Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

Chapter Five

Kory was in the middle of her fifth month when I got the call. The phone in our room started ringing incessantly and I finally reached over and picked it up.

"Hello?" I grumbled before yawning. I glanced at the clock.

3:22 AM.

"Dick, it's Cass. Something's wrong with Tim." Cassandra Cain is Tim's fiancé. She's a pretty black haired, blue eyed girl that we've known since Commissioner Gordon took her in. That was around the time Tim moved into the Manor as well. They've known each other since they were around ten years old.

"What's wrong?" I asked immediately slowly getting out of bed, as to not wake Kory.

"He didn't come home last night," She answered, her voice filled with worry. "I tried calling him on his cell but all I get is his voicemail."

"Alright, just stay calm, Cass. Call your dad and let him know to get a few guys out there, and I'm on my way. Okay?"

"Yeah."

I hung up the phone, went to the closet to grab my clothes and quickly changed. I took a moment to write a note to Kory, so she wouldn't worry, before finally leaving the Manor.

I grabbed one of the cars from the Manor's garage, and took off down the driveway in it. Tim and Cass shared an apartment not too far from the Manor, so it didn't take that long for me to get down there. I parked the car a few blocks away, before getting out and locking it.

Since it's July, Tim and Cass are staying here in their apartment in Gotham. In the fall they'll be going back to college and be renting the apartment to someone else. I walked into the building and over to the elevator.

Someone paid off a few cops to let loose twelve convicted criminals that have a grudge against me. Whoever paid for them to get out is obviously organizing their activities. So far only one of the criminals, André LeBlanc, has been caught. No one else has made a move. Until today, that is.

Out of the list of eleven, a few names came to mind.

After pretty much memorizing all eleven folders, I could tick off every crime those eleven crooks ever committed.

Selinda and Baran Flinders. Brother and sister. Used to rob banks and take people away as hostages. Most of those hostages ended up in the Gotham River.

Johnny Rancid. Auto thief and explosion specialist. Used to work in Hollywood as an explosive specialist for big action movies, but always had a thing for cars. He got so confident; he used to steal them with people inside them. I'm not talking about just kids either. Adults too. He'd push them aside and take off.

Jade Nguyen. Master assassin. She came into Gotham and kidnapped some of its wealthiest and most powerful men and women. I caught her while she was trying to take Harvey Dent away. She kept them all safe and used them more like a collection. For every dozen, she'd ransom them off, but not without giving them a toxic poison first.

Those are the top three.

Rancid could have been involved in the explosion that had been used to distract everyone while LeBlanc tried to get away with Ryan, but I knew there was one other person that could have been there as well.

Dr. Arthur Light. He's a light manipulator. He likes to come up with different gadgets that used light. He used those gadgets in his crimes against the city. He most likely won't come out for a while though. He's too good a player.

Just like Slade Wilson. Wilson will most likely be my last adversary, as he's the strongest and smartest of the lot. Not to mention, up until Napier, he had been my biggest challenge.

This time around, he'll be more prepared. I know he will be.

The elevator finally stopped at the top floor and I quickly got off. I walked down the hall to the last apartment and rang the bell. I stood there, silent and still so I would be able to pick up any sign of movement and any noise.

Things were getting worse. At least I had been there to stop LeBlanc from taking Ryan away, but this time, things were different. They had taken Tim and the only clues Cass could probably give me are when she last talked to him, who he was last with, and where he had been planning to go next. It wasn't a lot to go on, but at least the answers to those questions would help.

Cass opened the door a few moments after I rang the bell.

"Hey Cass," I said, immediately entering the apartment. "We don't have a lot of time for any sort of pleasantries, so let's just get to work. You know the drill; I ask questions, you answer them."

She nodded. Cass wasn't new to this sort of thing. Even though Commissioner Gordon was her foster dad, she had been questioned by the police before. The reason Commissioner Gordon first met her was for a police brutality case. Her mother had been beaten to death by an officer for trying to do the right thing.

She had no where else to go after that, so Commissioner Gordon brought her home with him and treated her just like another daughter, while Babs finally had a little sister to hang out with.

"He last called me at six," She told me, already knowing the questions I would most likely ask. "He had gone to a business meeting with Bruce, called me around six, and told me he would be back for dinner by six-thirty. When he didn't come at six-thirty I thought he had been caught in traffic, especially with the tankard that had broken down on the bridge. Reports said it'd be backed up for a few hours. I called him at eight-thirty, but didn't get an answer.

"I wanted to call up you or dad earlier, but I knew I had to wait a full twenty-four hours before I could call the police to file a missing persons report. Besides, he could have been held back at the office a few hours longer, it wasn't like it hadn't happened before. When I called the building, it had turned out I was partly right. He had been held up until seven, but had left after that. After that, I just decided to try to get some sleep and hoped he'd come back in the middle of the night. Finally, I woke up, because something just didn't feel right and finally called you."

"Did you call up your dad?"

"Yeah, but he's the only one coming over, and I still can't file the report until the full twenty-four hours."

"Alright, did the secretary tell you who she had last seen Tim with?"

"Yeah, Roland Dagget."

A few minutes later, I was back in the car, racing toward Dagget's place.

Roland Dagget was one of Gotham's wealthiest bastards! He used people to experiment his pharmaceutical products. He gave them "free samples" of his products in return for stealing for him. He's been caught at least two dozen times, but always has a big enough check to get out of it.

I gripped the wheel tighter.

If he was involved in Tim's disappearance in any way, no amount of money will be able to keep him out of jail. I'll make sure of that.

The gate to Dagget's place was always left unlocked, and I didn't want to waste my time getting out of the car just to push it open, so I just drove into it instead. All I had to do was drive straight to the center of the gate and I'd be able to push it open.

As I drove up to it, I easily turned the car to make sure I was driving on the center of the empty road. I hit the gate dead center, scratching up the hood a bit, but getting through it and up the driveway without any major problems. I parked the car behind a few trees Dagget had planted in his front yard. I reached into my forensics bag and grabbed a pair of gloves out of it.

Sometimes the only way to serve Justice is to break a few rules. This is one of those times.

I left the car but didn't lock it. If I had locked it the headlights and taillights would have flashed, allowing someone to know I was there.

There are probably security cameras set up at each corner of the mansion. The place isn't as big as Wayne Manor-and no one has a security system like Bruce's-although I'm sure Dagget's tried to steal the schematics for it. The whole point is breaking in will be easy.

I stick to the grass and sneak around the back of the mansion. So far, no lights were on, but knowing Dagget, he probably has guards patrolling the inside.

He's gained a lot of enemies.

I pulled out a lock pick prom my belt and used it to open the back door. I had to be very careful. One wrong move and I might trip the alarm. The door clicked, and I slowly opened it, but made sure not to step through.

I waited and listened for a moment before pulling out my flashlight. I turned it on and aimed the beam to the wall on my left, then the wall on my right. A tiny mirror flashed the light right back at me.

Laser grid, most likely. I followed the mirrors until they finally stopped at the door, less then fifty yards in front of me. I aimed the beam at the door, hoping to get a glimpse of what kind of room it was.

Hope. Since when did I hope for anything? I never hope, I just do

Up until now, I've never needed hope. I've never needed a miracle. So why am I suddenly thinking about those things?

Why am I suddenly hoping good things will happen to me and my family? My life has been full of bad things.

Dammit, Grayson. Now's not the time for that. Focus on the task at hand.

The other room was a kitchen. Usually that's where the lock for the security system is set up.

If I could get through this grid, than maybe I'd find the controls for the security system and find a way to shut it down.

I have to get through the grid first.

Take it one line at a time. Seeing as the mirrors are only on the floor, I won't have to worry about accidentally walking into some that are in a criss-cross pattern. I would be able to crawl under it, if they weren't placed so close to the floor.

I looked down at the mirrors to my right. Judging by eye, they seemed to be exactly a foot and a half apart. I looked to my left and then to the walls closest to me. The length was the same on all of them.

I took a deep breath to calm my rapidly beating heart.

This was the part of my job that I loved the most. It was the most dangerous part. It was the part with the most fun. Knowing that any moment I could be caught, having to think quickly to get past or out of the situation.

In the past few months I had been so worried over how much danger my job put my family in, I had forgotten how much fun breaking the rules could be. Especially breaking them around a guy like Dagget.

Carefully I set one foot within the room.

Nothing happened.

I moved slowly through the grid, measuring the area with my eyes. I could only take it step-by-step. Keep in a straight line and move one foot in front of the other.

I smirked as I finally entered the kitchen. I was about to pull out my flashlight again, when I heard a noise. A small crackling sound from down the hall.

Gotta think fast.

I glanced around quickly before diving over the island in front of the sink. Once I was on the ground, I glanced at the cabinets under the sink, just as someone entered the room. I looked to the island behind me to find that it had a doorless cabinet. I crawled inside and pulled out my revolver. The footsteps got closer until I could finally see him.

He was a few inches shorter than me, making him around five-nine, five-ten. Had a wiry build and platinum blonde hair that he kept swept neatly to the side. On his waist was a belt with a few cartridges and clips along with two revolvers. There was a clip on the holsters for the guns were removable, so it'd be easy for me to take them away from him. On the back of his belt was a walkie talkie, still crackling as the guards spoke between themselves.

I don't want to use a gun right now. The last time I did, I ended up shooting and killing someone in front of my son. His nightmares are slowly starting to ebb away, but he can't get into a car without his eyes widening in horror as he remembers what had happened. He can see it all happening in slow motion. I know the feeling. Whenever I think about how my parents died, that's how I see it. Everything moves slowly.

Killing someone wasn't easy for me at first. I really couldn't believe I had done it, but now, reaching for my revolver and taking aim at the best spot has become second nature. I'm not happy when I have to take a kill shot, but I know it's what I have to do.

I quietly stepped out of the space below the island and stood behind him. I held the barrel of my revolver to his temple. He stiffened.

"Don't move or say one word," I ordered. "Now, I want you to slowly move your right hand to your belt buckle and undo it, then hand your belt to me."

He's never been in this situation before. I can tell because his fingers aren't twitching. Eight out of ten times when a persons fingers twitch, it means they are planning to not follow the order.

Eight out of ten.

He did exactly as I said and handed me the belt. I slung it over my shoulder before speaking again. "Alright, now, take me to the keypad for the security system. Walk slowly."

He took me to the direction he had come from and stopped in front of the entranceway. There, on the wall to the left of the entrance, was the security keypad.

"Shut down the system." His head tilted back slightly as he gulped before taking one step forward and opening the keypad. He started typing in the code.

Slowly his fingers press at each button. I could see the sweat dripping from his brow. He's not well trained. Probably a fill-in for the night. He needs to know the code for emergencies though.

A well trained guard wouldn't just do everything I'd said. They'd make it hard for me by trying to fight back. They'd be stupid.

At least this guy is smart enough to try to live to see dawn.

"Done," He finally told me, his voice barely a whisper.

You can think of a lot of things in just a few seconds. It only takes a second to suddenly see your life flash before your eyes. A second to realize, this could be it. These could be your last moments of life. The question is, are you going to die the way you lived?

I knew his move before he even made it. He seemed like the kind of guy that always followed orders. That always followed his boss's rules.

He didn't want to go down the same way.

I ducked as he swung his fist at me. I dropped to the ground and rammed my foot into his stomach. He doubled over in pain and I took the opportunity to flip back onto my feet and pull out one of his guns from the belt still around my shoulder.

He looked up at me, his eyes full of pain and fear; his courage gone.

I had two guns aimed at his head. I only needed one.

I twirled the gun in my right hand for a moment before hitting him at the base of his neck with the butt of the gun. He immediately dropped to the ground, from the hit to the pressure point. I tucked his gun back in its holster before walking back to the island. I unclipped the holsters from the belt and attached them to my own. I grabbed the extra cartridges and clips and tucked them away in my pockets. Finally I took the walkie talkie and tucked it away into the extra pocket on the leg of my jeans.

Time to get Dagget.

A/N: Okay, as an avid comic reader I visit many sites that report news on the comics industry, and I'm happy to tell all of you that there is a live action Teen Titans movie that is now in pre-production! There aren't many details on it at the moment, but so far it seems that Nightwing will be a member of the team!!!

Well, anyway, I hope everyone liked this chapter (and this little bit of news)! Please review!!!