Chapter 6
Seeing the school at night is kind of unusual, most of the lights have been left on, with the exception of the hallway leading to the main office, which is exactly where I want to get into to. There's a side doorway leading directly to the main office. I pull out my screwdriver and push the bushes away to reveal the white electronic box that controls the door, and find it already open and tampered with. I get up and stumble away from the white box. I look over at the door. Placing my screwdriver back into my pocket, I reach for the door, my eyes wandering over to the security camera tucked into the corner. I grab a hold of the door and pull. The door easily swings open and I feel a drafty wind fly out from the hallway. Stepping in, I quietly and carefully shut the door close, although it really doesn't make a difference now, since the lock is now permanently broken. Since the main office door hasn't been tampered with in the same way, I open up the box with a wire leading to the office door and flip the emergency switch on. Suddenly, I hear a slight *click* to the left of me. Smiling, I re-screw the bolts back onto the box and open the office door. I immediately make my way over to the labeled cabinets in the corner of the office. I scroll down until I find a cabinet labeled: "Security Recordings". Pulling open the cabinet reveals small boxes full of USB drives, each box labeled with a general date. I find the one with the most recent date. Opening the box, I find that it's contents consist of several different USB drives, all without labels. The Riddler could appear in anyone of these, I guess I'll just have to try all of them. How much video can you fit onto one USB drive anyway? And the videos probably don't take up as much space, considering that they're in black and white and have no sound. But then again, each camera is capturing footage twenty-four/seven, and there's a bunch of security cameras around school…
"You're here Batman!" a high-pitched, old-styled broadcasting voice calls out.
I turn around, and I'm greeted with a very tall blond gentleman boldly standing upright in green elf boots, skin tights, a green bathing suit with a red vest, and a black mask.
"…Martin?"
He jumps back, "Kat? You're Batman…I mean, gee golly sorry Batman! Don't wanna give away your secret identity but, how did you know it was me, Martin, aka Robin the Boy Wonder, your youthful sidekick?"
I chuckle, "Martin, you've been wearing that costume for Halloween for three years straight, you don't think I would recognize you?" I pause, "And also, aren't you older than me?"
"By half a year!" Martin protests, slipping back into his normal voice. "Anyway, what do you need Batman?"
"I need to go over the security footage of the hallway right before I found the graffiti by the locker rooms this afternoon." I explain.
"Oh, well, Mr. McDowall and Ms. Erikson were looking at it earlier, I have it right here." he tells me, pulling out a USB drive from his pocket.
"Oh, uhm…thanks."
I take the drive and go over to the TV screens and plug it in while Martin puts away the others back into the cabinet.
"Say, does that costume seriously have pockets?" I ask.
Martin closes the cabinet, "Not pockets, utility belt." he explains, pointing to a small belt just below his vest, "Say, where's your utility belt?"
That's actually a very good question, "I don't have one."
"What do you mean you don't have one?!"
I shrug, "The costume didn't come with one. It's not actually a Batman costume, it's a Batwoman costume I tweaked a bit."
"Well…I mean…it doesn't look like…something that would be fit for a…woman." he stutters.
"Its my aunt's. Its from the fifties or sixties, so it fits pretty loosely."
Martin wiggles his nose, "Or you could just admit to working out a bunch."
I smirk, "Oh ha, ha."
Martin jumps into the swivel chair by the main desk and spins around in it until he arrives at the front desk's desktop computer, "Now, just let me just find the point we're looking for." The TV screens go black, before switching to playing back the recording of the previous afternoon. Martin begins scanning through the footage before coming across a figure walking down the narrow stairs leading to the locker rooms. In the small hallway space between the boys and girls locker room, the figure, completely covered by a hoodie.
"So, how are we gonna determine who this guy is?" I ask.
"After this, we just have to follow him via the cameras. If he leaves the school without showing his face, then I'll rewind it and we can follow him backwards. Either way, he's bound to show his face sometime." Martin explains.
We begin watching the footage as the hooded figure sprays the message on the wall. Martin spins around in his chair a couple of times before returning to the computer screen, his head twirling just a bit.
"Hey, don't you think that riddle was kind of simple?" I mention, crossing my arms while watching the footage.
He shrugs, "I guess so. But usually the Riddler's first riddles are simple, but then they usually lead to reveal a more complex plan." He pauses for a bit, "Or, you know, this guy could just be stupid."
I chuckle, "Who knows? But…do you think he really has something planned for the game tomorrow?"
He nods, "Definitely. So I'll definitely be there. You?"
"Yeah. I have to, I'm a cheerleader, remember?"
"Oh yeah…heh, sorry, it's easy to forget."
Suddenly, the school alarms start blaring, and all of the lights turn on to their brightest setting, blinding the both of us in florescent light. I squeeze my eyes shut and cross my arms in front of my face, turning my head away from the lights.
"What's going on?!" I shout over the alarms, trying to open my eyes slowly bit by bit.
"I'm checking the security feed now!" I hear Martin's voice reply, but his loudest shout could just barely be heard over the alarms. "I need you to shut off the alarm system, before the cops show up! The code is gothamhs2011, the alarm shutoff is in the principal's office!"
I give some kind of gesture resembling a nod, before scrambling over in the direction of the principal's office. My left arm guiding me, and my right arm shielding my eyes, I throw myself against the door of the principal's office, knocking it open. The alarms get louder with each blare, as I begin searching through the principal's desk for the alarm switch. Opening the middle compartment, I find the alarm control and a small gadget beside it. My eyes having just barely adjusted, I punch in the password, and the alarms…stop. I rub my ears, the heart pulsing noise of the alarms is finally gone. As I blink away the last blurry spots, I notice the small gadget sitting by the alarm controls. I pick it up. It appears to be a set of earpieces, both comprised of a clunky metal material with microphones attached. I bring the set over to Martin, who's calmly typing on the main desk's computer.
"How were you not fazed by that light?" I ask.
He turns around, revealing his yellow tinted square framed sunglasses awkwardly placed over his black mask. He adjusts them slightly and raises an eyebrow, "Style."
I instinctively laugh, before stifling back to a serious posture, "So, what set off the alarm?"
Martin's carefree demeanor disappears, and he swallows, "The Riddler's here."
I run up to the computer, displaying the current security feed, "Where?!"
Martin points over to the top right hand camera of the second floor hallway where a man in a button down, vest, and slacks.
"Second floor, right by the library." he tells me. His eyes dart and notice the set of earpieces in my hands, "Hey, where'd you get those?"
I look down at them, I'd almost forgotten about them, "I found them in Mr. McDowall's office. I've never seen anything like this before, have you?"
Martin swipes them right out of my hand and takes off his sunglasses and puts on his regular prescription glasses,
"These are obviously some sort of communication device, by the look of the speakers and mics." he puts one on, pressing the small button on its side to turn it on and hands the other back to me, "Can you hear me?" he asks as his voice is sent into the microphone and out through my speaker.
I turn to him and nod. He paces back to the computer,
"He's on the third floor, by all of the art classrooms. You have to catch him while you still can. We'll use these earpieces to keep in touch."
I nod, before securing my earpiece in place and running out the door. I'm only on the first floor, so I need to really to hurry if I want to catch up with him.
"Umm…Kat, we have a problem." Martin's voice rings loud and clear into my ear, as if he were actually right beside me.
"What's wrong?" I whisper into my microphone.
There's a slight pause, "The Riddler knows you're coming for him. He's got a cell phone with access to the school security cameras and is waiting for you on the third floor."
I nod, "Okay. I'm approaching the third floor, wish me luck."
"Be careful Kat."
The concealed figure creeps and slinks up against the wall, peering out from behind the corner. In the shadows, another figure can be seen impatiently tapping his foot.
"I know you're there." he calls in a clear, silky voice.
The dark shadow flies out from behind the corner, gracefully sliding to a stop. The dark knight rises to a complete stand, showcasing a tall imposing stature.
"So, we finally meet. You're exactly as I predicted. Tall, lean, muscular. Ah, but intelligent? We'll have to see. How're you faring on my latest riddle?" The Riddler asks, swinging his cane.
"You're planning something for the basketball game tomorrow." a deep, gruff voice confronts him.
The Riddler smiles, "Awh, that's all? Or are you waiting for me to reveal my grand scheme so you can oh-so conveniently fool my plan? Sorry Batman, but I'm not interested in doing that dance. But…I am willing to concede if you'll be willing to reveal you identity."
"Is that what you want?"
He gives a strangely controlled laugh, "Oh Dark Knight, there's a lot of things I want. For one, I'm missing a green coat to complete my ensemble. But my closet aside…do we have a deal?" he asks, extending a gloved hand.
"No." he cold facedly replies, barely moving his lips.
The Riddler's expression changes from a cocky smile to surprise, and then to a frown of disappointment. He begins to step backwards, "Well, if I can't get first dibs, I guess we'll all just have to find out together. Tell me, why does the caged bird sing?" he asks, stepping past a pair of open doors.
Batman begins charging for the Riddler, but the Riddler takes out a cell phone and quickly swipes a command, triggering the two fireproof doors to slam shut violently. Batman hears the two other sets of doors close on themselves as well and the red fire alarm in the center of the hallway begins blaring.
"That's a trick question. The little birdie isn't singing. That's the fire alarm, and after I set it off the first time, the police are definitely gonna investigate now. I'll be looking forward to seeing your TV debut Dark Knight. Ta ta for now."