A/N - This was a little later than I had hoped, but it's longer than usual, so hopefully it makes up for my tardiness...:) Oh and one more thing to those reading. Thanks for the messages, alerts and reviews. But for clarification, I don't speak Spanish. I appreciate the messages and am thankful for translation websites otherwise I'd have no idea what these messages are saying. :) I do speak French though...and no it's not just because I'm Canadian either. LOL And for future reference, the word, 'hereditas' is latin for inheritence.
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As David walked back through the bush towards the motorcycle, he looked down at the cell phone in his hand as he redialed Heather's number once again. He felt awful, knowing that she was stuck with a flat tire. On the other hand, he was upset that she was accusing him of lying. He looked down at his attire, not entirely sure how he'd explain the all-black outfit nor the motorcycle if he went to go pick her up. David straddled the bike as he tried again to call Heather. With another dead end, he shoved the phone into his pocket.
"I'm going to do a quick drive by the grocery store before heading home to check on Heather," David said, as he pulled his helmet over his head. "I just want to make sure that she has help with her car."
"I'm on my way there right now," Batman said, a seriousness in his tone of voice which David had learned to recognize.
"Why? What's wrong?"
"A call went in to police," he told him. "There's a fire there and a possible robbery."
"Shit!"
David started up the bike and sped off down the road towards the store.
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Heather couldn't see.
Shortly after they had taken her keys to the building, a bag had been shoved over her head and wrapped tightly around her neck with tape. She screamed the entire time, panicking as she felt like she was being suffocated. Very few words were exchanged but what she did hear, she didn't even want to repeat, let alone see happen if she talked about what happened. She felt hands carrying and half dragging her across the parking lot until she found herself being lifted up off the ground and landing hard onto a cold metal floor. Her arms were pulled up over her head and tied together and then onto some sort of railing that lined the wall behind her. She begged for the bag to be removed off her head, as she felt her ankles being tied up before the sound of a squeaky door slamming followed by the obvious sound of it being locked numerous times. As soon as it had begun, she was alone. It was eerily quiet. All she could hear was the sound of her own breathing. She would tell herself over and over to calm down and breathe slowly. Heather didn't want to breathe half of the time. The bag over her head was nauseating. It reminded her of the high school boys change room. She had gone in there once on a dare and couldn't believe the stench. This time, it was worse.
She wiggled her hands, trying to figure out where she was. Heather pulled her legs up to herself and tried to push herself up, only to fall back on her bottom again with a jolt. She could feel the tight ropes burning her wrists.
"HELP!" she yelled out as loud as she could. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
Her voice echoed in the space. She let out a shaky sigh before pounding her feet on the floor. She found it made a loud metal sound. If anyone was to hear anything outside, it would be that. She continued to kick her feet and calling for help.
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The Tumbler roared through the empty back lot and swerved beside Heather's car. All four tires were flat and the windows had been broken. Batman jumped out of the Tumbler and looked up at the store. Smoke could be seen pouring out through the broken windows and a few flames licked along the roof. He ran towards the back door and kicked it open, feeling the smoke beginning to burn his throat. No one was there in the stock room. He pushed his way through the mess of fallen boxes and into the main part of the store. He clenched his teeth when he saw a nicely stacked pile of red containers, each marked with the blocked letters spelling, gasoline.
"Damn it," he mumbled as he quickly touched his temple, instantly turning his vision to search for body heat. He had to find Heather, especially since David wasn't too far behind him. He glanced around the store, as he seemed to look right through the shelves. When he didn't see anything, he wasn't sure if he was relieved or more concerned. He turned and stopped as he nearly ran into a dark figure behind him. He hadn't been home when David had gotten dressed to go put up the cameras, so it took him a moment to realize that this was his son dressed completely in black standing in front of him.
"Get out of here," he growled.
"Heather's in here!" he exclaimed, trying to get past him.
Batman put his hand out to stop him. David pushed his hand away.
"No, she isn't."
"Are you sure? Have you looked?"
"We need to get out of here. The place is ready to explode."
"And you're going to leave Heather in there?!"
"David, she isn't here," Batman repeated, his voice more assertive. "Trust me. She isn't here."
David let out a breath, calming himself down. "Okay. Then, where is she?"
"I don't know, but she isn't in here."
Batman looked over his shoulder, back into the store and noticed the fire was nearing the ominous stack of red containers. "We have to get out of here, now."
David looked into the store at what Batman was seeing and quickly turned to run back out the back door. He could feel his Dad's hand on his back, pushing him faster than his feet were moving. David pushed the back door open and literally fell out the door before he began to run across the pavement when he suddenly stopped. Batman turned to see that David was no longer beside him. He held up his hand to Batman, to quiet him as he looked back at the store. He quickly turned his head back towards Batman.
"Do you hear that?" He listened again, trying to figure out where it was coming from. He turned to one of the semi-truck trailers sitting next to the receiving bay of the store. "It's coming from over there."
A giant explosion blew out the windows and partial roof of the store. Glass, bricks and wood flew into the air. Batman ran towards David, pulling him further away from the store as the debris came down like rain. He wasn't making it easy. David watched as the tractor trailer rolled one time over, away from the building as multitudes of bricks landed on it loudly. Batman could feel the man go rigid over watching the scene unfold in front of him. A moment later, he snapped out of it as reality set back in.
"HEATHER!!" He turned to Batman. "No, let me go!"
He pulled himself out of Batman's firm grip and ran towards the trailer as debris continued to fall. He held a hand over his head as dust and smoke quickly filled the area. When he reached the doors of the trailer, he noticed the chains locked around the handle. David felt along his belt and realized that he had nothing to break the chain. Suddenly, Batman appeared beside him, using a small torch to quickly break through the chain. When one loop had broken, they quickly pulled the chain off the door and unlocked it and let one of the doors drop to the ground with a thud.
It was dark in the trailer but they could hear the sound of someone coughing.
"Who's there?! Let me go you bastards!" they heard her yell out.
David let out a breath that he didn't even realize that he was holding. He instantly recognized her voice. Batman crawled under the door and into the tipped over trailer with David behind him. He could make out the shadow of Heather hanging by her wrists from what was now the ceiling of the trailer.
"I'm going to help you," Batman said, concealing his voice, before holding a finger to his lips to remind David to keep quiet in fear that she would recognize her his voice. "Don't move."
"Could you at least take this damn bag off my head?"
"Not yet."
Batman reached up towards the ropes that wrapped around her wrists and began to burn through them. David meanwhile worked on untying her ankles. Batman tapped him on the shoulder as he was nearing the point where the rope would break with her weight. David understood and stood up, although Heather's feet were still not loose.
She let out a yelp of surprise when the rope suddenly broke and she felt herself fall. David wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her on her tied-up feet. Heather instinctively grabbed hold of his neck before quickly going for the bag on her head. He carefully and quickly placed her on the ground. Batman touched David's shoulder and turned towards the door of the trailer, gesturing him to leave. David nodded and crawled out the door. Batman quickly undid her ankles as she unwrapped the bag from around her neck.
It was still quite dark, but Heather could make out the outline of the cowl over the man's head who saved her life. She was stunned. After so many years of living in Gotham, she could finally say that she met Batman.
Multiple sirens were heard of the approaching fire and police departments.
Batman led the way out from inside the trailer and Heather followed. She could feel the dust burning her eyes and throat. Heather squinted in the darkness, trying to see ahead of her. She coughed and continued to make her way over the debris. When she made her way far enough out from the building, she looked back. The store was like a skeleton of what it was. Smoldering ashes and smoke continued to billow up from the store. She looked over her shoulder to look for Batman and found that he had disappeared. Instead, another man ran towards her as firefighters ran towards the blaze with hoses.
"I'm Commissioner Gordon. Are you all right?"
"I think so."
"Did you see who did this?" he asked, running his hand through his hair before looking back at the store.
"No. I got here after the thieves arrived."
Gordon looked down at her uniform. It was obvious by the unattractive orange and brown shirt that was wearing, that she was an employee of the store.
"Do you work here?"
She nodded. "I'm Heather Tamarack."
She explained how she had been attacked and then tossed into the tractor trailer before being found by Batman just moment before he arrived.
"And you didn't see any of them?"
Heather shook her head.
"Did they say anything?"
Heather paused for a moment, carefully choosing her words.
"Nothing more than a few words," she said. "I don't even remember much of what they said."
Gordon nodded before waving over the paramedics. "I'd like you to get checked out to make sure that you're fine."
"Of course."
"Is there anyone we can call for you? A husband or boyfriend?"
Heather smiled weakly before shaking her head. "No. I could use a ride home though."
"Oh yeah, sure. Detective Mendoza here can give you a ride once you've been given an okay from the medics. I may give you a call to get a statement at a later date. Could I get a number to get a hold of you?"
Heather quickly jotted down her number and handed it to the police commissioner before walking away with detective Mendoza. Gordon sighed before looking back at the burning building, hoping that some sort of evidence would be left in the rubble.
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"Oh my God, Heather! Where the hell have you been?"
Heather walked through the door and glared at Kate and her boyfriend, John as they sat together, reclined on the sofa. The glow of the television lit up the small living room. Heather didn't answer and instead walked past the television towards the stairs.
"Is that you that smells like a mixture of sweat and smoke?" Kate leaned back curiously and peeked out through the curtains. "And was that a police cruiser that brought you home?"
Heather began to walk up the stairs. Kate noticed that Heather hadn't said a word or answered her question and she quickly grew concerned.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Heather replied, from the top of the stairs. "I just want to go to bed."
"May I suggest a shower first?"
She answered with the sound of a door closing, loudly.
Heather leaned against the bathroom door and reached over into the shower to turn on the water. The room began to fill with steam as she pulled off her clothes and tossed them in a pile by the door. The water would only wash away the smell and dirt. She wanted the memories of the night to disappear as well. She had heard every word that man had whispered in her ear and she wished that she would forget them. The threats and the seemingly jovial excitement he had regarding the ideas of how to ruin and physically destroy the Wayne family made her nearly sick to her stomach. But the fact that he wanted her to keep it a secret upon penalty of one of the Wayne's dying was too much.
She stood in the spray of the shower, wishing that she could wake up from that horrible dream. She turned the water off and wrapped a towel around herself before walking across the hall to her room. Heather could still hear the sound of the television as well as an occasional giggle from Kate downstairs. She closed the door behind her and got dressed into her cami and shorts.
As she climbed into bed, the sounds of Gotham seemed louder that night. The night appeared darker and more ominous. Heather turned on her side and she could see the moon shining in through the window. She looked back down at the alarm clock in front of her, declaring that she had less than six hours to sleep before she had to get up for her first day of her internship.
David.
They had agreed to meet for breakfast in the morning. With her current circumstances, she wasn't really wanting to go out, let alone be able to get across town without a car. She wasn't sure what kind of conversation they would have anyways. Conversations with David were growing more uncomfortable and it was becoming more consistent that they would get into arguments.
She reached for the portable phone beside the bed and rolled over onto her back to dial. She sighed as she waited for him to answer, knowing that it was quite late. His cell phone rang numerous times before it went to the voice mail. She debated whether to leave a message as she heard his voice announcing that he was preoccupied and that he'd call back. Before she knew it, Heather had run out of time. She heard the beep and her mind instantly drew blank.
"Uh, David," she said, pinching her eyes shut, trying to think of the words to say. "I'm guessing that you're either asleep or your phone is on vibrate. Anyway, I was just calling to cancel for breakfast tomorrow...or I guess I should say for today now that it's after midnight. It looks like I'm going to be without a car for a while and it's a big day tomorrow. Besides, I don't want to start my day with another argument, so to save us both on unnecessary bickering, let's just reschedule for another time. Okay? I'll talk to you later."
Heather hung up the phone and rolled back over on her side before pulling the blankets up to her neck to fall asleep.
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"Take a shower."
They were the first words that Alfred said to David once he arrived back at Wayne Manor. David was still running on sheer adrenaline from his experience.
"I took the liberty to pull out a pair of clothes that you left here a few weeks ago, sir," Alfred said as he picked up the smoke filled clothing off the bathroom floor while David showered.
"Thanks Alfred. I'll be staying here for the night again."
"You're making it more of a habit lately."
David smirked. "The penthouse gets lonely all by myself.
"Understandable."
Alfred began to walk out of the bathroom and into David's old bedroom when he heard a cell phone begin to ring. He glanced around the room, looking for it. When his eyes landed on the phone, he picked it up and walked back to the bathroom.
"Sir, you have a call on your phone," he said.
David peeked out from the shower. "From whom?"
"Miss Tamarack," Alfred replied.
"I'll check the voice mail when I come out."
"I'm glad to know that she's all right," Alfred said.
"Me too," David admitted. "I mean, I was afraid for Allison when she was in trouble, but I knew that I could help. When I couldn't find Heather and thought that she was still inside the burning store, I was ready to do anything to get to her. My stomach flipped right along with that tractor trailer, especially knowing that she was most likely inside."
Alfred paused at the bathroom door, listening to David talk.
"She didn't even know that I was there," he added, softly. "It was so hard to not say something to her to let her know that I was there."
"You can call her back, sir," Alfred suggested. "I'm guessing that she'll need someone to talk to after her ordeal."
Alfred paused before he continued. "Master Bruce should be back shortly. I'm going to go and check to see if he's arrived."
"Thank you, Alfred."
"Anytime, sir."
Alfred closed the door just as David turned off the water. He reached out of the shower and picked up his cell phone, instantly checking his voice mail as he began to dry himself off with one hand.
He slowed down his drying off as he listened to her message, telling him that she was canceling for the morning.
He didn't even realize he was looking forward to seeing her and spending time together, until he realized that it wasn't going to happen.
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Next Morning...
The Porsche stopped right along the curbside. The sight of the car in the neighbourhood was unusual. It got more than one glance as David drove down Heather's street. He stepped out of the car and pulled off his sunglasses. He tossed them onto the seat before grabbing the cup of coffee and the small paper bag off the passenger seat. David walked up to the front door and knocked. After a minute, the door finally opened.
Kate stood at the door, slightly confused. She looked tired, her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and she had her house coat wrapped around herself.
"David? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to give Heather a ride to the hospital," he said, smiling.
"Do you even realize what time it is?"
His smile faded as he looked down at his wrist watch. 07:45am. He had slept in and completely forgot what time she started at. "Damn it."
"She's already gone," Kate confirmed for him as he turned and hurriedly headed back to the Porsche.
"When did she leave?" he asked, before ducking into the car to set the cup and bag back. Kate walked onto the porch and crossed her arms, to keep herself warmer in the cool morning air.
"Nearly a half hour ago."
She watched as he took off his suit coat and tossed it into the car before picking his glasses off the seat. "If you're thinking of catching up with her, you're going to have to hope you don't get caught by the police!"
The Porsche roared to life and David smirked at her through the partially open window before speeding down the road. Kate couldn't help but smile as she watched the expensive car disappear down the road.
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Heather walked up the sidewalk, heading towards Dent Memorial Hospital. She still couldn't believe it was happening. For years she had dreamed of actually starting an internship at a hospital as prestigious as this one, especially one where her parents helped on the committee for raising the funds for the hospital. She felt proud to see the golden plaque with the names of her parents engraved alongside a dozen others on the outside of the hospital.
As she walked, she heard the sound of a motor come up beside her. She waited, expecting it to pass by her. When it didn't, she looked onto the street and saw the familiar Porsche moving at the same pace as she was. She saw David's smiling face as he drove on the street.
"I brought you coffee," he announced.
Heather stopped walking and turned towards the Porsche. She leaned over the passenger side window and smiled.
"David, what are you doing here? Didn't you get my message?"
"Yeah, and instead, I've brought you coffee and a muffin."
He pulled the car beside the curb and turned it off before grabbing the coffee and muffin. He climbed out of the car and walked around it to stand in front of her on the sidewalk.
"I was wanting to make your first day memorable," he said. "And to make up for yesterday."
Heather smirked, taking the coffee. "Memorable, huh?"
David nodded as he watched her smell the coffee. "Alfred made it this morning."
She carefully took a sip. "Alfred's coffee is the best."
"It is." He looked timidly down at the muffin. "But I have to admit that Alfred didn't make the muffin though. I picked it up on my way to your house but when I found out that you had already left, I came straight here."
"I appreciate the gesture," she said, smiling as she took the muffin. "But I'm going to be late if I don't get going."
"I wouldn't want you to be late on your first day. How about I pick you up when you're done for the day? I know it doesn't make up for last night, but I'd rather drive you than know you're alone in the city."
"David," Heather began. "I grew up in this city. If I could handle last night, I can probably handle anything. Besides, Kate is going to be coming by to pick me up later. Thanks for the offer though."
"A rain-cheque then," he stated, as he walked back around to the drivers side of the Porsche. "Have a good first day."
Heather waved as the car took off down the street and she continued her walk into the hospital.
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Seeing Commissioner Gordon's face inside of Wayne Tower wasn't unusual. Over the years, Bruce Wayne would offer funding for the police department regarding new firearms, protective gear and better equipped cruisers. No longer would anyone be surprised to see the man walk through the executive floor of the building.
He stopped in front of Bruce's office and knocked on the door after being greeted by his secretary. He heard the man call to him to come in. Gordon opened the door and closed it behind him. He could hear the sound of a television on with the volume set to low. Bruce stood up from his couch and walked towards Gordon with an open hand.
"Good to see you, Commissioner," Bruce said.
"You too, Mr. Wayne."
Gordon looked over at the flat-screen sitting on the table across from them and smiled. "The Blades may actually win this year."
Bruce smiled, noticing the recap of the game was being played on the news. He nodded.
"It would be the first time in how many years?"
"Ten, I think. I don't presume that you saw last nights game."
Bruce grinned as he walked towards his desk after turning the television off. Gordon followed him.
"I was busy," he said, pulling out a remote from his top drawer. He aimed it towards the glass windows that lined the front of his office. Multiple panels fell in front of the windows.
"Are you using the reception scanners as well?"
Bruce nodded and sighed once they knew that their conversation would never be seen or heard by anyone else. "Have you found anything else about last night?"
"Last night? It was just a fire."
Bruce shook his head. "I need to talk to you about the woman that was there."
"Oh, Heather....."
"Heather Tamarack," Bruce finished for him. "I know her. She's is like family to us. I've known her and her parents for nearly ten years. I believe that she knows something about that fire and for some reason she isn't telling."
Gordon crossed his arms. "You heard the conversation."
Bruce nodded. "I wasn't out of sound range when I disappeared. Her answers to you seemed a little out of character for her."
"She's a woman who went through a traumatic experience," Gordon argued. "She's more likely to be a little out of sorts."
Bruce shook his head. "Trust me. She's hiding something. I'll see if I can figure out what it is."
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A week later
"Where the hell is he?" Bruce asked softly to Olivia as he glanced around the busy carnival and midway grounds for his son. It was the night of the annual Dent Memorial hospital fundraiser and this year it was in the form of a fair. Bruce smiled politely to the various photographers who were allowed onto the fair grounds.
"He'll be here," Olivia replied, giving Bruce's hand a squeeze. "You know your son. He's not too keen on these types of things."
Bruce sighed. "I know. But if he's going to be taking over as CEO of Wayne Enterprises, he'll need to be a little more punctual."
Olivia couldn't help but chuckle. "He sounds a lot like you."
They turned around at the sound of various clicks of cameras and flashes of lights as David's name was being called out. Finally, they saw David walk quickly towards them with a smile.
"You're late," Bruce said, keeping the smile on his face.
"Well, you know traffic wasn't the greatest."
"You're due to make a speech in fifteen minutes," Bruce said. "And I'd appreciate it if you thought of something to say."
David's smile faded. Bruce saw David's reaction and began to walk away from the media with Olivia on one side of him and David on the other.
"I thought you were the one making the speech for this," he finally said.
"Not tonight," Bruce said.
"You know how I hate giving speeches."
"That's why I didn't mention it until now. I knew you'd find a way out of coming if I told you earlier."
David sighed and looked around.
"What the hell am I supposed to say?"
Bruce put an arm around David's neck. "Thank everyone for coming, for their generosity and anything else you think of on the spot."
"You'll do great, David," Olivia added.
"Yeah? You're not the one having to stand in front of hundreds of people."
David began to walk off. Olivia was concerned. David never liked crowds as a boy and that dislike seemed to follow him into adulthood. He was comfortable with a group of twenty or so executives, but when it came to large groups that he had to speak in front of, that was an entirely different matter.
"Where are you going?"
He spun on his foot and turned. "I need some time alone if I'm going to go up there in fifteen minutes."
Olivia smiled and took Bruce's hand.
-----------------
Heather adjusted the ridiculous looking chicken hat on her head as she picked up the fallen rubber chickens inside the booth. For the past two hours, she had to remind herself that it was for charity. She waved across the aisle at the other interns who were suckered into working the booths by their resident doctors. It was beginning to feel like a high school orientation to see how much ridicule and embarrassment the new interns could handle in one day. Dozens of people, ranging from celebrities to government officials have already walked past with more than a few playing the games.
"Of all the games, this is the one you get?"
Heather stood up and turned around, seeing David standing at the counter with his hands in his pocket. She shrugged.
"It's for charity," she commented. "Besides, the chicken hat is growing on me."
David chuckled as he picked up the wooden mallet on the counter.
"How much to play?"
"Three hundred for three chances," she replied.
David nodded and reached into his pocket before handing her the money. Heather smiled and shook her head incredulously as she placed the three rubber chickens in front of him.
"You do know that you don't need to play," Heather said. "Your Dad already donated a great deal to the hospital foundation for tonight."
David shrugged. "It's for charity, right?"
Heather backed up as David placed the rubber chicken on the lever and aimed for the pot that moved in front of him. With a quick movement, he slammed the mallet onto the lever, sending the chicken flying into the air and missing the pot. He tried the second time, this time clearing the entire platform and made it fly across the booth. By now, the photographers noticed the billionaire heir playing at one of the games and saw it as a photo opportunity. A small group of them stood a few feet away as David prepared to line up his chicken for the final chance. He was about to hit the lever when he suddenly looked up at Heather.
"What do I get if I get it in?"
Heather smiled. "The satisfaction of giving to the hospital."
"That's great and all, but I need something tangible."
"You can have my hat!"
David laughed. "That's not exactly what I had in mind."
Heather watched as he rubbed his chin, a playful smirk on his face which she had grown to recognize when he was up to no good. She crossed her arms, wondering what was going through his mind. "What?"
He looked over his shoulder, ensuring that the photographers were out of ear shot of their conversation.
"If I get this chicken in that pot, you'll be my date for Mr. Fox's retirement party." He paused for a moment. "God knows that it would be boring if I went with anyone else."
Heather let out a chuckle.
"Are you serious? You know the chances of you getting that chicken in this pot is very slim."
"I'll take my chances." He paused as the smile slowly disappeared and an odd seriousness came over him. He put out his hand towards her. "Well, what do you say?"
Heather sighed, glancing out towards the media that stood a few feet behind them. She knew that they couldn't hear what he had said, but were obviously wondering what was going on as they whispered between each other. She could see Mr and Mrs Wayne approaching. Heather could feel her heart pounding as she looked back at David, as he gave her his full attention.
Finally, she grabbed a hold of his hand and shook it.
"Okay." She let go of his hand and backed up out of his way. "Good luck."
David took his time in lining up the chicken before he hit it. The chicken hit the edge of the pot and flipped onto the platform. He missed. Heather smiled sympathetically.
"Sorry."
David shrugged. "Like you said, the chances were slim that I'd get it in."
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned, seeing Bruce and Olivia standing beside him.
"It's time for your speech," Bruce said, reminding him of the time. David nodded before giving a wave to Heather. She watched as he walked away with his parents beside him. She opened her mouth for a second, not sure what to say as she watched him.
In a moment of making a quick decision, Heather climbed over the counter and slid onto the ground on the other side. Her hat nearly fell off, but she grabbed it as she jogged up behind David and put her hand on his back to get his attention. He stopped, smiling as Heather attempted to put the awkward chicken hat back on her messed up head.
"Heather? What are you doing?"
"I forgot to tell you that there are no losers at my game tonight," she said, catching her breath from her jog. "So, if you're still wanting your prize, I'd be willing to make it happen."
David smiled and shook his head.
"I lost," he reminded her. "I'm not holding you to our deal."
Heather shook her head.
"You're not."
The smile that she saw earlier reappeared on his face. "Okay. I'll pick you up on Saturday around six."
"That sounds great," Heather said, suddenly aware of the the hospital's board of directors around them. She winced with a smile to David and slowly backed up out of the crowd before walking back to her booth. As she walked, she could hear the voice of the head of the hospital board come over the PA.
----------------
David didn't hear much of what was being said. His thoughts were focused on the following weekend. He still didn't know why he asked her to be his date for the evening and why it seemed to be such a big deal to him. Heather had accompanied him to various parties on many occasions, so this wasn't something new. He glanced over at her booth from where he stood beside the raised platform and watched as other people were playing the game that he had just played.
A man walked past him and discreetly handed his Dad a closed envelope with the instructions that it was to be opened immediately. David looked over at him, questioning what was going on. Bruce shrugged and opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. After a few seconds, David watched Bruce set his jaw and glanced around the area, before he walked past Olivia and took David gently by the arm and walked with him away from the gathered crowd.
"I need you to get your mother out of here right now," he whispered. "Alfred is waiting by the car."
"What? Why? I thought I had to give a speech."
Bruce handed him the letter to read. "It seems that whoever knows about Wayne Enterprises and Batman is wanting me to give a short speech tonight, with the highlight explaining how myself and Batman are the same. If I don't, you and your Mom will be killed."