A/N: Thanks, everyone, for your patience! Holidays got crazy but I'll get to this as often as I can. Believe me, I have plans for this one. ;)
jltvaughn I thoroughly appreciate your reviews! It means a lot to know that there's interest and I will do my best to keep things posted on the regular.
To all my reviewers, dgraysongsgirl, danger. grinned. hello, AnisYamamoto, Shewhowillnotbenamed1, James and Alyssa thanks for your support as well. Every bit helps.
Chapter 9
Raven twirled the pen in her fingers as she chewed her lower lip, her hair spilling over her shoulder and her brow furrowed in concentration. She looked up from the ledger in her lap when she felt a tingling sensation raising the hairs on the back of her neck and saw Jason staring at her, the laptop that had been sitting in his lap now laying forgotten on the bed beside him.
She grabbed the pillow next to her and threw it at his face, which he batted away with ease.
"We're supposed to be researching, Jason," she admonished. "Remember? Making sure our evidence is enough for conviction, coming up with a plan on making sure none of them weasel their way out, deciphering if anything is hidden in the info that the police might miss, taking anything we discover to the police? Any of it ringing a bell?"
He pushed the papers between them aside and crawled across the bed to where she sat cross-legged amid the pillows with her own copies of the stolen syndicate paperwork strewn around her. The look on his face was absolutely predatory as he pierced her with an unwavering stare. She stared him down with a rebuking look, but couldn't help the slight smile ghosting her lips and the thrill that went down her spine.
"I know," he said, placing his hands on either side of her hips where she sat and leaning over her, causing her to lean back into the pillows. "But we've been over it a dozen times. I think we're solid, considering that we have no experience in this kind of analysis and you know as well as I that we're not likely to find anything the police won't. Plus you are so damn distracting."
She placed a hand on his chest, preventing him from leaning down and kissing her.
"Jason, no," she laughed. "We won't discover anything if we keep . . . getting distracted."
She blushed a smoky rose and Jason couldn't help but be enchanted all over again. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her hand off of his chest and he took the ledger out of her other hand at the same time. Raven offered no resistance, smiling a little secret smile up at him even as she shook her head. He tossed the ledger at the foot of the bed and gave her his most devious smirk.
"You're impossible," she whispered into his hair as he kissed her neck, not letting go of her slim wrist and holding it against the pillow at the side of her head. She hummed as he found all the spots along the column of her neck that sent tingles through her nerves.
They had arrived back at Jason's condo the previous day and spent the next hour going back and forth trying to convince each other of their points: Jason trying to convince Raven that he was the worst possible thing for her and Raven trying to convince Jason that not everything that happens is on him or his fault. She pointed out that what he saw as distracting her from meditating had actually renewed her more than those scant few minutes of mediation could possibly have done. She finally managed to persuade him to believe that there was true, genuine good in what they had together and then they had found themselves tumbling back into the sheets together.
The next several hours were spent between physical bliss and intimate conversation. Raven had mused at one point that usually people had these conversations first and then found themselves in bed together. Jason had laughed and told her that they just weren't conventional like that. But, he reminded her, they did have one long all night conversation in the hospital. So diving into bed together was totally legitimate.
They had awakened in the morning and decided that they were going to dive into the copies of the stolen documents that had been delivered late the previous evening. They had to make sure everything was iron clad or those families would either have to stay in hiding or be forced to come out and testify. Each was dangerous and no life to live.
They had muddled through the papers and files while Jason sent someone he trusted to the police with the original documents. They had decided to go through the copies several more times to see if anything new came to light. They'd bring any new findings to the police should they uncover something. But the more they went over the papers again the more they slid back into taking distraction in each other. Raven had found herself annoyed at the fact that they couldn't focus. Just not annoyed enough to put a stop to it. He had a point when he mentioned that they were far from experienced in this sort of thing.
"Jason," she whispered in an admonishing manner one more time, though they could both hear that her heart was no longer in it.
"They have experts, Little Bird", he whispered in her ear. "And they have resources in Gotham they can collaborate with. This syndicate is established there too. The evidence we sent over is damning. I don't think our inexpert analysis is going to be the thing to crack the case. So relax, and let me thank you properly for your help in all this."
It wasn't long before the floor was strewn with forgotten paperwork and discarded clothing. The duvet eventually slipped from the bed a little at a time and joined the rest in a tangled heap. Before long the occupants of the bed found themselves on the floor as well, wincing and laughing at the absurdity of being so wrapped up in one another that they would misjudge where the edge of the bed was.
Jason brushed hair from her laughing face and smiled at her, loving to hear her laugh but so ready to hear more of the sounds he elicited from her just minutes before.
They began to fall asleep on the floor some time later, wrapped in the duvet with their arms wrapped around one another, both still marveling in what they had found in the other. Raven toyed with his hair as he drifted off, feeling peaceful and contented. The moment was perfect.
Jason's cell phone went off on the nightstand.
O • O • O • O
Cyborg yawned as he walked into the comm room, bleary eyed from sleep. Or rather lack thereof. He hadn't been sleeping well, which was saying something for him since sleep usually came with a recharge that knocked him out. But he hadn't been able to really relax since Raven was taken from the hospital. He was living off recharges of his mechanical parts while his human parts had to make do with semi consciousness that proved rather restless.
Two days. She had missing now for over two days. And while she had contacted Robin just yesterday her communication had held no comfort. She hadn't sounded like she was speaking against her will but there was no way they could be sure. They hadn't been able to trace the call and her comm had been offline since the day she disappeared.
He saw the noise that had drawn him into the comm room and blinked in surprise at the face he saw on the large monitor. He'd only met the man a handful of times, but he knew him instantly. He had a bearing about him that seemed to scream his integrity. His job was a daunting one but he remained uncorrupted by it, which was no small feat.
It wasn't easy being the Commissioner of Gotham City.
"I'll be there in an hour," Robin said to his old friend. "We can discuss it in person."
"I wish you were seeing me under better circumstances," Gordon replied, "but, of course, I'll help you out with whatever you need however I can."
Robin nodded and the screen went blank. He turned around and Cyborg could see the exhaustion in his face.
"Did you sleep at all, man?" he asked laying a hand on his shoulder. His leader shrugged off his hand and shook his head.
"I can't," was his only reply.
"Hey, I get it. I'm worried too. But you can't go on running on nothing. We won't get her back that way."
"That's why I'm getting help," he growled. "Whatever Red X has done that's keeping her in danger we will find out and we will put a stop to it. I'm going to make sure of it."
"What kind of help?" Cyborg asked, leaning against the console. "We calling in East on this one or are we, uh-" he looked back at the now black screen, "-going for a bigger league?"
Robin leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, blinking the dryness from his eyes. "Nothing along those lines yet," he replied. "Bumblebee says that East has a major issue of their own to work out but that they'd be at our disposal as soon as they had it sorted. And there's no reason to get the big guns involved yet until I know more. But that's why I called Gordon. He was already on his way to Jump on business and I'm meeting him in an hour. He has resources we can use."
Cyborg lay a hand on Robin's shoulder again, not letting him shrug him off this time, and waited for him to meet his eyes.
"She's gonna be okay, man. If I know anything about her I know that she's strong. Whatever is going on she's gonna give Red X hell. We'll find her, Robin."
"She lied to me, Cy," Robin said, his eyes narrowing at the memory. "He was there with her in the hospital, all night, and she lied about it. Then she calls and says everything is fine?! She speaks of getting shot like it's no big deal and then rushes off with no other explanation! There has to be a reason that she's doing this. "
"Hey, however Red X is manipulating her to keep her away from us -"
"I think that's what worries me most, Cyborg!" Robin interrupted. "That maybe he's not keeping her from us. That she's staying of her own will. And I think that might be worse."
"Why would she do that?"
"I don't know! But she seemed herself when I saw her at the hospital. She wasn't under duress, she wasn't out of character. She lied to me, about Red X at the hospital and maybe even about all the weird encounters we've been having with him lately. She's been acting so strange after fights with him and he's been weirdly uncharacteristic and now I'm starting to wonder if it's all related. And now she's gone and I still don't know why."
He rose to his feet and walked to the door, stopping to look at his friend over his shoulder.
"But I am going to find out. And whatever is going on Red X is going to pay."
Cyborg watched him stalk out of the room and knew that it was best not to follow. When Robin was this volatile nothing was going to bring him out of it until he had some time to reflect. He did not handle helplessness well and never had. And with a missing teammate lost to the hands of a nemesis like Red X, helpless was exactly how they all felt.
With a sigh Cyborg took Robin's seat at the comm console and switched the monitor back on and pulled up the files on Red X. He'd already gone through all of it but he had no choice but to do it again. He had to help find her and hope that this mystery would finally be explained.
As much as he meant what he said about her strength and capability, she was still like his little sister and he couldn't help but worry for her. Red X was a wildcard, they knew very little about him. And that meant that he was difficult to predict. He hoped that, if she was staying with him of her own volition, that she knew what she was doing. He hoped that she was okay.
O • O • O • O
"You don't have to do this, Little Bird. Not for me. We can find another way."
Raven looked over her shoulder at him as she dressed, her eyebrow cocked in a way that told Jason that he didn't really have a say in her decision.
"This is the easiest of decisions, Jason," she scoffed. "The police want a witness and no one else can come forward; you and your contacts can't risk getting caught and I can't let any of those families put themselves in danger without the chance to think it through. If I go in and do this then I buy enough time for them to get their affairs in order before putting a target on themselves with the syndicate if they come forward as well. I can make sure police protections are in place before they do."
Jason remained stubbornly reclined on the floor tangled in the duvet and watching her with concern written all over his face. His phone lay lost beside him in the duvet after he had taken the call, his contact revealing the police's need for an eye witness to the data they'd been delivered.
"Don't act like I'm not right," Raven continued, coming over to kneel beside him. "I have the least to lose. I'm a Titan. Even if all this came about from associating with . . ." he raised an eyebrow at her, ". . . less than law abiding citizens, the consequences for me are far less than those for anyone else."
She pulled her hair over her shoulder and turned her back to him, presenting the zipper on the back of her leotard so he could help her zip it. He took a moment, still running through the idea of her going on record as a witness, before he sighed and sat up. This was one fight he just didn't see himself winning.
But it didn't mean he wasn't going to try. And he wasn't above playing dirty.
"Doesn't mean we can't stop and think for a second before you go rushing off and ruining your reputation," he whispered against the exposed skin of her back as he grabbed the zipper. He saw her tremble and smirked, laying a line of kisses up her spine as he slowly zipped her up. Her back arched as he forged his path. He pulled the zipper up the rest of the way and pulled her backward into his lap. He continued kissing his way across her shoulder blade and up the side of her neck.
"Jason," she breathed, intending to sound chastising but only succeeding in making him relish his name on her lips and he held her more tightly to him.
"You don't even want to talk about this?" he asked against the skin of her neck. "Take ten minutes to see if there's a way for you to not get tangled up in this and have this black spot on your honor?"
She turned to him and kissed him briefly. "Associating with you is hardly a black spot on any part of my life, Jason. Remind me to fill you in on my past someday. Believe me, I've done a lot worse." She rested her forehead against his. "I'm not even sure you could be considered a black spot at all."
"Still," he murmured, "all they're going to see is that you ran off with a known thief and enemy of the Titans, broke into a – from outward appearances – legitimate business and residence, and assaulted two men before even knowing for certain that there were children being held there. They're going to say that you flouted protocol and they're going to nail you to the wall for it."
She shifted and leaned over him, causing him to recline back.
"Maybe I don't care," she said menacingly, mirroring his words and posture from back in the hospital room days before.
He grabbed her by the waist and flipped her to the side before she had a chance to react, rolling over her so he was on top and straddling her waist.
"But I do."
She sighed and stared up at him.
"Do you have any other ideas, Jason? Anything else that doesn't actually put someone's life in danger? I'll take a blow to my reputation, a suspension from duty, whatever they want if no one else has to risk their lives or freedom. So I'm all ears, Jason. Give me another option."
Of course he didn't have one.
So he did the only thing he could think of to distract her.
She sighed as he swooped down to claim her lips with his, but she didn't push him away either. She pulled him deeper before parting from him, the serious expression on her face letting him know that he wasn't going to be able to distract her from leaving. He heaved a sigh and rolled off of her, laying his head dejectedly on the floor.
She rose and cupped his cheek with her hand. He nuzzled into it before laying a kiss in her palm.
"I guess this is what I get for falling for a hero, huh? Too fucking good for her own damn good."
She smirked at him.
"What can I say? Annoying you has always been a specialty of mine."
He laughed as she turned toward the door, wondering exactly what he had gotten himself into in dragging Raven into all of this. But she smiled at him reassuringly as she slipped out the door and he couldn't help the smile that came to his face.
Stealing her had to be the best decision he'd ever made.
O • O • O • O
It had been a rough few hours.
Jason had called ahead and let his contact at the precinct know that a witness was coming, but that they wanted to keep their anonymity if possible. They had promised to take her in without fanfare but couldn't guarantee anonymity past that. Raven had accepted those terms.
She had shown up to the police station after a brief stop to pick up a pair of jeans, a black tank top, and a zippered hoodie to replace the leotard that was close to falling apart after all she'd been through the last couple of days. She kept her hood up as she entered the building and only dropped it after being escorted to the interrogation room with the two officers in charge of the case.
They hadn't known what kind of witness they were taking in today, but the sorceress of the Titans was probably the last person they expected.
She explained what had happen at the syndicate headquarters that night; how she had gotten a tip from a witness of the trafficking going on and how she had entered using stealth that she knew the police would be unable to utilize. She explained that her witness, her contact, had pulled Red X in because of his unique skills to help her and how their finesse was what had been needed, which was why she had gone through this without the help of the other Titans.
There were questions, of course.
So. Many. Questions.
But in the end they were quite pleased with the results. They shared secret smiles and slight nods of the head with the Titan as they made sure, without having to spell it out, that she knew they were glad that she had done what she had done. But on paper they had to condemn her methods, which they obviously didn't like doing, but Raven tried to convey that she understood the necessity of doing as such.
They told her that they had a strong case, but that they weren't going to get anywhere without testimonies from the families involved.
She had told them that she understood, but that she needed the clear conscious to know that there would be proper securities in place for these families. After detailing plans and reassurances Raven was satisfied with the results. She promised further communication with them and that she would see what she could do about procuring witnesses on the victims' side of the case.
The lead investigator was the only one remaining in the room with her when she was told that she was free to go. He walked with her to the door of the interrogation room and paused before opening the door.
"I just want to say thank you," he said, hurriedly, as if unsure that he had wanted to say the words out loud. Now that he was committed he continued more steadily. "I wanted to thank you for what you did. We've been trying to take down this syndicate for years. I had family indebted to them once upon a time, a brother. And he has a little girl, six years old this year. When I think about how that could have been them . . ."
Raven lay a hand on his shoulder and nodded, letting him know that she understood what he was saying. She smiled a small smile at him and he nodded back.
"If there's anything we can do for you, just let us know," he said.
"Actually, do you mind if I stay here for a minute?" she asked. "Collect myself? My powers . . . I need to keep them in check and -"
"You can take all the time you need," he interjected. "I'll let everyone know to steer clear. You can leave whenever you'd like."
"Thank you," she said, sincerely. Her exhaustion and relief at having a moment to herself creeping into her voice and he smiled at her before closing the door behind him.
She leaned against the wall and slid down it, slumping to the floor and taking a deep breath. She hadn't had a moment to herself in days. She took time to just be and it felt like taking a breath of air after spending too long underwater.
She considered taking the time to meditate, but before she could make a decision she heard voices in the hall outside of the door and her heart stopped in panic.
"She's been gone for almost three days now, Jim, and I don't know what to do. We're not sure if he's holding her or what's going on, but I know that she's in danger and I have to find her."
Robin's voice cut through her and she clamped down on their bond so that he would not feel her spike in emotions and reveal to him that she was there. She knew that she should step out and reveal herself, but she wasn't sure what she would say. She still had to figure out what this thing was that had developed between her and Jason and she had to do that before she tried to explain anything to Robin. If he saw her now she'd be under full surveillance immediately and she wasn't ready to be barred from Jason yet, no matter how long.
"I'll do whatever I can to help," another, older voice replied. "Just let me know what you need."
"I need her back, Jim. She . . . she means more to me than I can properly explain. I can't stand not knowing whether or not she's alright. I need her back."
The conviction and emotion in his voice staggered Raven. Something in her was screaming to go into the hall and let Robin know she was here, but the temptation was lessened as the voices moved down the hall and out of earshot. She reached for the knob before deciding against it. She reminded herself how poorly Robin could react when he was furious. She'd be put on lockdown at the tower and Jason would be forced to swing in and do something stupid when she didn't show up as planned. She had to avoid that confrontation until she could figure out this mess that she was now in. She leaned her head against the door and sighed.
What the hell am I doing? she asked herself. He still deserves an explanation.
She looked back to the table in the center of the room and grabbed the pad of paper that lay upon it. She wrote a hasty note, explaining to Robin what had happened with the syndicate. That she had saved a room full of children and that it had been Red X's plan and his participation that made it possible. She wrote that she was fine and safe and that she would call as soon as she was able and explain things fully. She wrote that she was sorry and that she would return to him soon, asking him to trust her in the meantime.
She folded the letter and opened the door, peeking out to make sure she didn't run into Robin before she was ready. She gave the note to the lead detective of the syndicate case and asked him to give it to Robin after she had left. He looked at her in surprise, wondering why she wouldn't speak with her leader herself, but he nodded and promised that he would. She thanked him and phased out of the police station and onto the street outside.
Her heart was beating rapidly as she walked away from the station, pulling her hood up as she went. She had only gone a block when an arm shot out from the alley as she passed and she was pulled into the shadows and her back pressed against the wall.
She called her powers to her hands before she heard a voice whisper in her ear, "You were gone so long, Little Bird. You had me worried."
She felt her muscles relax at the familiar voice and she recalled her powers from her hands, using them to shove Jason to the opposite wall of the alley instead.
"Why are you incapable of starting a normal conversation without resorting to kidnapping or pinning me to a wall?" she chastised, letting out a small laugh. "You fucking scared me."
"Well, turn about is fair play," Jason responded, stepping back up to her and pinning her shoulders to the wall, his voice a mix of mischief and veiled concern. "You scared me too. You've been gone for hours, Little Bird."
"You could have called," she said, pulling the burner phone from his condo out of her back pocket. "And don't tell me you forgot the number."
"You know me. I like to do things in person." He stepped up so his body was flush against hers, not releasing his grip on her shoulders. "Besides, the tracker in the phone is how I knew you were still at the station. But I'll admit I was afraid they were going to detain you."
She rolled her eyes. "Of course you put a tracker on me." She eyed him and cocked her head to the side. "You had to show up in the suit? This close to the police station? You really are an idiot."
"I think I'm safer around the police station as Red X than as myself, don't you think? I know a few of those officers. They got transferred here from Gotham once they made promotion. Couldn't chance them recognizing my face, Sunshine."
She nodded her understanding.
"It's alright," she said, finally telling him what he came to hear. "They believed me when I told them I had confirmation from a witness before I went in. While they're not necessarily pleased that I didn't involve them, or of my methods in general, this is the biggest break they've had in the case in years. They were willing to let some things slide. Even the mess I caused when I went back in to rescue you." She smirked up at him. "They're not thrilled about the 'Red X's involvement, my rescue of said thief, and you subsequent escape' part but . . . like I said, they were willing to let some things slide. Everything is fine Ja-"
She paused for a moment, looking at Jason's mask and realizing how quickly she could let his identity slip. She cursed herself and made a note to be more vigilant while he was masked.
"Everything is fine, X. I was going to call you once I was clear of the station."
He let out a long sigh and rested his forehead against hers.
"I cannot tell you how relieved I am, Little Bird. Either way I just couldn't wait any longer. I was going to give you another hour before doing something stupid. Then I saw you come out of the station and . . . I couldn't stay away from you any longer."
She could feel herself succumbing to the calm that she felt around him, but her thoughts drifted back to the police station and who was inside still looking for her. Jason looked into her eyes and could clearly see that she was visibly shaken, and not from his sudden appearance or her encounter with the police.
"What's wrong, Raven? Something has you spooked."
"Robin was there," she confessed. "He was talking with someone who said they'd help him look for me."
Red X stilled and she could see his jaw clench even through the mask. He reached out and stroked her face, but didn't say anything.
"I left him a note. I didn't know what to say yet, and I knew that if I went to him I wouldn't make it back to you as agreed. I knew it would force you to do something stupid, so . . . I left him a note. But I need to explain everything to him, X. In person, and soon. I owe him that."
"Yes," came another voice.
His voice made her blood freeze in her veins and her head whipped around to see Robin at the entrance of the alley, her folded letter held up in two fingers, fury written on his face.
" You owe me at least that, Raven."