Chapter 13: A break in the case
Weeks went by without any new developments on the fleeing Thomas Wayne or his whereabouts which not only made Bruce extremely impatient, but also Agent Baldwin is pretty ticked off about not being able to find the scrawny brat. No one is safe at the Gotham's field office, because Baldwin is giving them all a pretty hard time.
"It's been two weeks since the start of this operation and we still haven't found this kid!" Baldwin roars as he paces up and down the room in a very irritated manner. "The NSA has been monitoring every single phone call in the city. Plus we got the train station, airport and the habour under surveillance. Can somebody tell me why we can't find a single little kid? There's fifty of you in this room for crying out loud and one of you better start giving me some answers!"
Everyone in the room share glances at one and another to see if someone else other than themselves has some news. It seems no one has.
Agent Baldwin grunts aggravated, but before he can vent his frustrations any further, he gets a report from an agent at a nearby desk.
"Sir, you got a call from Agent Cunningham at the Concord field office."
Agent Baldwin turns to face the agent and spits annoyed; "Tell him to leave a message and I will call him after I solve my scrawny brat problem."
The agent chuckles nervously; "Actually this call pertains to the brat, sir."
Before the poor, awkward agent knows what happened the horn is snatched from his hand and Baldwin barks; "This better be good, Agent Cunningham!" Baldwin listens for a moment and his scowl melts into a grin; "Finally. Thanks for the info!"
Agent Baldwin hangs up and proceeds to call Agent Hayes who's at Wayne Manor chilling out into the backyard. Well, Selina and Hayes that is.
The two females have a pleasant conversation while Bruce passes up and down worriedly and George is hammering away at the punching bag Alfred brought out to the yard for him, so he can work out.
Suddenly Hayes's phone rings and she excuses herself to take the call and then leaves inside. A minute later she returns into the backyard and calls Bruce and George over for the announcement.
"Alright team, I just got a phone call from Agent Baldwin and he told me people had seen Thomas in New Hampshire. A Blackhawk is already on its way to pick us up and take us to Gotham airport. We have ETA eight minutes to prepare ourselves, so I give you additional details in the flight."
George grins and exclaims excitedly; "Sweet."
Selina adds; "Time to get my claws ready. Saddle up B, we're going to New Hampshire!"
The street girl heads inside to find her jacket, and Hayes chuckles; "I really like her sense of unitive, how did you find a girl like her?"
"As a Wayne I don't find the ladies, the ladies find me."
Hayes replies; "Well you're very lucky to have her on your side."
Bruce nods and replies; "Yes, I know."
Then Selina returns into the yard with Alfred in tow who says; "Miss Kyle told me about Thomas popping up in the Granite State and that you'll all be heading out soon."
Bruce turns around to face his butler and replies; "Yes, soon as the helicopter arrives." Then the young billionaire continues with a stern face and confident voice; "We're so close to finishing this, Alfred, and I will not be confined to the side-lines."
"Personally I think you should leave this part of the mission to Agent Hayes and her fellow feds, but experience has taught me that if you're going to waltz into a hot-zone, there's nothing I can do stop you. Your father always saw things through to the end and you're no different."
"In my opinion, Bruce has a sense of bravery that can only be rivaled by soldiers," Agent Hayes commented importantly.
Selina nods and grins; "Yeah, though there are times where his sense of bravery can be nerve racking."
Bruce looks a little offended, but Alfred straightens his back regally and gloats; "My thoughts… exactly."
Selina's grin turns even bigger and continues; "But I would rather have a nerve racking and exciting Bruce Wayne than a pristine and boring one."
Alfred's gloating face turns into a stink-eye, and Bruce Wayne's offended look turns into a blush. George and Hayes share an eye rolling smile.
Alfred opens his mouth to share objection to Selina's words, but gets cut off by the sound of the Blackhawk that flies over before landing.
Selina calls out a little 'who's faster and has the best seat' challenge before sprinting off. Bruce and George follow in tow, and Alfred calls out to Bruce; "Master Bruce, please contact me when…
Realizing the young boy is out of hearing range, the butler stops and drops his head sadly. Agent Hayes slaps him on the arm for comfort and says; "Don't worry, I will do my best to keep them safe. Also I will tell Bruce to contact you after the mission is completed."
Alfred nods, smiles and replies; "That would be great. Good luck with the mission and with the street girl."
Agent Hayes frowns, but then follows Alfred's look and sees the two teens and the young adult in a heated discussion on who had been there first and therefore had the best seat.
"Everyone knows I'm the fastest person in Gotham!" Selina exclaims as she leans her full body weight against the door and the two boys couldn't open it.
George laughs; "You are not and I just proved it by beating you, fear and square. Now, step aside so the winner can enter!"
"Winner?!" Bruce guffaws. "Loser you mean! Both of you are, because I was here first!"
Selina rolls her eyes for that and then says; "Fine, maybe I was not the fastest, but still I'm the smartest, cutest and strongest."
"Yeah?" George snorts.
Selina nods her head rapidly and then asks to Bruce; "You think I'm cute, right? And you love me, right?"
"I-I, ehm…" Bruce stutters as his face turns blushed.
Then the girl turns to George and says; "If you want to keep your eyes, you let me take the seat by the window!"
George takes a step back from the helicopter and the street girl grins in victory before entering the Blackhawk and taking her well-earned seat by the window.
The two adults have watched everything from afar, and the butler says sarcastically before Hayes strolls over to the Blackhawk; "I would love to come, but I still have soooo much butler work to do!"
Hayes waves back and says jokingly; "Yeah, don't you worry, I can handle that girl on my own. I mean, I can always drop her 1000 feet down with nothing but a parachute, right?"
"You know I heard that, right?!" Selina scowls angrily when Hayes enters the Blackhawk. Then the girl strikes her chin thoughtfully; "Though, I always wanted to do something like that. Maybe we can, after the mission, right Bruce?"
Bruce slumps back in his seat with a very reluctant look on his face. George laughs and Hayes tells the pilot to take them up in the air.
As the Blackhawk flies over the city to take the passengers inside to the airport, Selina looks out the window at the buildings below. It's her first time seeing Gotham from the air.
After a minute or so of gazing, she turns back to Agent Hayes; "How did this brat get across multiple states despite all of your fancy government tracking powers?"
"Well, after Thomas dumped the car, he spent a great deal of time hiding in whatever holes he could find before making his way to the small town of Ted City where he stowed himself away on a moving truck bound for New Hampshire," Hayes replies.
Selina then asks; "How were your men able to locate the truck he was in?"
"Well like all great things this break in the case came by accident, maybe a little too literally." Bruce, Selina and George frown and Hayes proceeds, explaining; "The truck got caught up in a major accident near Concord where it rolled over and spilled most of its contents. The family following behind it was lucky to not get caught up in the mess, but they spotted a boy matching Thomas's description fleeing into the Allen State Forest. Local authorities and my colleagues at the Concord Field Office are in the process setting up to surround the place."
"Will Agent Baldwin be joining us?" Bruce asks.
Hayes nods; "Yeah, but watch out for the hotshot boss of the Concord Field Office, Special Agent Cunningham. He doesn't like the idea of non-essential personnel in the field."
"If he knew about all of the misadventures me and Bruce have had on the streets of Gotham, he would think twice before calling us non-essential," Selina scowls and glances outside the window again.
Hayes smiles; "I agree with you, Cat. Otherwise you three wouldn't be on this bird right now."
"I've had my fair share of misadventures in Gotham too', but they were all chump change compared to yours, until recently anyway," George said.
Bruce sighs; "I just wish we don't get too much grief from Agent Cunningham when we arrive."
"If I have to remind him that you guys are on MY team, I will," Agent Hayes says and then adds; "For his sake it's better Agent Baldwin or Director Grey will stick it to him before I have to."
Selina grins; "Well if it turns out they didn't, you have to stand in line, Hayes, because it's my turn first to show him how sharp my claws are."
Hayes smiles; "Sure Cat, I won't stand in your way, trust me."
Bruce frowns; "by the tone of your voice, I'm sensing that you don't like the guy professionally or personally."
"Cunningham is an egotistical jackass plain and simple. But good observation, Bruce." Hayes then gives Bruce a playful nudge to the ribs.
They touch down near the waiting Gulfstream five and quickly transfer from the helicopter to the plane. Selina is instantly impressed with the interior especially the fact there's a sofa on board.
"Wow, you feds really know how to ply in style."
Bruce looks slightly insulted and says; "Hey, my plane is pretty stylish too, Selina."
Hayes interjects with a smile; "As head of a multibillion company, I'm sure it is. But does your plane have top of the line communications gear, EMP shielding, and chaff and flares to fend off missile attacks?"
Bruce drops his head in defeat and replies; "We're even on the first category, but you got me beat on everything else."
Selina punches her friend's arm playfully and says; "After we lock up your brat brother, your next assignment is upgrading your plane."
The young billionaire starts to chuckle at Selina's statement, but instantly stops when he sees that she's not laughing.
The captain announces over the speaker that they're about to take off and advises them to take their seats and strap in.
"Agent Hayes; will we be able to move around the cabin after we take off?"
"Of course, Cat."
The street girl fist-pumps the air and exclaims happily; "Awesome, because I'm already declaring the sofa as mine."
Bruce asks; "But what if I want to sit on it?"
"Maybe you should be quicker in claiming it next time, kiddo."
Bruce looks indignant at his female friend a tries to object by saying; "But you already got the best seat on the Blackhawk." The street girl throws a very dirty stink-eye to her billionaire friend who in his turn looks over to Hayes an then to George; "Could any of you help me out here?"
George sits down in a seat and grins; "Sorry, I love to keep my eyes where they belong."
"Face it Bruce, Cat is going to rule your world one day."
Selina straps herself in a seat and smirks; "I already do, Agent Hayes. I already do."
The street girl leans back into her chair with the biggest smile imaginable as the plane takes off and climbs up to 51.000 feet.
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