Broken Trust: Little Bird Lost
By
AJ
Part 5: Grayson's Grave Peril
"How do you like it?" Matthew Malone sneered. "It's my own special brew. Funny what you can learn in Chemistry class. I kept that little formula just in case I ever needed it."
"Why . . . why are you doing this?" Dick said as he came to after a few hours.
"Why?" Matthew asked. "You were the one who took my father away from me. You testified against him. Despite my Mother wanting to leave a normal life, she couldn't escape totally, and neither could I. I found I had a knack for it. Oh I graduated with honors, even became the youngest and highest paying defense attorney. Made a name for myself, too. Got a lot of the family off the hook. I learned a lot from my clients. The more the evidence, the more damaging the reputation, because people only see what's in front of them. So, I set out to frame you. First thing, destroy your image by planting the most damning of evidence. No one would suspect that squeaky-clean Grayson of cheating and selling drugs. The evidence had to speak for itself. I was so sure that you would not only get expelled, but you would want to clear your name. And you played right into my hands. Better send Brucey another note, and something else.
Malone took a photo of Dick bound and gagged.
"We're going to leave Wayne on a merry chase. He's not going to know where to find you until it's too late."
#
"I took Mrs. Cooper up to her room, Sir," Alfred said. "This nasty business has left her in near hysterics"
"Alfred, better call Lesie Thompkins and see if there is something we can do for her," Bruce said. "Did you get a good look at the car?"
"I did, but it was so caked with mud that the license plate was obscured."
"We need to find that car. Dick's life depends on it."
"Perhaps it would be prudent to speak with Commissioner Gordon. He could have his officers searching for that vehicle."
"They may have abandoned it by now, but you could be right. I'll also talk to Principal Schoolfield. Now that we know this was all a set-up maybe he'll rescind his expulsion of Dick. Maybe he'll realize we've all made a terrible mistake, and that Dick's life is at stake."
Bruce moved to the study and rested his hand on the bat phone. He noticed his hand was shaking. He'd never felt so helpless in his life. Bruce covered his face with his hand. He felt his knees buckling then strong hands suddenly supporting him, moving him over to a nearby chair.
"Oh, Master Bruce. You must not blame yourself over this."
"I do," Bruce said, quietly. "I didn't believe him. And now Dick's in peril and I don't know where to start looking or who to ask for help."
"Ask Batman," Alfred said. "And begin by following Master Dick's trail."
"The trail," Bruce said, revelation hitting him.
Bruce raced up to Dick's room. He had left all of Dick's papers sitting on his desk. He should have realized that Dick had provided a trail for him to follow, at least in part. He hoped it wasn't too late.
#
Time for another injection," Matthew Malone stated.
Dick reeled from the effects of the drug. He didn't know how much longer he could take such numbing torture to his mind.
"Why?" His words were breathy and harsh in his ears. "Why?" he repeated.
"I told you, to destroy you, to send your worthless soul into hell just as you did to my father, but no quick death for you. Yours will be a suffocating death like no other."
Dick shuddered at Matthew Malone's words. Never had he faced such a foe. Dick remembered he was not just an orphaned flier from the circus. He was also Robin and needed Robin's strength of spirit and determination to fight this enemy of the past. Matthew Malone may be the son of Tony Zucco, but he was not a trained fighter. With that realization "Robin" began to form a plan deep within his mind. The drug though was hard to resist. It ate at the edges of his subconscious, trying to force him to spill his secrets.
'I must fight it," Dick thought. But how could he fight a drug that continued to bring up every nightmare that he ever had in his life.
#
Bruce looked at the list that Dick had written. He knew he was on the right track. It would seem this was aimed at Dick and now himself for taking Dick into his home. Batman could not be involved; at least not in the way that was expected.
'I must go to the school while it's still open. Dick may have gone there, but where would he have gone after that . . ." then he remembered Dick's utility belt. He had taken several things with him. Bruce raced back down to the study and entered the Batcave, not as Batman, but as Bruce Wayne. He went through Dick's utility belt to see what was missing. Then he spotted what he was looking for. Comparing it with his own, he realized where Dick had gone. Now it was up to him to follow the trail.
Continues with Broken Trust: Renewed Vow