi said, and it still doesn't ring true for me.
See, I checked up on Thorne's revenues, and they haven't really
changed much with the coming of the company's anti-crime campaigns,
effective as they may seem to be. What leads me to the conclusion
though is what one of the assassins said to me on the rooftop: that
Takahashi stole something from Thorne and that's why the assassins
were sent."
"I refuse to believe it," said Kay firmly, crossing her arms in front
of her.
"Fine, but at least keep the possibility open in your mind, and think
back over the past few weeks to anything suspicious you may have seen.
I don't expect you to agree with me, but I want you to be aware of my
position."
"Why? If you think my boss is a criminal, why come to me?" asked Kay.
Robin finished his soft drink and set it aside. "Because I trust you."
That caused Kay to be speechless for a moment. Then, slowly, she
leaned over the table and kissed Robin, gently touching her lips to
his. Another moment, and she pulled back. "Thanks," she said. "I'm
glad to know that."
"Uh . . .yeah." Robin was still a little off balance. "We should uh,
get back."
"Yeah." Kay stood up. "We should."
"Where is Robin?" asked Starfire as she finished packing her things
into the new room she would be sharing with Raven.
"He and Kay went off somewhere," said Raven over her shoulder as she
slipped five costumes identical to the one she wore into a drawer. She
turned around. "Why?"
"Just curious," said Starfire as neutrally as possible, even though
she was unable to keep the frown out of her voice.
"Y'know, maybe if you had acted sooner, Kay wouldn't be moving in your
territory."
"I have no territory."
"Exactly." Raven walked over to the bed, plopping down and letting the
springs bounce her up and down. "He was primed, yours for the taking."
"I really do not know what you are talking about. And you, Raven,
hardly seem qualified to give me advice on . . . .this."
"What are you talking about?"
"You and Beast Boy, that is what I am talking about. I know you like
like him, and I know he like likes you, yet you have never acted on
it. So do not tell me about what I should or should not have done
because whatever it is, you are guilty of the same."
Funny that Beast Boy should pop his head through the door at that
exact moment. "Hey!"
Go away," said Raven, telekinetically closing the door, only to have
Beast Boy pop his right through again.
"What is this? Girl talk?"
"Go away and forget everything you just heard."
"Beast Boy grinned smugly "I heard everything."
At first, a look of panic crossed both girls' features, but then
Raven's eyes narrowed. "Liar."
"No really."
"Then what were we talking about."
Beast Boy opened his mouth as if to say something, and then realized
he had nothing to say. "Okay, I admit it, I didn't hear whatever you
girls were talking about."
"I figured as much," said Raven. "Now what do you need?"
"Oh, Robin and Kay just got back and Robin says there's something he
wants us to see."
"Coming," said. Raven. "Now bye."
"Fine" Beast Boy stepped back and slammed the girls' bedroom door
shut.
Raven stood up. "We'd better go see what is," she suggested.
Starfire nodded. "I am sorry for snapping at you," she said. A wry
smile appeared on her lips. "You were right."
"So were you." She smiled. "At least you have good taste. I'm stuck on
a green, tofu-addicted vegan who chews with his mouth open and leaves
the toilet seat up."
Starfire giggled at the description, glad strangely enough that Raven
considered her trustworthy enough to reveal her feelings about Beast
Boy, and in turn Starfire could do the same about hers for Robin. "Let
us go see what Robin wants," she said, leading the way to the doorway.
Robin took a moment to be sure that everyone was gathered, and then he
spoke. "I trust everybody here has encountered little trouble finding
rooms," he began.
Cyborg jerked a thumb towards Beast Boy, a scowl on his face. "I still
don't get why I have to share a room with Greenie here. He's getting
fur all over the place!"
"Least I don't sit in a corner plugged into a wall and hogging up all
the outlets so that no one else can hook their video games up!" Beast
Boy shot back.
Robin rolled his eyes, then turned to Raven and Starfire. "You two?"
He knew their personalities weren't exactly complementary and wanted
to know if they were going to have problems being forced to share a
room.
"We're fine," said Star and Raven simultaneously.
"Oh. Good," said Robin, a little surprised. "Anyway: as Kay and I were
walking back-"
"Where were you guys?" interjected Raven.
"Wendy's. We were just talking. Now as I said, Kay and I are walking
back and I bump into someone on the sidewalk. I don't think much of it
but then I look on my cape and see a note attached."
Kay held a wrinkled yell Post-It up to the light. "It reads as
follows:" she continued. "'Titans, You can run but you can't hide
Takahashi forever. We found the downtown condo and we will find your
new hiding place. And when we do, you will experience the most
humiliating defeat of your careers. That we promise. ' Signed, 'Ana
and Karl'."
"They know about the condo?" gasped Starfire. "How?"
Robin shrugged. "Don't know. I'm more worried by the fact that they
may already know where our new safe house is. Naturally, I checked for
anyone tailing Kay and I but someone may have escaped my notice.
Especially whoever was sneaky enough to get this note on me in the
first place."
"Do you think we need to find another place?" asked Takahashi. "We
just got here."
Robin shook his head. "No, I don't think that will be necessary.
However, I'll need Cyborg to install some automatic machine gun linked
sentinels on all of the entrances to the safe house and put
surveillance cameras on a sweep pattern over a one mile radius."
"Sure," Cyborg agreed.
"Thanks. I don't know who these people: Ana and Karl are, but if they
do somehow find the safe house, we'll show them a thing or two about
humiliating defeat.
"What?" asked Thorne, incredulous.
"You heard me, Mr. Thorne. My brother and, in return for our services, want the artifact."
"And what services exactly are you offering?"
"Your enemy knows you were behind the 'botched' assassination. Although I suspect you never intended your killers to succeed, they don't know that, and the Titans will almost certainly come after you, especially given the bad blood that was already there between you and Robin."
"You certainly know a lot about-"
"Don't interrupt me! Anyway, we can protect you from the Titans. In fact, we will destroy, every last one. Your artifact will be no problem to steal back, and we could even rub out Takahashi in the process."
"In case you've forgotten, that artifact is the only reason I'm in this situation in the first place."
"You're in this situation because you are dedicated to restoring your pride. You had an ancient relic stolen from right under your nose. It is useless to you, Mr. Thorne. We kill the Titans and Takahashi, you keep your reputation for severely punishing those who mess with you, and we the relic."
"Why do you want it so bad? What is it?"
Ana smiled. "All in due time, Mr. Thorne. All in due time."
"Your new safe house, Mr. Takahashi." Robin grinned, stepping aside and affording Takahashi a full view of the interior. After taking the time to look around, the older man nodded and stepped inside.
"For a facility twenty feet underground, it is quite well furnished."
"Solves a lot of problems too," said Cyborg. "The lack of windows and the fact that it's below ground practically eliminates the option of a sniper. This place is practically impregnable from a security standpoint thanks to MY modifications, and the entrance is a complete secret. You couldn't be safer in Fort Knox, man."
"Glad to hear it," said Takahashi. "I can see now that hiring you was a good decision on my part."
"We do our best," said Robin guardedly. Unlike his other teammates, he wasn't really soaking up Takahashi's lavish praise. He was still suspicious of the corporate tycoon, and one of the main things he had learned under the tutelage of the Batman was that it was never good to ignore an instinct.
Kay walked up behind him, her arm encircling his shoulders. "You picked a great place for the safe house," she said.
"Thanks." Robin hesitated as if trying to decide something in his mind. "Kay, can I talk to you?"
"Sure."
"I mean like a private talk."
One of her eyebrows arched up. She grinned. "OK. Outside should be fine. Or there's a burger place across the street."
Five minutes later, the two were sitting down in a Wendy's restaurant, Robin sipping a lemonade and Kay a diet Coke. "So what is it?" Kay asked.
"It's about Mr. Takahashi."
A look of disappointment, then a frown, flitted across Kay's face.
"What about Mr. Takahashi?" she asked guardedly.
"I-I think he's hiding something from us."
"That's ridiculous," Kay exclaimed. "I've known Mr. Takahashi a lot-"
she quieted down slightly when Robin raised his index finger to his
mouth in a shushing motion. "A lot longer than you, and if he's hiding
something, its because we don't need to know. He's a good person."
"I think he stole something from Rupert Thorne."
"Why?"
"Because, Kay, Thorne wants the guy dead really bad and according to
Takahashi, he's never had any dealings whatsoever with him. It doesn't
add up. He must have done something to royally tick off Thorne to
provoke all of these attempts on Takahashi's life."
"Maybe he's just mad because of the crime and drug prevention programs
that the company has recently enacted. Those have probably cost Thorne
and lowlifes like him a lot of money."
"That's what Takahashi said, and it still doesn't ring true for me.
See, I checked up on Thorne's revenues, and they haven't really
changed much with the coming of the company's anti-crime campaigns,
effective as they may seem to be. What leads me to the conclusion
though is what one of the assassins said to me on the rooftop: that
Takahashi stole something from Thorne and that's why the assassins
were sent."
"I refuse to believe it," said Kay firmly, crossing her arms in front
of her.
"Fine, but at least keep the possibility open in your mind, and think
back over the past few weeks to anything suspicious you may have seen.
I don't expect you to agree with me, but I want you to be aware of my
position."
"Why? If you think my boss is a criminal, why come to me?" asked Kay.
Robin finished his soft drink and set it aside. "Because I trust you."
That caused Kay to be speechless for a moment. Then, slowly, she
leaned over the table and kissed Robin, gently touching her lips to
his. Another moment, and she pulled back. "Thanks," she said. "I'm
glad to know that."
"Uh . . .yeah." Robin was still a little off balance. "We should uh,
get back."
"Yeah." Kay stood up. "We should."
"Where is Robin?" asked Starfire as she finished packing her things
into the new room she would be sharing with Raven.
"He and Kay went off somewhere," said Raven over her shoulder as she
slipped five costumes identical to the one she wore into a drawer. She
turned around. "Why?"
"Just curious," said Starfire as neutrally as possible, even though
she was unable to keep the frown out of her voice.
"Y'know, maybe if you had acted sooner, Kay wouldn't be moving in your
territory."
"I have no territory."
"Exactly." Raven walked over to the bed, plopping down and letting the
springs bounce her up and down. "He was primed, yours for the taking."
"I really do not know what you are talking about. And you, Raven,
hardly seem qualified to give me advice on . . . .this."
"What are you talking about?"
"You and Beast Boy, that is what I am talking about. I know you like
like him, and I know he like likes you, yet you have never acted on
it. So do not tell me about what I should or should not have done
because whatever it is, you are guilty of the same."
Funny that Beast Boy should pop his head through the door at that
exact moment. "Hey!"
Go away," said Raven, telekinetically closing the door, only to have
Beast Boy pop his right through again.
"What is this? Girl talk?"
"Go away and forget everything you just heard."
"Beast Boy grinned smugly "I heard everything."
At first, a look of panic crossed both girls' features, but then
Raven's eyes narrowed. "Liar."
"No really."
"Then what were we talking about."
Beast Boy opened his mouth as if to say something, and then realized
he had nothing to say. "Okay, I admit it, I didn't hear whatever you
girls were talking about."
"I figured as much," said Raven. "Now what do you need?"
"Oh, Robin and Kay just got back and Robin says there's something he
wants us to see."
"Coming," said. Raven. "Now bye."
"Fine" Beast Boy stepped back and slammed the girls' bedroom door
shut.
Raven stood up. "We'd better go see what is," she suggested.
Starfire nodded. "I am sorry for snapping at you," she said. A wry
smile appeared on her lips. "You were right."
"So were you." She smiled. "At least you have good taste. I'm stuck on
a green, tofu-addicted vegan who chews with his mouth open and leaves
the toilet seat up."
Starfire giggled at the description, glad strangely enough that Raven
considered her trustworthy enough to reveal her feelings about Beast
Boy, and in turn Starfire could do the same about hers for Robin. "Let
us go see what Robin wants," she said, leading the way to the doorway.
Robin took a moment to be sure that everyone was gathered, and then he
spoke. "I trust everybody here has encountered little trouble finding
rooms," he began.
Cyborg jerked a thumb towards Beast Boy, a scowl on his face. "I still
don't get why I have to share a room with Greenie here. He's getting
fur all over the place!"
"Least I don't sit in a corner plugged into a wall and hogging up all
the outlets so that no one else can hook their video games up!" Beast
Boy shot back.
Robin rolled his eyes, then turned to Raven and Starfire. "You two?"
He knew their personalities weren't exactly complementary and wanted
to know if they were going to have problems being forced to share a
room.
"We're fine," said Star and Raven simultaneously.
"Oh. Good," said Robin, a little surprised. "Anyway: as Kay and I were
walking back-"
"Where were you guys?" interjected Raven.
"Wendy's. We were just talking. Now as I said, Kay and I are walking
back and I bump into someone on the sidewalk. I don't think much of it
but then I look on my cape and see a note attached."
Kay held a wrinkled yell Post-It up to the light. "It reads as
follows:" she continued. "'Titans, You can run but you can't hide
Takahashi forever. We found the downtown condo and we will find your
new hiding place. And when we do, you will experience the most
humiliating defeat of your careers. That we promise. ' Signed, 'Ana
and Karl'."
"They know about the condo?" gasped Starfire. "How?"
Robin shrugged. "Don't know. I'm more worried by the fact that they
may already know where our new safe house is. Naturally, I checked for
anyone tailing Kay and I but someone may have escaped my notice.
Especially whoever was sneaky enough to get this note on me in the
first place."
"Do you think we need to find another place?" asked Takahashi. "We
just got here."
Robin shook his head. "No, I don't think that will be necessary.
However, I'll need Cyborg to install some automatic machine gun linked
sentinels on all of the entrances to the safe house and put
surveillance cameras on a sweep pattern over a one mile radius."
"Sure," Cyborg agreed.
"Thanks. I don't know who these people: Ana and Karl are, but if they
do somehow find the safe house, we'll show them a thing or two about
humiliating defeat.
