That night
Gordon stormed towards the roof, gnashing his teeth angrily, while Rebecca followed, also fuming.
She had reported in as ordered, but as expected they had found almost nothing. Everything they did find led to the Chinese businessman Lau, but he'd already left the country by the time they'd arrived at the banks. By the time they'd worked out he had been the one behind the mob's finances, he was already long outside their jurisdiction. But that was just the beginning of their worries.
Obviously, Lau had been tipped off well in advance of their imminent strike; the only question was, who was the mole, or moles? The whole plan had been kept pretty tightly under wraps, and Rebecca could probably count on her fingers the number of people who could have informed the mob early enough for them to move this quickly.
And given that she was certain she could cross off at least three if not four of those people (including herself)...
Gordon threw open the roof door, his eyes narrowing as he spotted Harvey Dent and Batman already there, the former having gone ahead and switched on the Bat Signal.
Both men turned to face the latest arrivals as Gordon strode forward to shut the Signal off while Rebecca remained closer to the doorway.
"Lau's halfway to Hong Kong." Harvey snapped at her and Gordon, as if they didn't know it already. "If you'd have asked, I could have taken his passport! I told you to keep me in the loop!"
"All that was left in the vaults were marked bills." Gordon snarled back as he turned to face Harvey. "They knew we were coming! As soon as your office got involved-!"
"My office?!" Harvey interrupted sharply, bristling at the accusation. "You're sitting down there," he jabbed at the station below their feet, "with scum like Wuertz and Ramirez, and you're talking-"
He broke off, his eyes narrowing as he said in a mockingly sincere tone, "Oh yeah, Gordon. I almost had your rookie cold on a racketeering beef!"
"Okay, boys, that's enough!" Rebecca cut in before Gordon could retort.
"Harvey, we know that not everyone in the GCPD is completely clean, including in the MCU." She added as Harvey began to open his mouth. "But if we chased them out, we wouldn't have a team, period, and that's even less efficient. Just like you can't flush out everyone in your team either."
As Harvey started to speak again, Rebecca carried on pointedly, "We can dig for moles later – right now, our priority should be getting to Lau."
Harvey's jaw clenched, but he had to agree with the logic in her statement; so instead of griping some more, he turned to Batman – who had been silent through the whole exchange – and he explained, "We need Lau back, but the Chinese won't extradite a national under any circumstances."
"If I get him for you," Batman countered, "can you get him to talk?"
"I'll get him to sing." Harvey answered without missing a beat, his blue eyes steely with promise.
"We're going after the mob's life savings." Gordon interjected, looking at Harvey in particular. "Things will get ugly."
Harvey turned to face Gordon seriously as he replied firmly, "I knew the risks when I took this job, Lieutenant."
The blond man then turned back towards Batman as he began, "How will you get him back, any-?"
He broke off, blinking as he looked around at the now empty space on the rooftop, Batman having disappeared sometime during Harvey's speech. Harvey turned back to Rebecca and Gordon incredulously, but the two officers just shrugged.
"He does that." Gordon informed the younger man with all the tried patience of a man who had been through what Dent was feeling many, many times.
The next night
"Wow." Bruce winced as Rebecca dragged herself into the Batcave. "Rough nights?"
"You have no idea." She groaned as she slumped down into Bruce's desk chair. "Gordon's got the whole office working around the clock – to at least put up the pretense that we're still looking for the mob's cash – while he and I are digging for those moles."
"So you haven't been sleeping?" Bruce asked in concern, and Rebecca teased tiredly, "Guess it's my turn."
Bruce moved to massage her shoulders for her, and Rebecca leant back into his touch with a sigh.
"That feels good." She hummed appreciatively, and Bruce chuckled.
"Want me to make you feel even better?" He asked teasingly, his grin widening as Rebecca shot him a look. "I'm just messing with you, Becky."
"I know." She answered as she leant back into his hands again as he worked the knots out of her shoulder muscles. "But I do get the feeling you're not joking sometimes."
"Becky, we've talked about this." Bruce reminded her as she tilted her head back up to look at him. "Until things slow down around us, I promised you we'd take us slowly."
"I know." Rebecca repeated, stressing the words to emphasize that she wasn't feeling pressured. "I guess you could say it's because sometimes… I don't want you to be just joking either."
Bruce raised a brow, before he smirked as he answered cheekily, "Well, it probably is hard for you to keep your hands off this."
He gestured at his t-shirt and jeans clad body, and Rebecca rolled her eyes as she jabbed him playfully with her elbow.
"Yes, Bruce; I just can't keep my hands off your expensive shirt." She joked; because even though it was a plain black shirt, knowing Bruce, it probably still cost more than the average person's whole outfit.
"You're sure it isn't that you want my expensive shirt off?" Bruce quipped back, and he pretended to bend over in pain when Rebecca jabbed him again.
"Ow…" He whined, winking at her, and Rebecca laughed. "Kiss me better?"
"You're impossible." Rebecca laughed, though she obliged him.
Bruce kissed her back enthusiastically, his 'pain' gone as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to the edge of the chair so that she was closer to him while he deepened their kiss.
"Master Wayne – oh."
Rebecca laughed as she broke away from Bruce while he groaned.
"Can't you knock, Alfred?" Bruce complained as he turned to look at the elderly butler, who answered dryly, "I would if there was an actual door, Master Wayne."
"This is starting to not even be embarrassing any more." Rebecca chuckled while Bruce continued to grumble and Alfred walked up.
"I have everything you requested, sir, and Mr. Fox delivered the new suit here as well." Alfred explained as he walked over, wheeling a large trunk and smaller box on a porter's trolley while he carried some rolls of paper under his arm.
"The new suit?" Rebecca asked, perking up with interest, while Bruce said, "Okay, let's put it here for now."
Alfred moved to place the case on one side of the room, while Rebecca stood up, pulling an amused Bruce with her as she walked over to the case curiously.
"What is it like?" Rebecca asked, and Bruce chuckled as he clicked the case open.
"The Kevlar plates have been hardened onto a titanium-dipped fibre tri-weave." Bruce explained. "It's lighter so I can be faster – more agile."
"Okay, I only really understood the second part of that, but at least that part sounds good." Rebecca said wryly as she ran her hand over the new suit, while Alfred nodded with more understanding of the more technical explanations.
However, even Rebecca could feel the metal on the suit was lighter, and smoother – the design more compact than before, and she admired the fine weave as Bruce continued, "The spread also gives me more flexibility."
"So you can turn your head now, sir?" Alfred asked with a cheeky smile, and Rebecca laughed while Bruce snorted.
"I'm glad you found it so amusing." He muttered, and Rebecca teased, "Well, I like it – the old design did make kissing you in your suit an interesting experience at times."
It was Alfred's turn to snort now while Bruce pulled Rebecca into his arms, cradling her back against his chest so he could snuggle his face into the crook of her neck, burying his head in her red hair.
"I didn't hear you complaining." He muttered as he inhaled the familiar, soft smell of vanilla and coffee, and Rebecca shrugged.
"I wasn't." She answered lightly, and Bruce laughed while Alfred shook his head fondly at the pair.
He then frowned at the suit slightly as he asked, "Won't the spread of the plates increase your weak spots, though, Master Wayne?"
Rebecca frowned as she realized Alfred was right, while Bruce shrugged.
"It's a trade-off that I'm willing to make." Bruce answered easily. "The suit's a little more vulnerable to knives and gunfire, but now I can move faster to avoid situations where I would be getting stabbed."
"You can't avoid everything all the time, though." Rebecca murmured in concern, but Bruce answered firmly, "I'll be careful. I promised, Becky; and I'm a keeper of my word."
She smiled slightly, relaxing as Bruce kissed her temple fondly, while Alfred nodded as he agreed with Bruce, "I suppose I have to agree with you, sir; the weak points will be a small price to pay for improved agility."
"Exactly." Bruce nodded, and Rebecca asked, "Is there anything else you'd care to show us, Batman?"
Alfred smiled, while Bruce chuckled again though he did nod.
"There's also this." Bruce answered as he lifted one of the gauntlets, where the scallops were now hidden inside until popped out.
He then clicked another part, and Rebecca jumped slightly as the scallops went flying out like shurikens.
The blades imbedded themselves in the target on the other side of the room, and Rebecca admitted as she recovered from her surprise, "That is cool."
Bruce smiled, before turning to Alfred.
"Did you find what I asked you for, Alfred?" He asked, getting down to business again.
Rebecca leant back into Bruce, entwining her left hand absently with his as Alfred pulled the smaller box onto the worktable, explaining, "This is the parachute harness."
Bruce leant around Rebecca to pick the harness up with his right hand, examining it, while Alfred unrolled his papers as he continued, "As for the 'Sky Hook' program plane, I found one. In Arizona."
He showed the plan to Bruce, who leant over to look it over as Alfred continued, "Very nice man says it will take him a week to get it running. And he takes cash."
Bruce nodded, satisfied, while Rebecca asked with a puzzled frown, "What's a 'Sky Hook' program?"
"The CIA developed it in the '60s." Alfred explained. "It was used to pull people up onto a plane without having to land the plane first."
"Okay…" Rebecca said warily.
Bruce hugged her soothingly, and Rebecca passed over voicing repetitive worries as she just said, "I think I'd rather not know."
Alfred nodded before he looked at Bruce as he commented, "However, we don't have a flight crew."
"I got that." Bruce answered. "South Korean smugglers – they run flights into Pyongyang, below radar the whole way."
He then looked back at Alfred as he added, "Did you think of an alibi?"
"Yes, I did." Alfred answered, with an apologetic glance towards Rebecca.
She knew that look, as did Bruce, and he made a face while Rebecca muttered, "Well, at least you won't actually be spending the whole time with her - since you'll apparently be parachuting off and then back on a flying plane."
"With them." Alfred corrected, before Bruce could reply, causing both Bruce and Rebecca to raise their brows.
"'Them'?"
One week later
Rebecca shook her head in amusement as she looked at the article in the daily paper.
'Love Boat: Billionaire Absconds With Entire Russian Ballet,' the title screamed. There was also a picture of said 'boat' which was more of a very expensive yacht, and a picture of Bruce coming out of Wayne Tower, dressed to the nines because the paps couldn't get close enough to the yacht to take pictures of Bruce supposedly hanging out with a whole troupe of ballerinas.
And Rebecca knew if they hadn't gotten one before this morning, they weren't going to be able to get one at all. Alfred had sent her a message earlier that afternoon to let her know Bruce had safely boarded his plane and was on his way to Hong Kong, since Bruce couldn't risk jeopardizing his mission by sending any calls or messages.
Now, all they could do was wait for Batman to deliver on his promise to bring in Lau; well, that was all Gordon and Harvey could do. Rebecca and Alfred also prayed Bruce would come back safe and mostly intact.
She put down the paper and was just getting back to work when her phone beeped; and Rebecca glanced over to see it was a message from Rachel.
'Are you busy?' It read, and Rebecca frowned.
Putting aside the case file she'd been working on – despite it being the weekend – she called her sister.
"What's up, Rach?" Rebecca asked, and Rachel answered irritably, "Nothing too much; I just need someone to vent to, so if you're busy I can wait."
"No, it's all right." Rebecca reassured. "It's technically dinner time so I can afford to call my sister at least."
"Did you see the article about Bruce?" Rachel asked, and Rebecca glanced at said article lying under her files on her desk.
"Yeah?" She answered, and Rachel exhaled sharply as she admitted, "Harvey was going to take me to see the ballet tonight – except, obviously, it got cancelled after a certain billionaire took off with the entire cast."
Oh. Rebecca winced.
"I'm sorry, Rach." Rebecca said sincerely, and Rachel grumbled, "I mean, Harvey's being really sweet about it and taking me to a nice dinner instead - he's gone to fetch the car right now, by the way – but I just needed to vent my frustration right now."
"I'm sorry, again, Rachel." Rebecca said sympathetically. "You don't seem to be having much luck in your dates thanks to Bruce."
"Next time, I think I'm going to ask him what his deal is." Rachel huffed. "You'd think he was doing it on purpose."
'… I can't tell her it's actually because he's Batman and she just happened to be dating Harvey Dent.' Rebecca thought, feeling that headache again.
"Anyway, sorry, I just needed to get it off my chest." Rachel sighed. "How are you doing, by the way? We don't see each other enough lately."
"Well, with you being assistant DA and dating Harvey, and me being Sergeant of the MCU, I think we're lucky we still see each other at all." Rebecca joked and Rachel laughed.
"That is true." She admitted. "I guess that means when you get a boyfriend, we might end up never seeing each other."
And there was the guilt again. Rebecca winced to herself but kept her tone light as she answered, "Maybe you shouldn't be crossing your fingers for it to happen, then, Rach."
"I still say you should find a good guy – someone better than Bruce." Rachel answered. "Someone who'll only look at you, and treats you like the darling you are. Someone-"
"-Like Harvey?" Rebecca teased; and also to cut her sister off. Rachel's rant on why Bruce was supposedly not a good 'crush' was only making Rebecca feel the need to defend Bruce – which, in turn, reminded her of her guilt for withholding information from her sister.
"Yes, like Harvey." Rachel admitted. "It's too bad he doesn't have a brother or something."
Rebecca made a face as she answered, "Thanks, Rach, but you can keep Harvey Dent; and I'll be fine."
"Sure you will." Rachel answered. "Oh, oops, Harvey's here. Gotta go – love you, Becky."
"Love you too, Rach." Rebecca answered, before sighing as Rachel hung up on her.
'I need coffee.' She thought tiredly. 'All this back and forth is making my head spin.'
The next morning
Rebecca was still working, as was most of the rest of the MCU, when Ramirez came running into the office.
"Lieutenant!" She called urgently as she ran passed everyone else to Gordon's office, knocking on his door while Gordon looked up. "You'll want to see this!"
He blinked, before his eyes widened as he thought he could guess what it might be. He and Rebecca exchanged looks as they all hurried up out of their seats, rushing out of the building to where Ramirez had been gesturing.
Rebecca had to smile slightly as she and Gordon stopped, right outside the station, where Lau was sitting – trussed up like a turkey – with a note taped to his chest: 'Please Deliver to Lieutenant Gordon.'
Gordon was also fighting a smile as he nodded for the other officers to take Lau and bring him into the station, but when he met eyes with Rebecca once more, the pair couldn't help but share their amused smiles.
Batman had made good on his promise; and Rebecca was relieved that at least it appeared Bruce had gotten back all right.