Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans
Ch. 15: Calling Cards
Raph came groggily wandering down the stairs, into the living room. Stretching wide to wake his muscles. He noticed a head of black hair just barely peeking over the top of the couch. It wasn't Robin he was taller than that. And Raven would never be watching cartoons. Walking to the back of the couch, he smiled.
"So much for a one night stand, huh?" Jeremy grinned.
"Yeah, whoda thought?" Raph threw himself onto the couch propping his feet up on the table. Jeremy shoved another fistful of Cheetoes into his mouth, offering the bag to Raph.
"Isn't it a little early in the morning for Cheetoes?" Jeremy shook his head enthusiastically.
"There's no such thing as a bad time for Chetoes." Raph shrugged, taking the bag out of his hand. Reached into the bag, he pulled out a handful himself, and gave the bag back to Jeremy.
Raphael jumped up to the sound of the alarm, spilling cheetoes every which way. He could already hear the other Titans charging down the stairs.
"Time to go to work." Raph dashed out the door just after the rest of the Titans. Jeremy frowned, and walked back toward the kitchen. He was met half way by a happy sight as BB came charging back in.
"Don't leave. I'll be back." He kissed the boy on the cheek and ran back out the door. Jeremy chuckled to himself. Whoda thought.
"I got it." A woman spoke from inside the dark bank hall. Another man came form the shadows of the vault.
"Good, lets get the hell out of here then." The Woman grabbed a paper from the printer, and dashed back toward the man. Another man tore the door from its hinges, throwing it effortlessly to the ground. Before the alarm even registered, they were gone.
The titans crept carefully into the building, Robin at the head. They traveled in a tightly packed circle, each watching for any sign of danger. Raven hovered above, surrounded by a small shield.
"I sense no one Robin." Raven spoke. "Whoever it was, they're gone now." She carefully hovered back down to where the others were now scattering. Raven walked over to were Robin stood, arms crossed, examining the safe door.
"I've never seen anything like this before." He states as she approaches. "It's flawless, no calling cards, no fingerprints no distinguishing marks of any type." He touched the melted door, but quickly withdrew.
"Are you ok?" Raven asked.
"That's strange…" He looked at the door again, and quickly tapped it several times. "The door is hot. It should have cooled off a while ago."
"That's because they didn't cut the door to get in." Raphael stated as he strolled assuredly up to the two Titans. Robin looked back at Raph quizzically but quickly smiled.
"They were getting out." Robin stated proudly. He walked back over to the broken glass doors at the entrance to the bank. "But the door and the broken glass are inside, which means they were trying to make it look like they were breaking in from the outside."
"It also means that they didn't want us to know they'd broken in through the safe itself." Raph stated.
"There's something they don't want us to find." Robin and the rest of the Titans redirected their search inside looking for anything out of place. Raven chanced a glance back at Raph. He didn't join the rest of the Titans. Instead, he stood back.
"What's the matter?" She asked
"It doesn't make sense…" He walked back to the door, examining it carefully. "Why didn't they just go in take the money, and leave back through the vault? No one would have noticed until they opened it. That would have given them more time to get away."
"Well, the alarm was tripped."
"Ahh, but it was tripped when they broke the front door, not when they were actually in the safe." He walked back toward the entrance to the building, pointing one by one at the desks. "No, it's not that simple. They weren't breaking into the vault… they were breaking into the bank itself."
He turned back to Raven, smiling. "What's one thing the organized criminal values more than money?"
"You're the detective, you tell me." She smiled. He was enjoying this. She could see it in his face. It was that same odd sadistic little twinge in his lip he got when they watched the people get eaten by the monster in the horror movies. In his own sick little way, he enjoyed this.
"Information, my dear." He started walking from desk to desk hugging the computer towers. Cyborg came strolling back to he and Raven, wondering what was so important.
"…What is he doing?" Cyborg questioned. Raven turned to him and grinned.
"He's checking to see witch computer is hot, and in so, figuring out witch computer the criminals used." Raphael stopped and grinned back at Raven and Cyborg. He motioned for them to come.
"Can you figure out what files were accessed last on this computer?"
"Piece-o-cake. I'll have it in no time at all."
"Hey guys, come here for a second." Robin hollered. Raphael and Raven obliged. "Help me move this thing. I can fell air coming from behind." Together Raphael and Robin shoved the large shelf to one side, revealing a man-sized hole in the wall.
"It looks like some sort of acid ate through it." Robin scraped the wall with his bird-a-rang and watched in amazement as it dissolved. "A very powerful acid." He wrapped the bird-a-rang up and sealed it. Then preceded further into the tunnel, the other two titans close behind. Hit foot hit something, and he jumped back expecting the worst. Bu nothing happened. Kneeling down with a flashlight in hand he took a closer look. "What's the matter?" Raphael asked. Robin turned back to them, clutching in his hand what looked like a box of playing cards.
"It's too light to be a full deck, if it is a deck at all." The box still in hand, the Titans exited the dark tunnel and went back to the light of the vault.
"Well, what do you think?" Raven asked. "Should we call the bomb squad?" Raphael snatched the cards out of Robins hands and threw them the ground.
"Nope, no boom, no bomb."
"Jesus Christ Raph! Are you trying to kill us?" Robin screamed as he razed back up off the floor. Raven snatched the box back up and glared at Raph, who only smiled back. She quickly opened the box and poured out it's contents. There were six playing cards; a King of Hearts, a Queen of Diamonds, a Jack of Clubs with a big black X across it, an Ace of Spades, a ten of spades, and a King of Diamonds that was torn in half.
"It's a calling card," Robin stated. He picked up the Jack and examined it. "But who's I don't know." Raphael sat down in one of the chairs placed around the table.
"It's the Royal Flush Gang." He stated, "They're a group of professional criminals for higher." He picked up one half of the king of diamonds. "And By the looks of it, they're under new management."
"Yeah, I've heard of them," Robin sat down at the table opposite Raph. "But why are they here?" Cyborg came running in, a paper clutched in his hand.
"I got it." He set the paper down on the table in front of them. Robin reached out for the paper but stopped and looked back at Raph. He smiled and nodded to the boy wonder, who then snatched the paper up and began reading.
"It's a profile." He stood and began walking around the room. "Somebody named Jeremy Delephinki." BB tensed slightly and snatched the paper away from Robin.
"That's your friend isn't it Beast boy?" Raph smiled deviously, but BB didn't notice. He was too shocked.
"Whoever he is, he's in trouble." Robin threw the Jack back onto the table. "I think that X means he's next." BB threw the paper to the ground, and bolted out the door. The rest of the titans, hot on his heals… except Raph.
He carefully picked up the two halves of the King of Diamonds, and put them into his pocket. "The Royal Flush Gang. What a surprise." He pushed his chair back in and followed the rest of the Titans back to the tower.
Oh man, that was fun. I hope you liked it. Don't forget Reviews make me a happy person. Cya
