15.
The cell phone in Bruce's jeans pocket vibrated. At first he ignored it, on his bike heading toward Gotham to continue his search for Athena. As he passed a car he quickly thought of something, what if it was Alfred, or Athena? He quickly pulled over to the shoulder of the road as it stopped.
He pulled the phone from his leather jacket and turned off his bike.
The call missed number was not familiar, but whoever it was left a message.
Bruce checked the message.
He didn't recognize the voice.
"Hey…this is Eddie, I work down at Joe's body shop, off Pike…um, we found Athena, she's cool…just, you know, come pick her up…and uh, you know, don't tell her brother, cool. Bye."
Bruce shoved the phone in his jacket, started his bike, and off he went.
Half an hour later…
Bruce pulled his bike up in front of an auto body shop in a less then safe looking neighborhood. He dropped his helmet on the seat. It fell off the bike, Bruce didn't bother to pick it up. He ran up into the shop. Several young men pointed to the office.
Bruce hurried to the office.
Athena was seated on the couch, which had duct tape in strategic places. She glanced up at him, "Is Alfred ok?"
"At the hotel."
Bruce ran to her and took her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed his cheek and sighed, "Why does this keep happening to us?" He kissed her cheek and looked to the older man in the office, to thank him.
The men just simply told him, "Don't tell her brother that she was here."
With a nod Bruce understood.
He picked her up, wrapped her legs around his waist and carried her out to his bike. Then taking her to his hotel in Gotham City, not the manor. The same place he had dropped Alfred off earlier in the night.
Meanwhile…
Alfred sat in a Jacuzzi tub of bubbles, relaxing away the previous night, his worries, and his hangover. While sipping yet another glass of wine and nibbling on some caviar. Treating himself after his hellish night.
He flipped through the channels.
There was a TV on the tile shelf, mere feet away.
Flipped through the cable channels until he saw a picture of the man who had kidnapped him, Alfred flipped back. Catching the end of what the reporter had been saying.
"…appears that both Negly and his brother were killed in an apparent Mob Hit. While there are no witnesses and no leads, a single source says that it was due to the Prophets relationship with Athena Merozikki. Ares Merozikki has been questioned, but no charges have been made."
Alfred smiled and continued flipping through the channels. Muttering softly to himself, "I warned him." Upon finding the Home and Garden Channel he set the remote down.
Beside the remote was a business card for a lawn and garden service. Given to him by Ares Merozikki earlier in the morning.