8. At the Manor

Terry opened the gate to the Wayne Manor and drove his cycle up to the manor, where a big black dog was waiting for him. Terry parked the cycle as the dog ran over to him and jumped up at him.

"Hi Ace, nice to see you too."

He sat Ace down and went up to the front door. Just as he reached the door it opened up and a middle age man came out.

"Hi, you must be Terry."

Terry nodded.

"I'm Dick, nice meeting you."

They shook hands.

"Well, come in. The Old Bat is waiting at you in the cave."

"You know?"

First Dick looked strangely at him, but then he smiled.

"You don't know who I am?"

Terry shook his head.

"Well, you maybe better know me as Robin or Nightwing."

"Dick?… are you Dick Greyson?"

"Jeps, that's me, but you better have to hurry down to Bruce. You know him."

Dick blinked to him.

So Terry went over to the old grandfather clock and walked down to the cave, where Bruce was sitting at the computer and was working on something. Terry went over to him.

"It was about time, McGinnis!"

"Well, I had school and …"

"Save me for you excuses. You forgot your phone!"

"What are you working on?"

Terry dropped his bag next to the Bat-computer. He had forgot to close it, so some of the stuff fell out. A pill bottle rolled over to Bruce's foot. Bruce saw it and picked it up. As he read the label a worried expression came over his face.

"Terry, is this yours?"

Terry nodded.

"Your mother said, that you was on medicine, but I had never thought it was this."

The last part he said so quietly, that Terry had problems hearing him. Bruce gave him back the pill bottle and after a worried look at Terry his eyes went back to the screen.

"Dick have had some problems with a guy in Bludhaven. He followed him here to Gotham, so he came to us."

"He has done some kidnappings of rich people back home."

Terry almost jumped five feet up in the air. He hadn't heard Dick coming.

"Is it somehow connected to the kidnappings here in Gotham?"

"I think so. There are some strong similarities between the cases back home and those here in Gotham."

"Dick thinks, that the guy is working with someone here in Gotham. After looking through the cases and comparing them together, I think you have right, Dick. There are too many similarities."

Bruce typed something at the keyboard, and a picture of a man came up on the screen.

"That's my friend."

Terry could hear the anger in Dick's voice.

"His last kidnapping went wrong. It was a plutocrat's daughter. He kidnap her, when she on her way home from a date. Well, to make a long story short. She tried to escape, but they caught her again. They did it by shooting her in the leg. Some neighbors saw it and called the police. When the police arrived the men barricade themselves in the house. In the end it came to a shoot-out between the police and the men. Unluckily some of the men got away. When the shoot-out was over the police found her in a pool of blood. The men had tried to take her with them, but she couldn't walk on her leg, so they had just shoot her."

It was silent in the cave for a moment.

"Was she dead?"

"No, but she died later due to the shot."

No more words were necessary. Both Terry and Bruce understood Dick's feelings. Dick had like them tried to protect the citizens against crimes like that, but had also tried to miss. They couldn't be all places all the time. It was something that they had come to terms with, but still it hurt when it happened.

Terry looked at the picture.

"How do you know it was him?"

"The neighbors saw him running after the girl, when she fled. They also say it was him, who shoot her in the leg. That bullet was the same as the one that killed her."

"So I'm after a killer. Where can I find him?"

"He likes to gamble. There is high-stakes poker game tonight, which I think he will show up to. It is too much a chance for him."

Terry was about to walk over to the dressing room, when Bruce stopped him.

"You don't need to change now."

"Why?"

"The poker game isn't on until 9, and if they see Batman snooping around they would probably move it. We are only interested in the man."

"That's fine with me. I have a date."

"With Dana?"

Bruce recognized the pain in Terry eyes.

"No, it's a new girl from school. Call me, when it's time."

Before anyone could say more had Terry left the cave.

"You're getting soft in your old days, old man."

Bruce didn't even look at the younger man.

"He doesn't need to be kept in a short leash like you did."