14
RECRUIT
Jason opened is eyes, stretched and sat up, the previous night returning to his thoughts. After he had run out with the crowd Jason ran for ten blocks, randomly changing directions until he ended up at a subway station. He took a train to a favorite all night diner to grab food, famished from the fight and running. While eating he took note of every patron that came in and out, as well as the pedestrians. None looked like they could be Alfred or Bruce, and eventually he relaxed, believing Batman had not been at the fight because of him.
After his meal was finished he returned to where he lived, an abandoned slum building that was taken over by the homeless and addicts of the East End. He had taken over an apartment and part of the hallway on the top floor, sealing it off with brick from the rest of the building to prevent intruders. He put rubble from the building in front of the wall, and had sprayed graffiti, and anyone who saw it would assume the hall had simply ended there. This allowed him the only access to the roof, which he used to get in and out while avoiding being seen. Jason figured that eventually Harvey Dent would hear that he was after him. He didn't want Dent to know where he slept. Jason reached next to his sleeping bag and grabbed a pack of cigarettes and lighter. He tapped one out and lit it, and began to contemplate his plans for the day.
"Put that out," a gravelly voice commanded.
"Jesus!" Jason exclaimed as he leapt up and went into a fighting stance, the cigarette falling to the ground. He turned to see who it was and saw the panicked man who grabbed him the night before. "What the fuck, man?" he said. "How the hell did you get in here?"
"If you want to be a truly great fighter stop smoking," the man said, ignoring his question.
Jason launched towards him and threw a straight left towards his nose. In one fluid motion the man quickly slapped Jason's fist away with his right hand, and stepped in with his right elbow to Jason's temple. Jason collapsed to the ground unconscious.
Two minutes later Jason opened his eyes and looked around. The man was still standing there.
"I'm recovering from brain surgery and took you down in one second," the man said. "You have a lot to learn."
Jason looked at the man and reassessed him. He was wearing regular street clothes and glasses, with a short crew cut. Finally Jason realized who he was looking at. "Bruce? That was you last night?"
"Good memory," Bruce responded. "Good move last night, haven't seen that before."
"But how... I saw you... Batman... knock out Waylon."
"Misdirection on my part. Wanted to see if you recognized me wearing this. You failed."
"Well yeah, I was running from the Batman, or whoever that was."
"Doesn't matter, always be assessing. Every moment. Don't just see. Observe."
"Thanks," Jason said as he stood up. "I'll keep that in mind," he added sardonically. "What does it matter to you anyway?"
"Because we both have the same goal and I want you to survive. You're no use to me dead."
Jason narrowed his eyes. "Use to you? I don't work for you."
"Do you want to take down Dent?" Bruce asked as he walked around the apartment, looking at Jason's possessions.
A table in the corner had an assortment of handguns and various boxes of ammunition of different types next to it. On another table was a Barrett 82A1 sniper rifle, along with an HK416 carbine and ammunition for both. The table next to that had a pair of night vision goggles and various types of long range listening devices, some obviously custom built. Jason was obviously preparing for war.
"Take him down? I want to kill him," Jason informed him. "He killed my dad, he'll keep killing until he's stopped. I'm going to do that permanently. And then I'm going to clean up the East End. And the Narrows. Your team doesn't exactly pay enough attention to them here."
"You wouldn't make it. Dent pays for well trained help. More than likely you'd get killed without getting him. It would be a suicide mission."
"I'm okay with that."
"Civilians would get hurt and you wouldn't get to help out the East End. You'd just be found one day dead in an alley."
"I'm willing to take that risk," Jason stated defiantly.
"I'm not. You're not having a shooting war in my city," Bruce told him. Jason fumed, though kept still. "I'm not having a killer run loose in Gotham. I will stop you, and you know I can."
"So then why are you here?"
"To offer you something better. A chance to stop Dent, to live to see it, and to clean up the Gotham you talk about. It's your choice. Work with me or fight me. With me you get Dent. Against you get nothing."
"Why come to me at all? Why not just take me down now?"
"Because you can be an asset. You're smart, innovative, and can handle yourself in a fight. You can be my eyes and ears on the street. Go places where I can't. You have enormous potential, but a lot to learn. I can teach you, make you better. Make you a weapon."
"What, you're going to make me a superhero? Like you or Robin are?"
"I'm going to make you an operative. A soldier. If you can make it through the training we can decide if you want to wear some type of uniform. You probably won't pass, but you'll still have value as an agent."
"You don't know what I can do," Jason shot back. "I saved your ass from being killed. I took down that guy while you lay bleeding on the floor."
"And you did well for an amateur. Imagine what you could do with training. Think about it, Jason. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. This is your only smart option."
"So let's say I say no and you take me down. Beat me up, drop me off at a police station. What's to keep me from keeping quiet about you being Batman? You can take me down, I can take Batman down. You won't kill me to silence me. Seems we have a stalemate here."
Bruce looked Jason dead in the eyes for a moment before responding. His tone slightly changed when he spoke. He sounded almost respectful. Approving.
"Because," Bruce answered, "when I was at my weakest you did the right thing, even though it meant revealing yourself to me. You might try and defy me, but you won't expose me. You do what you think is right, and you don't think that's right."
Jason knew what Bruce said was true. The Batman helped Gotham, and exposing Bruce as Batman would end that. Lives would be in danger. Chaos would erupt. Jason couldn't have that on his conscience. Gotham was his home. Frustrating as it was, Bruce was right. About everything. Dammit.
"The training," Jason said. "Tell me about it."
"I'll teach you what I spent over a decade learning. I will push your body and mind past every limit you think there is. It will hurt. A lot. It will be beyond frustrating. Much of it will seem pointless. Absurd. But everything I do has a purpose. Every detail matters. I ask, you do. No debates. You're going to see how much work it takes to be the Batman. And Jason, we do not kill. Ever. If you can't agree to that you don't train."
Jason nodded. "When do we start?"
"Tomorrow. These weapons," Bruce said as he gestured to the various guns. "We don't use them. They are the weapons of the enemy. They make you look weak. They make you lazy, and too reliant on firepower. Clean them. Drop them off at the nearest police station." He pulled out a card with an address on it. "Be here tomorrow at nine a.m."
"Anything I need to bring?" Jason asked.
"No. And I meant what I said about the smoking. That was your last cigarette."
Jason nodded. "I'll be there." He thought for a moment before asking, "After the fight, I ran all over Gotham. I was alone when I got off the subway. You planted a tracker on me when you bumped into me, didn't you?"
Bruce nodded. "Good job. I said you were smart."