12.
Bruce returned to the Wayne Manor later that afternoon.
He returned to a quiet Wayne Manor.
After peeking through the livable parts of the manor, grounds, bedrooms, kitchen, cellar, and wine cellar, he peeked down into the in-progress Batcave.
Nothing.
Upon a return visit to the kitchen that was the only organized room, he spotted Alfred's Mac Laptop on the counter. It had gone to sleep so he pressed a key and sat down.
The website Alfred had been looking at popped up.
A mug shot of Paul came up.
While it didn't surprise Bruce, he did begin to feel uneasy. When he spotted Alfred's wine glass he knew something was wrong. Alfred never left a dirty dish around. Never.
He pulled his cell phone out and called Alfred.
It went straight to voice mail.
He then tried Athena.
It also went straight to voice mail.
Bruce took a deep breath and headed to the garage.
Meanwhile…
"After that I decided that I was not fit to mow lawns. Not only do my suits get filthy, but also I refuse to go around in shorts. It's obscene."
Athena nodded beside Alfred, "That is true. Shorts are obscene. Have you seen those booty shorts girls wear today? I'm sorry, but if I wanted to see ass cheeks I'd have gone into OB."
Again, Alfred kicked the trunk of Paul's car.
He and Athena were locked in.
They had polished off the wine and were bored.
She sighed, "I can't believe he doesn't have a car with a escape trunk latch. What a cheap bastard."
Alfred agreed, "He's always been one. We should have brought another bottle."
Once again, the trunk opened.
Paul glared down at then and swatted at them with a flashlight. "I said keep it down!"
Athena stuck out her tongue.
Alfred booed him.
Had they had less to drink they would have noticed that they were in a parking garage. They would have also noticed that they could have yelled for help. Or that they could have overpowered him, even handcuffed together.
Once again he slammed the trunk shut.
From inside the trunk he heard Bruce's girlfriend demand for more wine. But he ignored it as a car pulled up to him. It parked a few spaces away and two equally goofy men climbed out.
One being Negly and the other his brother, Zane, nearly identical but with dark hair.
Inside the trunk Athena and Alfred heard the chatter.
Heard the other men.
She whispered, "He's giving us to someone else!"
In the dark Alfred began to move around. He felt around the inside of the trunk for the first time, "That just cannot happen. I will not be a captive."
Athena began to move around too.
Then came Alfred's voice, slightly slurred, but still proper, "I found a gun of sorts."
"A gun?"
Alfred handed it to her and she felt it around. It was plastic. Which confused her, "I think its BB Gun."
The trunk opened and light poured in.
Athena noted that the gun was red.
A flare gun.
She pulled the trigger and prayed that it had a flare in it. It did. An explosion of light shot out of the trunk and in the garage. Exploding like a firework. Sending the three men running.
Alfred sat up.
Crawled over Athena and fell out of the trunk, pulling Athena along with him. She managed to clamber out. She landed on him, equally drunk, holding the flare gun.
"Here," he handed her another flare. Between the two of them they loaded it into the signaling tool. While the three men stomped out the first flare. Hoping no one had seen it.
She pulled Alfred along, "Come on!"
The two hurried through the dimly lit garage. At the sight of men, four men, Alfred pulled Athena to a stop. He waved his arms and shouted. Athena fired the flare gun at them. In the hopes to get their attention.
The group of men ran off screaming.
The flare exploded on the windshield of a BMW.
Alfred snatched the red weapon from her and shoved it into his suit jacket. "You should not be armed!"
She nodded in agreement, "I shouldn't."
Later that evening…
Athena found herself tied rather tightly to a dining room chair. Alfred was being held in the other room. Tied to a similar chair. Being watched by three of Negly's men, whom were watching "The Simple Life: Season 1."
Every once in a while she would hear Alfred complain.
After their escape attempt.
Followed by their setting Negly and his brother's car trunk on fire.
Along with Athena kicking Negly in the face, breaking his nose. The men had tied her to a chair with rope. Tying her arms and legs to the respective twins on the chair.
The rope was then followed up with duct tape.
Duct tape was placed across her lips.
They had then turned her to face the window, she had been shooting them dirty looks.
Eventually Negly came in the hotel room with his brother. Still a little buzzed, Athena remained passive in her chair, listening to the exchange between the so-called-holyman and his minion.
"Why is she facing an open window?"
"She was giving us dirty looks?"
"So! Why is she facing a open window!"
"Look man, she's Greek, how do we know she doesn't know how to do that evil eye curse stuff?"
"Why is she facing a OPEN window! What if someone see's her!"
"Oh. We couldn't work the curtains."
Before she knew it she was spun around in her chair. Then drug across the floor. The curtains were closed by Zane and Negly looked at her close. Pleased at the sight of her, "You'll serve us well."
She narrowed her eyes at him.
While she couldn't do the evil eye, her grandmother could, Athena glared and frightened the men across the room. They went in the bedroom with Alfred.
Zane went into the mini kitchen and began to boil noodles for ramen.
Negly knelt down beside her, "Did you know Miss Athena, that when Wayne Enterprises was up for sale, I intended to buy it?"
She glared.
"I did, I did. I was going to buy it, I had the money to buy it and everything, it was all the money I had. But then your boyfriend came back and bought it all!" He then hit her for added emphasis. "I lost everything! I could have been huge! Now I am stuck doing this! I'm a scientist!"
She glared even more.
"You. You are getting me vengeance. You see…if I kill you and frame the Batman, I'll destroy Bruce. Bruce will go after this freak of nature and he'll kill Mr. Wayne, the company will be for sale since there are no heirs, and I can once again buy it. Then the freak will be hunted and I can do whatever the hell I want here."
She glared and looked at him as if he were nuts.
A look he had seen before. He hit her again, trying to wipe the look off her face, only succeeding in angering her further.