Batman: Crossfire Part 1
Late 2184
Months since the fall of Bane's criminal empire, there has been a void to fill the seat of power. Gangs of all sizes and notoriety attempted coups to take the reins, but so far none had succeeded. All attempts had been thwarted by the combined efforts of the tireless C-Sec and an undisclosed collaborator.
Bailey rubbed his eyes as he disconnected a disturbing phone call. Dispatch in the Zakera Ward just had a few calls come in concerning a shooting in the political district. What made him rub his head was this was the third shooting in the span of a week in which no witnesses spotted the shooter. He closed out his terminal and arranged for transport to the crime scene.
It was late, about 23:00 standard time. Bailey stepped out of the skycar and made his way to the highlighted scene. Two other officers had already set up the police line markers and had not started investigating the scene. Bailey had read the initial report and noted the victim was a rising human politician. The veteran officer motioned for the other officers to let them into the politician's office.
The doors slid open revealing a dark, barely lit room. The sound of skycars could be heard outside of the office due to the shattered window. Bailey stepped forward and stopped in his tracks as a well-lit cargo truck rushed by the window, illuminating the whole office for a brief second. It was long enough so the officers could see a darkened shadow crouching over the victim.
The two younger officers behind Bailey drew their sidearms and pointed them at the armored figure as it stood up. Bailey did not even attempt to reach for his weapon and put his hands up, motioning for the other two to lower their weapons.
"At ease guys," Bailey calmly said as they slowly lowered their weapons, "give us the room." The two officers looked at each other and then back to the Captain, as they began to back out of the office. Bailey watched the doors slide closed and then turned back to the center of the room. He let his omni-tool begin to glow, partially illuminating the room with an orange hue.
The Dark Knight had draped his cape around him as he stood steadfast to Bailey. The Captain looked around, seeing the politician in front of him. He had a single shot precisely where his heart was, which seemingly killed him instantly.
"Well, what do you think?" Bailey said as he crossed his arms and continued to examine the scene.
The dark figure did not reply; Bailey wasn't expecting an answer as he surveyed the scene. Over the few months, Bailey had grown accustomed to dealing with the Dark Knight. As much as he wanted to deny it, C-Sec would have never been able to stop all the gangs vying for power by themselves; Batman was an asset. He was an asset that was regarded as a myth according to C-Sec, but a benefit all the same.
Batman turned away from Bailey, replaying the crime through his optical lenses. He had reconstructed the whole incident just as C-Sec arrived and did not get a chance to play through it yet. By the way the body had fallen, the drinking glass and datapad suggested the politician was on his feet possible pacing the office. Batman rewound the overlaid visual representation of the crime, showing the body returning to an upright position.
Even though he was turned, with is left side facing the window, the shooter placed a perfect shot directly into the politician's heart. Since the entrance and exit wound was directly on the victim's chest and back, he turned ever slightly, pointing his chest to the window.
"Alfred, lay a highlighted path of the round starting from the exit wound to a possible shooter location" Batman said inside his sealed helmet with audio turned off so Bailey could not hear. Obeying, the AI displayed a red line indicating the path the bullet traveled to create such a shot. Stepping up to the window, Batman followed the path to as far as his oculars would allow; there were no buildings of any kind in the way.
Thoughts were going through his head when a few skycars rushed past his zoomed in vision. He realized that a major skyway intersected the bullet path and if the shooter had stopped right outside the politician's office, he would have a clear shot.
"Anything?" Bailey asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Batman did not turn around as he reactivated his deep outward tone, "I'll be in touch".
"No, this is the third attack like this in a week. These attacks are precise and people are starting to get scared. Do you think we need to inform the public about a serial sniper?"
Batman finally turned around and faced the Captain, "No, these attacks are too precise. Those that have been targeted have been for a reason. There is no indication these are random."
"Okay so how do we draw this guy out? He's killing high profile people," Bailey turned holding his head again and looked back, "I mean-" Bailey stopped mid-sentence because he was talking to himself in an empty office. Bailey sighed, used to Batman's disappearances and then called out to the officers standing outside to begin their investigation.
The Dark Knight had not gone far; as Bailey turned away he leapt out the shattered window and boosted his way to the Batwing that hovered over the top of the skyscraper. Batman did not get into the vehicle but crouched on the hull, looking out to the area where the shooter's bullet had come from. He could not help but notice the rest of the Citadel, its massive petals each shimmering like city. Batman refocused his oculars and traced the still highlighted path of the bullet. It did indeed run right through a skyway, a busy one especially at the end of the day.
"Alfred, check this building's security cams, particularly any overlooking the skyway."
"Checking now, Sir" The polite AI paused, going through all the possible camera junctions, "Only two overlook the skyway, uploading to your visuals now."
Batman forwarded the video to the approximate time of death and watched for any stalled or slow skycars passing in front of the building. After a quick search, he saw nothing; not one vehicle stopped in the constant flow of traffic. Not convinced, he saved the video and closed it on his HUD. He wanted to further analyze the video and so he hopped into the seat of the Batwing and took off towards the remains of his parent's home.
What was left of the mansion resided on the outskirts of the Tayseri Ward. The end of the Eden Prime War brought the destruction of Saren's flagship, Sovereign. The debris spread all across the Citadel, devastating parts of the massive structure with the worst reaching Tayseri Ward. Many parts of the Ward were without power and were still far from being restored. Criminals thrived in the 'no man's land' many of the human inhabitants labeled The Gotham Wasteland, named after a city on Earth that had been long overwhelmed by earthquakes.
Kane Manor was located on the very outskirts of the Tayseri Ward and so was spared from the wreckage of the Reaper, but the mansion was recently attacked by the criminal overlord known as Kin-Bane. Most of the upper living areas of the mansion were not affected by the attack, but the concealed lower levels were heavily damaged.
In the months since the krogan's attack, Kane had been rebuilding and remodeling the manor inside and out through the use of automated drones, controlled by his AI assistant. The public knew Casey Kane to be very private in his personal affairs and so thought nothing of the secrecy in rebuilding his home. The reconstruction allowed Kane and Alfred to improve the foundation of the manor and upgrade the headquarters for Kane's nocturnal activities.
The reparations in the techno-cave were going fast due to the work of the non-stop drones. One of the many upgrades added to the cave was a holographic entrance cloaked as part of the siding of the Citadel. It was based off the specs of the entrance that Bane had for his base of operations on the Presidium; a good idea is a good idea.
Before passing through the holographic entrance, advanced sensors scanned the Batwing, verifying the vehicle and occupant. Once it was inside, heavy doors closed behind, sealing the tunnel to the cave. The Batwing hovered upwards and made its way to the main level as a landing pad formed underneath it.
The canopy opened as Batman hopped out, he wasted no time and briskly made his way to the main console. Drones still floated around, magnetically moving equipment through the cave, but Kane insisted the main console was a priority. He let the mainframe download the footage he had from the crime scene and began meticulously scanning through the recording.
Having already done a quick view of the traffic at the scene, Batman had deduced the bullet was a high velocity round unlikely to be picked up on camera. He knew C-Sec didn't have the resources to analyze the footage and so brought it to the cave for further examining. Batman calibrated the software to pick up the residue left in the air after a high velocity round was fired through the airspace between the skycar traffic and the office building.
Within a few seconds the monitor pinged and highlighted in red the flash of muzzle fire out of an unmarked black skycar. The muzzle exhaust was small and just barely noticeable to the naked eye. It came from the driver side window of the vehicle, through a custom cutout of the window. Most skycars did not possess the capability to lower their windows, but this shooter had modified their vehicle so that a bullet could travel through the cutout and to its target.
Batman sat back in the padded seat; he had to admire the marksmanship. This shooter had not only flew by the office building in a heavy traffic flow, shot a single bullet without slowing or stopping, and expertly hit the victim in his heart, but all at a distance of about 250 yards. Although grim, Batman could appreciate the skill it took to accomplish such a feat.
Back to work, Batman started an automated scan of the shooter's vehicle. While the system examined the skycar, he began a full investigation about the victim. His name was Charles Saracino; a former human radical turned politician. About a year previous, he was a ranking member of the Terra Firma Party but then was swayed to take a more relaxed stance in order to promote human interests. Through the months he rose in political power on a ticket that he would always have humanity's interests at heart, but willing to cooperate with aliens in order to that.
Working on keeping his word, Saracino was diligently trying to help humanity by rebuilding and repairing the so called Gotham Wasteland. He was no stranger to Casey Kane; the two of them had many contracts together in ensuring the revival of the damaged Ward. Batman put that thought in the back of his mind and continued his investigation.
Sifting through the politician's records showed interesting results, Saracino had recently set in motion a new plan to restore one of the more corrupt districts in the Tayseri Ward just a day before his death. Something or someone did not want that district to be touched and so had a marksman take Saracino out.
Batman knew all about the particular district Saracino had been targeting, The Dark Knight had raided the area a few weeks ago. A rising gang had begun to take over and so Batman quickly dealt with them and let C-Sec swarm the area afterwards. He knew a new gang would move in eventually, just not that quickly. Batman figured there would always be another group of criminals willing to team together to form a gang, but this was different; regardless of the gang, they hired an expert marksman to do their dirty work.
The shooter was his primary objective and so Batman began to plot how to lure the marksman out into the open.
"Within the past couple of years, Kane Charity has been a beacon of hope for all those in need throughout not only human space, but beyond. In those years President and CEO, the illustrious Casey Kane, has created subsidiaries of his parent's legacy in order to help people in more ways than one."
"One such branch of the benevolent empire is a contract exclusive to rebuilding lost and damaged properties. As of this morning, Mr. Kane stated he will hold a memorial banquet tonight for the untimely passing of Senator Saracino, highlighting how he will be focusing all his efforts in rebuilding the Tayseri Ward as a testament to him and those who gave their lives during the Eden Prime War. Mr. Kane had already been funding a sizeable amount to the relief effort, but after the news of Charles Saracino's death was announced late last night, it seems Mr. Kane hopes to keep his word in their business deal. Later today we will bring you live coverage of the-"
The news anchor faded away as Kane turned his head back to the main holo-screen at his console. "Do you think that was wise, Sir?" chimed Alfred with concern in this synthetic, well-mannered voice.
Kane did not lose focus on the screen in front of him as he replied to Alfred, "It'll put pressure on the gangs in the Ward and force them to use the shooter, drawing him out. Better I put myself out as bait instead of another politician or civilian."
Kane then shut down the console and sighed as he pushed his chair away from the dimmed screens. He still had on most of the Batman armor bar the helmet as he walked towards a mannequin he had set up in next to the secret elevator leading to the manor. A table was set aside next to it as he started to take the armor off piece by piece. The armory module of the still in progress cave was not complete, hence the manual removal. He placed the set of armor on the stand, knowing Alfred would put the pieces on the mannequin for later. He still wore an under suit as Kane warily made his way to the elevator and ascended upwards.
"I will prepare you an outfit for the event, Sir."
Kane didn't reply to the AI as he watched himself in the reflection of the polished metal of the elevator. This was what he hated most; masquerading as Casey Kane to the crowds, pandering to those around him. In this case it was a necessity, but he knew as he looked into his own eyes; Casey Kane had died a long time ago with his parents, the disguise he wore at night was his real identity now.
Nearly twice a month Kane Charity would hold a fundraiser and casual meeting for all contractors and supporters in its recent ventures. The one to be held a day after the death of Saracino was to be a memorial and remembrance of his legacy. Casey Kane made sure that the focus of the event was to commemorate the legacy of Saracino by supporting a better future in the endeavors he was working on.
The occasion was to be held on one of the lower levels of the Presidium Tower, in one of the larger ballrooms reserved for special events. Once everyone had arrived and introductions had been made, the lights dimmed as Casey Kane strode to the main podium. The crowd politely clapped as he smiled for the media in the room.
"Thank you all for coming here tonight. While many of our proceedings are a routine at these events, tonight I am here with a heavy heart. As many of you may have heard, Senator Saracino was tragically murdered only a day ago. He was a friend and a business partner." Kane stopped and looked at the crowd in despair. The feelings were not an act; normally everything he did as Casey Kane was a ruse for the public, but Kane genuinely felt bad that the death of Saracino had occurred and there was nothing he could do.
"I will honor his noble crusade to rebuild and restore the so called 'Gotham Wasteland' and will double the efforts already being made by all Kane Charity subsidiaries to do so. I hope that tonight you all will do the same in remembrance to a great man." Kane smiled once more and then walked off the stage to be met by Captain Bailey. Kane approached the man he had learned to trust as Batman, but for the sake of this plan to work he had to forget those feelings to protect his identity.
"Well Bailey," Kane started with a calm tone, fixing his suit cuffs, "I hope this play of yours works, I'm happy to do my part to catch this killer."
"We hope so as well Mr. Kane. We have confirmed through a reputable source that you have been targeted by a hired assassin. This will draw him out long enough for us to catch him."
"Just don't get anyone killed, please?" Kane then turned and was approached by an aide of his, who spruced up Kane's bow tie and made sure his suit was clean. Kane did not want to be here, he wanted to be lurking in the vents searching for this shooter, but he knew this was something that had to be done in person. He had thought about placing a holographic mech in his place to act as a decoy while he hunted to shooter down, but he speculated that such a professional marksmen would have methods to detect decoys. Kane could not risk the shooter not taking a shot and thus giving away his position, this was the only way.
"Is our…consultant ready?" asked Kane into his earpiece as if talking business in front of the others behind the stage, but really speaking to Alfred.
"He says he is dealing with another situation, but will be ready when the time comes" the AI hesitated to say, "Can we trust this…specialist, Sir?"
Kane wondered the same thing; he had only come into contact with the 'specialist' a couple of weeks after the Ivy incident. Kane thought he was a wayward but talented sort and offered him to work covertly for him on a few assignments.
"His skillset is required" Kane finally said as he heard his cue to approach the stage once more. Taking a deep breath he stepped into the spotlight as the crowd began to applaud him again. Not sure exactly the nature of his speech, Kane began to read off the holographic teleprompter before him as the ballroom fell silent. While he spoke, Kane shifted his eyes across the room and above it, into the maintenance vents.
There were numerous maintenance ducts all through the Presidium Tower and access to them was easy for the master infiltrator. Before the event had even started, as Batman he had entered the tower and gained access to the maintenance catwalk that overlooked the various vents into the lower level. As Batman carefully studied the area above the ballroom below he noticed a vent that was a direct line of sight to the podium.
Before leaving the area he detached a round device from his belt and placed it under the catwalk safety railing. The small device boosted the echo-locator in his helmet so that he could move onto another room. Continuing his search of the area and placing the boosters throughout the walkways, he noted there were three different vents that had a view of the podium. This was the most likely spot the shooter would choose to fire from and so he wanted surveillance everywhere. It would also be an ideal place for C-Sec to make patrols, but Batman feared this assassin would easily be able to evade them.
Kane continued his speech on the varying levels in the market and how the future of the charity corporation was bright as he listened to Alfred's observations through the devices he had placed earlier. Alfred relayed that they were several officers patrolling the upper ducts, as he had predicted. He said that one of the officers had entered one of the three possible firing points. Kane thought nothing of it and returned his focus to the speech, when single shot rang out.
Everything went silent as Kane was just finishing his sentence and he was suddenly flung backwards in a burst of red mist. He fell clear off the stage as breathed heavily as the sound of the crowd screaming started to fill his ears. C-Sec swarmed around him, dragging him behind the stage curtains.
"Get me to my car" Kane said slowly into the ear of Bailey who was one of the first to get to him. Complying, the officer brought him to the black skycar waiting just outside the main dock of the ballroom, exactly as Bailey was told by Kane before the speech.
When Bailey had told Kane that he was a target and that C-Sec was working close with Batman to catch the sniper, Kane agreed to be a part of the plan. He told Bailey that he would fake his wounds with sophisticated shielding and blood cartridges, which was only the latter was true. To force the shooter to make a shot, Kane had to look defenseless, with no armor whatsoever. When he was shot, he was to be rushed to his vehicle for protection and immediate extraction.
Bailey and another officer placed him in the vehicle with Kane forming a weak thumbs up as the skycar's door closed itself. Bailey then took a deep breath while turning to follow officers to the shooters last location.
Kane quickly moved to the center of the vehicle as the mechanical arms already began applying the Batman armor over top his 'blood soaked' tuxedo. Thirty seconds later he was fully armored and slipped out of the vehicle and headed for the ballroom. From the time he was 'shot' to when he emerged from the vehicle, not two minutes had passed. He ordered Alfred to send the car to the hospital to suppress suspicion between Batman's appearance and Casey Kane's disappearance. Using his boosters, Batman reached the rafters above the stage, just as a message popped up on his HUD.
'Hesallyours'
At the same time Batman saw a C-Sec officer come crashing down through one of the overhead vents. Over half the crowd had already been evacuated as some officers escorted them out and others drew their weapons and pointed them at the fallen officer. Batman leapt from his perch and landed onto the stage just after the dropped officer had collided on his side. Batman noticed he was a turian wearing C-Sec armor with a helmet that had been cracked from the fall and a custom sniper holstered to his back. The turian slowly stood up and whipped back and forth looking at both Batman and the officers.
Batman could tell the shooter felt exposed in the light, much like he did, but for once C-Sec had their weapons drawn at the real enemy. Batman stood in a ready stance, unsure what the shooters next move would be; he was cornered and Batman had a good guess as to what was about to happen.
The shooter looked to Batman and then thrust both his arms towards the covering officers and had twin mounted wrist barrels appear on each of his forearms. The shooter still had his helmet facing Batman, taunting him when he unleashed four volleys of gunfire simultaneously.
"Get down!" yelled Batman to the officers as he leaped forward at the shooter, who had one arm facing the retreating officers in front of the stage and then moved the other towards Batman. The Dark Knight was caught in the twin streaks of the barrage as his shields flared up. He knew his shield would only protect him for a few seconds at the rate the gunfire was coming and so while still running towards the shooter, he swung a batarang out of his gauntlet that directly hit the shooter's wrist mounted gun, knocking it off balance.
With a split second window, Batman twisted quickly closing the gap between and landed a powerful elbow into the shooter's helmet, shattering the already cracked faceplate. The shooter stumbled back, fighting to keep standing after the attack as Batman did not hesitate to deliver an uppercut into the turian's gut, knocking him to the ground.
As soon as the alien fell to the ground, he began to roll towards the back of the stage. Batman was about to follow him when he saw the shooter had left behind a small disc on ground where he fell. The great detective did not need to analyze the disc to know what it was as he dove off the stage and into the now empty ballroom.
A second later the disc detonated turning the stage into shrapnel. Batman had leaped off the stage and was able to cover himself in his cape, protecting him from the heat and intensity of the blast. Batman quickly got up and noted no movement anywhere near the stage; the shooter was gone.
Batman looked around the ballroom, noting that the civilians had fled before the explosion and the remaining officers had all taken cover, prompting him to move on to the next phase.