Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot and the character Neal Eaglesham. That's it. DC Comics owns most of the rest.

Chapter 2

I stopped and checked the shadows myself. I looked over at the roof corners for snipers and checked the corner of the building by eye to see if anyone else was around to listen.

I slipped on my shades so Cobblepot wouldn't see my eyes roam.

"Right on time, Mr. Grayson," Cobblepot said as he spotted me before checking his pocket watch. He put it away and smiled. "I admire punctuality."

"I don't care," I replied calmly. "I want to know about Neal Eaglesham. Did you see him anytime within a week of his death?"

"Eaglesham…Eaglesham…" He muttered, pretending to think about the name and try to match a face to it. He knew who I was talking about, and I don't have time for his shit.

I pulled the umbrella from his hand and pressed the button on it. A knife slid out of the tip. He looked at it, frozen.

I pushed him against the wall and held the knife to his throat.

"This, sir, is police bru-"

"Does it look like I give a damn?" I cut him off, pressing the knife closer to his throat. "Tell me what you told Eaglesham or I'll slit your throat. I don't think you'd like to die, Mr. Cobblepot. From what I hear, money's worth nothing in hell."

"Alright-alright!" He choked out. "I saw him about a week before his death. He came by and asked me about a printer and some fake checks I bought off Nigma. I told him I sold the press already."

"To who?"

"The cards are wild, Mr. Grayson, and you don't even have a pair, while he has a flush. A royal flush."

Code. I hate code. I had gone through enough of it with Slade Wilson last year.

I dropped Cobblepot, put both of my hands on his umbrella and snapped it in half. I stuffed the half with the knife on it into the dirt and left the scene.

I walked back to my car and was about to get in when I heard a loud thump behind me. I turned to see someone running away down the alley and away from me. I shut the door of my car and took off after the person, pulling out my gun along the way.

Foot or kneecap. At the moment, I didn't care which one I shot, because both would bring that person the ground and cause them to probably never be able to walk again. As long as I didn't miss, I didn't care what shot I got.

I fired off my gun.

Went straight through the kneecap. By the scream I could tell it was a girl.

The bitch shouldn't have run. Now, she'll never be able to walk again.

I walked up the rest of the way and pushed her onto her back. She seemed to be a few years older than me.

"What were you doing near my car?" I asked her, keeping the gun toward her head.

"My-argh-my job, you fucking bastard," She spat out at me.

"What job?"

"You'll find out soon enough," She told me. "You ain't gonna get nothin else out of me."

By the look in her eyes, I could tell she was right. For some reason, she'd rather die than talk.

"Fine, you don't talk, I don't make a call to the hospital. You can lie there and bleed to death," I told her, tucking my gun back into its holster before turning my back to her and walking away.

At least, that's what I made it seem like.

I ducked behind a trashcan and waited. If she didn't care that she'd lie there and die from the bleeding, it meant that someone was gonna pick her up.

A few minutes later, a black van pulled up in front of her. It turned into the entrance of the alley, so I couldn't see who was getting out, and the glass of the windshield was tinted. There were no plates.

Whoever had set up this up was good. They covered their trail well.

When the van pulled away and took off down the road, the woman was gone.

I ran back down the alley to get to my car. When I got to the entrance of the alley by my car, an explosion rocked the ground and the blast of it sent me flying at least a hundred yards.

She had set an explosive up on my car. Probably on a timer that started when I closed my door.

I groaned as I felt pain fill my entire body. My back had slammed into the ground, my arms were cut from protecting my face from the explosion, and my right leg felt like it was twisted in the wrong direction. My head spun and I fought to keep consciousness. I had to get home. To do that, I had to get up. My fingers dug into the dirt under them as I gripped at it and tried to push myself up.

I finally opened my eyes and felt extremely dizzy. I slowly reached into my pocket, hoping my cell was still intact.

Thank goodness for small favors.

I called up Harvey and tried to slowly push myself up from the ground. I only ended up falling back on my ass.

"Dick?" Harvey asked. "I've been waiting f…What happened between you an…"

"You're breaking up," I groaned out as best as I could.

"Wha…ou say?" Harvey asked again.

"I said…you're breaking up," I told him. It was getting harder to breath and I was getting extremely lightheaded.

"I…" His phone went dead after that.

Great.

What now?

I can't call Kory. If I call her than anyone that might have stayed behind would know what she looks like, making it easier to find her in case someone wanted to use her against me. Not to mention, no one would be home with Ryan and Mari. It wouldn't be hard to take them then.

I couldn't call anyone at the station. Commissioner Gordon had to follow a killer to Metropolis and I had no clue when he'd be back. He knows all the good cops. I never even tried to get acquainted with them.

That only left one person to call.

Damn.

I slowly dialed the number, trying to stay focused on the phone.

The phone rang a few times before someone finally answered.

"Hello, Wayne residence," Alfred said as he picked up the phone.

"Alfred," I said, my voice weaker than before. I could feel it creeping up on me. The darkness…trying to take over. To consume me.

"Master Dick?"

"Help…please. Help." The last word came out in a whisper as the darkness finally won out.

When I opened my eyes again, I closed them at the brightness of the room I was in.

What happened?

I took in a slow breath to clear my head.

The woman I had shot in the knee. She had set up an explosive in my car. I got caught by it. I called Harvey but…his phone went dead or lost the signal or something. Then…then I called the manor. I talked to Alfred. I talked to Alfred before I…before I blacked out.

I opened my eyes again.

I knew this room. It was my old bedroom in the manor.

Great. I'm in the one place I'd swore I'd never set foot in again.

My eyes roamed down to the slight pressure at the right side of my bed. Kory was sleeping there, her head in her arms.

My arm hurt as I moved it toward her, but I didn't care. I touched a small wet spot on the sheet.

She'd been crying.

"You've been asleep for a few weeks," I heard Bruce say from the doorway. My eyes went to him. "She hasn't left your side since she got here."

"Specifically, how long have I been out?" I asked him, my voice hoarse from disuse.

"Four weeks, three days, eight hours since we picked you up," He replied as he stepped into the room. "I had Alfred call Harvey after he told me about your call."

"I tried calling Harvey on his cell but we got cut off," I explained, turning my gaze away from him. "I didn't have anyone else to call after."

Silence hung in the air. It was thick and too quiet.

"Where are Ryan and Mari?" I asked him next. I know they're probably in a room somewhere but I had to be sure.

"Sleeping in their rooms upstairs," He replied, confirming my thoughts. Usually Kory calls up Donna to come over from New York.

"They're good kids," Bruce continued, putting one hand in his pants pocket. "Ryan, he reminds me of you."

"He is my son," I replied leaning back into my pillow. "Who stitched me up?"

"Leslie Thompkins."

I nodded. I trust only two doctors in Gotham, one of them's premed. Leslie Thompkins and Rachel Roth.

Doctors in Gotham can be as corrupted as cops. I've made a lot of enemies, who wouldn't mind paying a doctor to let me die if I ever went to the hospital.

Usually, when I call up Harvey or Jim, they take me to one of their houses and bring in Rachel.

This obviously isn't usual.

I hate that.

Kory began to stir beside me and I couldn't help but reach out and stroke her soft auburn hair. She lifted her head and blinked a few times before looking at me and smiling brightly.

"You're awake!" She exclaimed, immediately moving to hug me.

My ribs felt bruised and I took in a sharp breath as I felt her weight against mine. She immediately pulled back.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" She said looking over me in worry.

"I'm fine, Kory," I reassured her with a smile.

"Good," She told me, relief evident in her voice and eyes. Then the look changed to one of anger and she slapped my shoulder.

"Ow!" I exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"You had me worried sick," She replied. "Do you know what Mari was asking me every night when I tucked her into bed? She kept asking me when is daddy waking up and all I could do was say soon, when I really had no clue when or-or if you'd ever wake up, Dick."

A few tears escaped her eyes and slowly fell down her cheeks. I took her hands in mine and pulled her toward me to hug her.

Kory's never cried that often, but when she does, my heart breaks. To know I'm bringing her that much pain and sorrow…

I hold her tighter.

"It's okay, Sweetie," I whisper to her. "I'm okay and I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I'm not gonna leave you like that."

We both know that wasn't true. In my line of work, we could never be sure, but I know it makes her feel better when I say that. At least for a little while.

I looked over to where Bruce had been standing, to find that he had slipped out of the room.

It was July now. I had lost three weeks of working time. I had spent the last four days of the week in bed, before I finally got up and began limping around. It would take another two weeks for my leg to heal.

I couldn't lose that much time.

Kory had already driven the kids back home earlier today, but I had a stop to make before I could get home. It's time for a long overdue talk.

I knocked on the door to Bruce's office.

"Come in," He called out. When I opened the door to the room he looked up from his paperwork. "Leaving?"

"I wanted to say…thanks," I told him, leaning against the frame of the door. "You didn't have to come and help me."

"You're my son, Dick, and I…" He trailed off.

Neither of us is good at this. Saying how we feel, I mean. We weren't ready for it either. We both know we still have a long way to go before we get to that point.

If I live to see that point.

I ran a hand through my hair.

He looked back up at me and gave me a small, but genuine smile.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"Finish my case. Maybe when I'm done we can…have lunch and talk about a few things."

Bruce nodded. "I'd like that, Dick."

I was about to turn, but stopped for a moment.

"I need you to do something for me, Bruce." He looked up at me and waited. "I'm in deep and if I don't come out of it…make sure Kory, Ryan, and Mari are safe. Okay?"

He looked confused and was about to ask his question when I turned my back and left.

The cards are wild, Mr. Grayson, and you don't even have a pair, while he has a flush. A royal flush.

I'm in deep and I know for certain I may not come out of this one. I don't have one good card up my sleeve.

Neal Eaglesham had that card, but he put it down before he could hand it off. He knew something that I still can't figure out, and that's what got him killed. He had finally messed with the wrong person. The Prince of the Gotham's underworld.

A royal flush.

I have nothing.

Can I still win? Do I even have the slightest chance?

No. But I'm still gonna try. I have to. For Neal and every other guy that was shot down because they knew too much.

I went home and played catch with Ryan. I watched a movie with Mari. I had dinner with my family. Then it was time for bed.

I couldn't sleep.

Kory couldn't either.

"Dick," She spoke up hesitantly into the dark room, "I have something I've been meaning to tell you."

"What is it?" I asked, looking down at her. I could find Kory's emerald eyes anywhere.

"I'm…I'm pregnant." The last two words came out as a whisper. My breath caught as my mind tried to wrap itself around what she just said.

"W-what?" I whispered in shock and disbelief.

"I'm three months pregnant," She said, leaning her head up closer to mine. "I wanted to tell you last month, when I found out, but I was still in a little shock and…and then you got hurt."

I'm gonna have another kid.

"Wow," Was all I could say out loud. She smiled and gave me a kiss before leaning her head back on my chest.

I'm gonna have another kid.

Can I put him or her through what I've put Ryan and Mari through?

They're still both young. I still have a chance to be with them. If I survive, that is.

We just lay there in silence for a few minutes before I spoke up again.

"After this case, I'm gonna quit, retire early, or whatever the hell you wanna call it," I told her. Her head shot up and her eyes immediately connected with mine.

"What? Why?" She asked, looking down at me. "You love this job."

"I love you guys more," I replied as I began to stroke her hair with the tips of my fingers. "And I'm tired of worrying you so much."

She opened her mouth to speak, but I moved my fingers to her lips.

"I'm not gonna put you, Mari, Ryan, or our third kid in danger. I don't want to scare you guys anymore. After this case, I'm done."

She could see that I wasn't going to change my mind.

What she just told me sealed it. If I survived this next fight, I was going to retire.

The next morning was it. I could feel it, and Ryan only confirmed my feeling when he looked out the living room window and asked me, "Dad, why is there a car out there?"

I looked out to see a shiny new black Mercedes parked next to the sidewalk and in front of our door. I folded the paper I was reading and set it on the coffee table.

"C'mon Ryan, come with me," I told him. He got up from his seat by the window leaving his drawing behind as he came and took my outstretched hand in his.

I remember when I first held his hand the day he was born at the hospital. His fingers were so tiny, now they were getting bigger. He was growing up.

I had to come back. I had to watch him grow up.

Kory was in the kitchen helping Mari draw in her coloring book when I came in.

"I gotta go," I whispered to her after I lifted and set Ryan in on of the chairs. "Take the kids and leave after I do, okay?"

She nodded, not looking me in the eye.

I put a hand under her chin and tilted her face toward mine until she met my eyes.

"I love you," I whispered before giving her a soft kiss.

"I love you too," She whispered when I pulled back. "Be careful."

I nodded.

I've only asked Kory to leave Gotham once. When I was working on the Wilson case. Slade Wilson was a rapist and murderer. I spent most of last year tracking him down and collecting evidence to bring him in, but the closer I got, the closer he got. A month before I caught him I had Jim sneak Kory, Ryan, and Mari out of Gotham. They stayed with Kory's sister, Kam, up in Vermont.

Slade had raped and killed over twenty-five women. I wasn't gonna let him add my wife to the list.

At least when I finally went up against him, I had a good hand.

This time it's different.

"Daddy," I heard Mari say, causing me to turn my gaze to her.

"Yes princess?"

"Where you go?"

"I'm just going to be out of the house for a little while, princess. You be a good girl for mommy and do what she says, okay?"

She nodded and I gave her a kiss on the forehead. I almost didn't make it to see Mari born. The day she was born was the day my first car had been blown up. I had to run across the city to get to the hospital in time, but I made it.

I looked over at Ryan who kept his gaze on the table top.

When Ryan was Mari's age, he had seen me come home looking half dead. He's never mentioned it, but I can tell by the look in his eyes that he thinks back to that moment whenever I'm ever mentioned to be hurt. That's one of the reasons I chose to call Harvey or Jim over Kory. So I won't have to put him or Mari through that. So they, hopefully, won't be as scared that I won't be waking up the next time they see me.

"Hey buddy," I said as I kneeled next to the chair I set him in, "everything's gonna be okay. You be good for mom and watch out for her and Mari, got it?"

"Got it," He whispered to me, his eyes still on the table top. It's times like this that I wonder if he has the feeling too. The feeling that something big is gonna happen today, and nothing can be done about it.

I gave him a kiss on the forehead and ruffled his hair before getting up. I walked to the hallway and was going to grab my gun and holster when I heard Ryan behind me.

"Dad," I heard him say, and turned to look at him. His eyes were shimmering with unshed tears. "Are you coming home?"

I never say if I'll be back or not, that way I won't disappoint them if I don't.

I swallow before walking over to Ryan, kneeling down next to him, and give him a smile.

"Yeah, buddy, I'm comin home," I told him. He grinned and gave me a tight hug which I easily returned.

I finally let him go and pushed him back toward the kitchen before getting up and walking to the door. I set my gun in my holster and attached it to my belt before walking out.

The driver was female. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and wore a chauffeur's uniform. She got out and opened the door to the back seat for me.

This is it.

The moment I meet the famous Jack Napier.

The cards are wild, Mr. Grayson, and you don't even have a pair, while he has a flush. A royal flush.

The cards are wild. A wild card is a joker. Jack Napier's' nickname in the criminal underworld is the Joker.

A royal flush. Napier is also the prince of the criminal underworld. Some call him king, but he thinks prince makes him feel younger.

You don't even have a pair while he has a flush. He's holding all the cards. He has everything on me, but I have nothing on him. It's true. He cleans up his trail well.

That van that took the woman away was his. No plates, turned into the alley so I couldn't see anyone come out of the back, and a tinted windshield. Even if the windshield wasn't tinted, the driver was probably wearing a hat and pair of shades so no one could see his face.

The chauffer opened up the door for me and I stepped inside.

"Detective Dick Grayson," Napier said as I sat down next to him in the back seat, "what an honor it is to meet you. Can I offer you a drink? How bout a smoke?"

I hated that grin he was sporting. It made him look like a clown.

"I don't drink or smoke," I replied as we started to drive off.

"Awe, well that's too bad," He said as he leaned back in his seat and lit a cigar. He took a puff and let out a ring of smoke before speaking again. "I hear your working the Eaglesham case. Bet you didn't know how far it'd get you, did ya?"

"I never really care."

He laughed.

"Ha, I like you, buddy. That's why I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse. Literally." His face grew serious on the last word. The driver was taking us on the road away from Gotham. "I have a few friends that are currently in charge of watching your family-no thanks necessary by the way. They'll follow them wherever you sent them and, all it would take is the push of a button to let them know to kill your pretty little wife and two rugrats off."

"You bastard." I practically jumped at him, my hands going directly for his neck. I didn't notice the car stop, but I was pulled out before my fingers could even skim that skinny little neck of his.

Once I was out, a fist slammed into my jaw, before another hit my gut.

"Temper, temper, Mr. Grayson," Napier admonished as he got out of the car. Two of his large goons were holding me by the shoulders. I could take them easily, but it would take less than that time for Napier to push that button in the car.

"Now, here's my proposition," He continued after letting out another ring of smoke. "Forget the case, forget finding out what happened to Eaglesham because then you'll only end up just like him. You want to live to see your family again, you give up and leave the murder as a suicide or it could cost you your family.

"What's your choice Mr. Grayson? Keep your life and family or lose them both?"

He didn't have to tell me what Neal found out. I already knew.

Neal had found out Napier was printing something illegal with that press he bought off Cobblepot. He knew what Napier was specifically printing though, while I'm not sure. It could be checks or even cash.

I can't find out and I can't let anyone know Napier had killed Eaglesham because he was using a press to print out something illegal. If I do, my family dies. I die.

I promised Ryan I would come home. I can't disappoint him, even if it means disappointing myself.

I told Kory this was my last case. That once it was over, I'd leave the force. I can't disappoint her either.

It's over.

I lost.

Napier can see that. He grinned like a clown again.

"I'm glad you see it my way, Mr. Grayson." He turned and got back into the car. Before he shut the door he said, "It was nice talking to you."

His goons threw me to the ground and one stepped on my still injured leg. I groaned out and winced in pain. Then one of them grabbed my head and slammed it against the ground before punching me in the face. I struggled to stay conscious, but when he slammed my head against the ground again, darkness consumed me.

I was the best. Up until now, that is.

A few minutes, or maybe it was an hour ago, I was given two choices and I couldn't come up with a third one.

I solved the mystery, but no one can know what really happened.

No one can know why Neal Eaglesham was killed or who killed him.

It's between me and his killers.

I hate it, but it has to be that way.

The End

A/N: So, his last case ends in a loss. But he came out alive. I guess it kind of ends in a win/lose situation for him.

Thanks for reading. Please review.