CHAPTER 20

Rufus, escorted by Harrison, was allowed in the building. He followed as Harrison turned the now-struggling Dick Grayson over to two soldiers and a delighted-looking Generalissimo Lee.

"There, you see? We got the kid back for you, Mr. President," Hamilton said.

"You'll get a fine bonus for this," Lee said, watching the boy struggle in vain against the soldiers' grip. "And this is the young man who helped to catch him?" Lee glanced over at Rufus, who stood immobile while those predatory dark eyes swept over him.

Lee dismissed him with a glance. "By all means, take your young protégé back to America with you. I have no further need of his services or interest in him, now that I have my Robin back, "the Generalissimo ran a caressing hand through Dick's hair, making the boy struggle even harder.

Rufus gulped but realized he'd been dismissed. He followed the two men back to their guest quarters. He looked back over his shoulder as Robin was being dragged away by Lee's men. "So...uh...when do we leave?" he asked uneasily.

"In a few hours," Hamilton said, seating himself on a couch in the guest suite. "It looks like Mr. Pak has to gather some paperwork before he goes; apparently he has some urgent business with Bruce Wayne in Gotham City." He cracked a smile while Harrison snickered.

Harrison lit up a cigarette and offered one to Rufus, who took it. "So, how long ya think this kid, Grayson, will last?" he asked Hamilton.

"This one? Not too long," Hamilton shrugged, fiddling with the television remote. "He's been pretty sheltered; not like some of our more experienced kids," he nodded to Rufus.

Rufus could feel himself starting to shake, driven by a combination of memories he'd rather forget and fear for Dick. "Uh...where does a guy get a meal in this place? I'm hungry," he said.

"There's a staff dining room that has food going all day long," Hamilton said absently, dialing channels on the television set.

"I'll go find the dining room," Rufus said. "You guys want me to bring you anything?"

"Nah, we're fine," Harrison said, watching the t.v. "Don't be gone too long. If you're not back in two hours, we'll leave without you; and we aren't going to search for you."

"Understood," Rufus said, and left the room. Outside and around the corner, he stopped and tried to calm down. He hated this place, every inch of it, and now they were speculating about how long Dick could survive...No time for panic attacks. He had work to do.

He thought he remembered where the dining hall was. As it happened, he only got lost twice before he found it. There was plenty of cold food in a kind of buffet, along with plates and silverware. He stuffed his pockets with two knives and a couple of forks; Robin could use some sharp objects. Then he went back out into the hallway and concentrated.

Oh yeah, the 'Robin' quarters were down in the basement. How could he have forgotten? He made his way to the elevator and pressed the down arrow. In all this time he was passed by a variety of servants and soldiers and ignored by all of them. Given Lee's past history, it wasn't unusual for children to run loose in the palace.

When the door opened, Rufus walked confidently down the long hallway. Oh yeah, he remembered the Robin shrine. He walked through that room as fast as he could, still creeped out by it. The living quarters should be somewhere ahead...yes! That was it. Uh-oh...

Rufus ducked around a corner. Guards were going to Dick's room...

Batman watched his boy being dragged out of the room and finally mastered his rage. It settled into a cold, boiling mass somewhere in his gut. "If anything happens to him, I'll kill you. Slowly," he breathed.

Lee's smile never wavered. "It's well known that Batman doesn't kill. Not ever. I have the power over you now and am in...what is that quaint phrase from the American South? Oh yes, I am in the 'catbird seat' now." He chuckled. "My little bird and I." He moved toward the door. "You'll be flying out today," he said coldly. "If you're lucky and he is well-behaved with me, I may let my Robin say good-bye to you."

Batman remained entirely still, only his eyes watching Lee strut through the door. Beneath the blankets he continued working, working on the restraints.

Later, he thought it might be a few hours, the door opened again. Lee appeared with four guards, two with guns, the other two bearing chains and shackles.

"Your flight leaves soon, Batman," Lee said, smirking. "My men are here to help you dress. To relieve your fears, I want to show you my shrine celebrating your young partner Robin, so that you will know in just how much esteem I hold him. And, because I am a generous man, you'll be allowed to say goodbye to your son. Ah, I thought you'd like that," Lee said, noting Batman's start at the news. "Gentlemen, please assist..."

With one gunman holding a pistol to Batman's head and a second with a machine gun at three feet, Batman was released from the restraints. Lee noted how loose they were and looked momentarily shaken. "Well, I'd say it's time for your flight home, Batman. Mr. Tan, please help Batman into his clothing."

Tan opened the closet and removed Batman's costume, handing it to him watchfully. Batman dressed carefully. When he got to the utility belt, he felt the lightness of it; they'd emptied it. Damn. But maybe not all of it...He felt at the back for the small bulge at the seam. Not completely empty, then.

"And now the shackles," Lee began and Batman moved into action. He knocked the pistol out of the hand of the closest man and ducked the fire from the other gunman. He swung around towards the door and found himself facing Mr. Tan.

"Let me out," Batman growled. "Or you'll be picking your teeth out of your hair."

Mr. Tan grinned a wide smile instead. "At last, a worthy opponent," he said and launched a skilled attack.

The space was small, but Tan was an effective fighter, one of the best Batman had ever faced. Worse, Tan seemed to have studied Batman's style. He should have expected that with Lee's obsession. He stepped up his game, using tricks he'd learned long ago from the League of Assassins. Tan's smile only grew wider as he countered each blow, then, almost leisurely, he struck a calculated kick at Batman's bad leg. The pain was white-hot and his leg collapsed beneath him, leaving him helpless and stricken. Tan had been playing with him, analyzing his attack before going in for the kill.

Tan bent over him, chaining both legs and his hands behind him. "Thank you very much for the workout, Batman. You are very good and I learned a great deal from you." He gestured to the now-recovering gunmen, who lifted Batman up and dragged him out of the room while Generalissimo Lee gleefully followed. Tan disappeared down a hallway.

Batman mentally shook himself and paid careful attention as they took him through the palace hallways to an elevator. They stopped at the basement and continued down a dark hallway. They entered a black-painted room and Batman gasped at what he saw. Robin's picture plastered the walls. He'd been photographed at all ages and even those taken when Batman knew he'd been with the boy featured Robin only. Batman had been cut out. Lee stopped the little procession in front of the television screen that featured recurring loops of Robin fighting villains and rappelling down buildings.

"You see how proud I am of this boy?" Lee said proudly. "You have trained him so very well and he is so accomplished. When I actually saw him in action, I knew that I had to have. Alas, kidnapping proved to be impossible. Even those criminals of Gotham I hired to grab the boy proved unsuccessful. You always rescued the lad and assumed that the kidnappers grabbed him for their own reasons. I'd paid them well enough and frightened them well enough that they kept my involvement secret," Lee turned away from the motion picture to the horrified Batman who was still examining the room. "Until now, I've had to make do with the Robins I was able to get. But I promise you, I will take care of young Dick Grayson. I trust that Bruce Wayne will be cooperative, as will Batman."

"Your definition of care would get you twenty to life in a Gotham prison," Batman rasped. "He's not a possession; he's a boy, a boy who needs to go home."

Looking at the video and smiling, Lee said, "He is home. Home with me. Shall we have a look at him?" He hit a button on the screen and it shifted to an image of Dick Grayson being wrestled into a bedroom. The two guards left him there and shut the door behind them. Batman and Lee watched as the boy searched the room carefully. He opened the closet door and found a Robin uniform, then felt the fabric and his lip curled in a sneer. He shut the closet door and lay on the bed instead, clearly thinking."

"So, he doesn't like the uniform I've supplied him with," Lee shook his head. "The finest materials and manufacture available. Well, he'll learn to appreciate it or he'll wear nothing at all," Lee turned to look at Batman with an impish smile.

Batman's face remained cold and grim, although his hands, chained behind his back, had curled into fists. Seeing no apparent reaction, Lee gestured towards the opposite door. "Now, I will allow you to say your goodbyes."

The guards had taken Dick to his original bedroom in the palace, untied him and locked the door behind. He prowled the room, seeing that very little had changed since he was last incarcerated here. His thoughts kept veering to what Batman had saved him from last time. He wasn't eating any of Lee's food, unless Rufus brought it. No drink except for fresh water from a tap. He couldn't afford to let himself be drugged again. There wouldn't be a rescue this time. He hadn't asked Rufus for details about Lee, but he could guess a lot from old case files of Batman's he'd read on the computer in the batcave. This was dangerous and a lot depended on staying sharp.

Having examined the place and found no changes, he lay on the bed. There, he nursed his bruises and mentally berated himself for a stupid move. Sure, it had felt great to kick Generalissimo Lee, but all it had done was make the man angry and gotten Dick some loose teeth. But it had hurt, seeing Batman helpless in a hospital bed. Somehow, he'd expected the Bat to raise a towering attack on Lee, defeat all the man's soldiers and fly him and Rufus out of this stinking country.

He rolled over and sat up, cradling his aching jaw. Batman was injured. He couldn't tower over anybody right now and he needed a Robin who was thinking strategically, not a kid throwing temper tantrums. Okay. For starters, he knew the palace better than he had when he was locked in this place before. Rufus was outside somewhere, scoping out the place and tracing the wiring on the closed circuit security systems; at least he sure hoped he was. Dick hadn't let his friend see any doubts about the level of Rufus' loyalty, but still, Rufe had sold him and Batman out in the first place. He hoped he'd guessed right, that Rufus was really on their side and that his torment at Lee's hands hadn't changed him that much.

They'd left another Robin suit hanging in the closet, complete down to the boots. He wasn't going to change clothes until he was forced. Another feeling of pain: seeing the suit he was so proud to wear turned into...his lip curled...lingerie.

He looked up and found the camera trained on the room. That, at least, he could do something about. He went into the bathroom and returned with a bar of soap that he'd moistened slightly. He moved the chest of drawers closer to where the camera was mounted and climbed on top. Good. It was in reach. With a grin, he reached the bar of soap over to the lens and smeared it good.

Looking carefully, he found two other hidden cameras and smeared them too. Last, he took care of the camera in the shower with great satisfaction. He was contemplating his work when he heard a noise at the door. He was at the other end of the room and in a defensive posture when the door opened and two soldiers with guns appeared, flanking Mr. Tan.

"Batman will be flying out to Gotham City in a few minutes," Tan said. "You're to be taken to see him off. " He gestured towards the guardsmen, who moved in on Dick.

Dick backed up and was soon flying through the room, bashing a head here, punching an arm there. He soon had both guardsmen groaning on the floor. Mr. Tan stood in the open door, between Dick and freedom.

Dick and Tan eyed each other, sizing up the other as an opponent. Dick finally attacked and knew he'd made a mistake as soon as he rushed the other man. Tan stepped easily aside and calmly led Dick on a chase through the room without once allowing the boy to land a blow or to get through the door. Winded and frustrated, Dick stopped for breath and Tan pounced. He was faster than Dick had imagined anyone could be; faster even than Batman.

The boy parried the blows as best he could but could feel himself losing ground. Tan got past his guard and got him in the right arm, numbing it down to his fingers. He shifted position and tried leading with his left until he saw a tiny smile on Tan's face, then he was on the floor with Tan pinning him down. "I can do you great damage, young warrior," Tan said softly. "Or you can come with me quietly. Will you cooperate?"

Slowly, Dick nodded and creakily got to his feet. "You will dress appropriately, first," Tan said and nodded toward the closet. Dick's face set.

"I'm not wearing that fake suit," he said.

"President Lee has required it of you, therefore you will wear it," Tan said, voice dangerously low. "Or you will not see Batman before he leaves. You will not see him again for a very long time, I suspect. It is your decision."

Angry to his core, Dick hesitantly opened the cupboard, noting that Tan had taken up a position out of the boy's immediate reach. He slowly took the suit out and donned it, fumbling with the laces since his arm was still numb. The mask in place and fake utility belt fastened, the guards grabbed him by the arms and marched him down the hallway followed by Mr. Tan.

He was taken to the rooftop helipad where a large helicopter sat. Batman, his ankles in shackles and hands unseen, stood tall next to the shorter Generalissimo Lee. He looked up when he saw Robin approaching, held by the soldiers.

"Ah, we are all together now," Lee said. "Let the boy come forward and bid his mentor farewell."

The guards let him go and Robin ran over to Batman. It didn't escape either of them that there were multiple gunmen aiming at them both.

"Is it true? They're sending you back to Gotham?" Robin asked, voice trembling a little.

"They are," Batman said. "Lee has some errands for me." He gazed at the boy, his composure cracking, and struggled down onto one knee. "Dick, I won't be here for you. I...I'm sorry that I can't protect you..."

"It's not your fault," Dick said fiercely. "I'll be okay. It'll be okay..."

Batman was silent, head slightly bowed. "I never should have let you become involved in all this. I made a mistake but you're the one who will pay for it..."

"Batman..." Dick scrubbed at an eye.

"I'll be back for you," Batman said softly. "Never doubt that I'll get you out of here, if it's the last thing I do." He smiled crookedly. "Can I have a hug for the road?"

Dick gave an inarticulate cry and threw his arms around Batman's waist. They stood there silently for a long moment until Lee's unwelcome voice broke their silence.

"That's enough! Mr. Tan, you will escort Batman to Gotham, just to ensure that he arrives." Lee stood back while the guards helped Batman to his feet, then forced him over to the helicopter. Robin saw for the first time that Harrison and Hamilton were already aboard.

Batman was strapped into a seat between two guards, Mr. Tan sitting behind them. Harrison and Hamilton gave one final glance around the rooftop, then took off. Batman's face was turned towards the group on the ground, finding Robin's gaze and holding it.

Robin stood tall and watched his father leave and knew it was all up to him now. Under his cape he fingered the lock picks Batman had slipped him and tucked them into his utility belt.