The inside of a police car was a boring place to be. Being born an acrobat, he was supposed to be moving, always moving. However, while in the confines of the car, Dick was forced to stay, for the most part, still. The only movement came from his constant fidgeting and finger tapping.
Besides the occasional passing car, everything remained relatively quiet. The city itself was never tranquil per se, but the constant buzz of life was something Dick loved. After spending time in space while on missions with the Titans or trapped in the cave by himself, he found silence tended to dig into him. Dick Grayson was not a quiet man; if he wasn't talking, it was usually a cause for alarm for those closest to him.
He attempted to keep himself entertained until his shift ended, but he realized the next two hours would roll by like molasses after looking at the clock. Molasses, mmm, breakfast. Breakfast for dinner? Cereal it is! He began pondering what cereal he'd have for dinner before his other 'patrol' when his thoughts were interrupted by static. Then, somewhat awakened from his lazy stupor, he turned up the police radio.
"All Bludhaven on and off duty police officers within five miles of first street downtown, report to First National Bank. A hostage situation in progress. Shots fired," the dispatcher said.
"Finally, something to do besides sitting here," Dick said with a grin. As much as he hated knowing people were in danger, helping them was sort of his forte. Starting the engine, Dick headed toward downtown. It didn't matter if he was uptown, way more than five miles away, Officer Grayson was en route.
Due to his far away patrol location, he arrived later than the other officers. He left his car and moved toward the barricade the Bludhaven Police had created between the bank and the innocent bystanders. Their curiosity will be the death of them. Dick asked the bystanders to evacuate further to safety as he passed them, but he knew it was in vain and continued walking. He found Amy Rohrbach, the Bludhaven Police Department Captain, talking on a police radio as he approached her.
"Grayson, what are you doing here? If I remember correctly, your patrol was in uptown today," she said.
"I couldn't stay away from the chance to help people," Dick replied with a lopsided grin. "How's the situation?"
"Not going well. We had a robbery attempt, but an off-duty officer happened to be inside at the time. He tried to stop the guy, but instead, he was overtaken. And, like the others inside, the officer was taken hostage," Amy explained.
Dick remained silent as Amy talked. He'd stopped robberies in the wee hours of the night at this bank before. For the most part, he remembered the layout and some not-so-obvious entrances. However, those entrances were too high for Dick Grayson to get in. He thought about leaving and coming back as his other persona, but he knew it wasn't the best decision in the middle of the day. Dick ran the risk of people getting a better view of him than at night. And since he was surrounded by people who saw him daily, he figured letting them see someone who resembled a "missing from the scene at the time" Dick Grayson was not the best idea.
"We're trying to come up with a…." Amy said before getting interrupted. Heavy gunfire came from inside the bank, catching their attention.
"That guy has more firepower than the average bank robber. It's making this rescue attempt extremely difficult," Amy half growled. Her brow furrowed as she moved a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "We need to get officers inside to force pressure on him. He's alone, and we should be taking advantage of that. However, he's out for blood and isn't afraid of shooting someone. He needs to be taken down by whatever means necessary."
The radio crackled to life. "Rohrbach."
"Roger, Rohrbach here," Amy said.
"The robber is focused on the north side of the building due to my squad. We have wounded people inside. If you can, while he is distracted, move officers in from your position on the south side," the voice on the radio said.
"Ten-four. Thanks," Amy said, placing the radio back down. She turned to Dick. "Ok, you heard the man. We're going to take this opportunity and move in as many officers as we can without being overly crowded."
Seven was the magic number. Seven officers would do the risky job of getting into the bank. In the group was Dick.
They moved fluid as a group. They dodged in and out of the parked police cars until they reached the package delivery entrance door behind the bank. One officer opened the door from the side with practiced precision while another peeked into the building. When he gave the signal, Dick moved into the building with arms locked straight down at an angle, gun in hand. He used his trained stealth to sneak toward the main lobby.
They were walking down a small narrow hallway. Dick could tell this hallway would be used for package delivery because they ran into no offices or rooms. He could hear the other officers behind him and put his hand up to motion them to stop.
They'd reached a rather large oak desk, which Dick presumed would be where an assistant sat to check in any deliveries. The desk probably came up to Dick's waist, but while in his crouched position, it completely hid him from view. He peeked over the desk and took in the main lobby.
The room was a mess. Desks and tables lay overturned, papers scattered about, and hostages sat in the center of the room. Each person's hands and feet were bound with plastic ties while their mouths were taped with duct tape. He noted that each person was moving to some extent. Dick continued to scan the room after surveying the hostages. A fort had been constructed from desks and tables to one side of the room.
A gun barrel showed out of a hole in the fort, pointing toward the other officers located on the north side.
"There is an office behind him. If we can get into it, we could easily get him," one rookie officer in the group stated.
"No way. That's practically a suicide mission. There is no way we could get around him without him noticing," another officer responded.
The others continued to argue while Dick ignored them. This situation was stressful. He didn't enjoy being sent in with a group. The more people, the more work he had to do to make sure they all got out safely.
Behind him, an officer said something that offended another. The offended responded by lightly shoving the other away from him. But this simple act caused the first to lose balance, knocking him into the desk they used to hide. Dick witnessed a picture frame with a happy smiling family inside fall to the ground in slow motion. The shattered glass hit Dick's ears like a bomb. For a moment, he stared at the smiling family as they mocked him with their happiness.
With their cover blown, a bullet flew past them. The officers scattered, trying to find alternative hiding spots. Dick ran along the wall closest to him and eventually hurdled through the front lobby central desk opening. He landed behind the counter and moved back to hug the wall. A sound next to him made him jump; he hadn't expected someone else to be back here. Next to him was a wounded man. Dick recognized him as Officer Mendez, another Bludhaven police officer. However, he wasn't in uniform. He deduced that Mendez must have been the off-duty officer Amy had mentioned.
"Grayson?" Mendez asked, breathing heavily.
"Yeah, sorry to just drop in like this, so unexpectedly," Dick said.
"This isn't exactly the time for puns, Grayson," Mendez said, scowling in either annoyance or pain.
"I know. It's just an old habit I can't seem to kick," Dick replied, somewhat taken aback. He'd never spoken to Mendez before today, but he guessed he should be more professional, especially considering their current state. Mendez grimaced as he moved. "Are you hurt?"
Mendez took a deep breath and sat up, lifting his head and closing his eyes. "He shot me when I told him I was a cop. I guess he thought I was down for the count, or the sirens spooked him because he forgot about me and built his sick playhouse against the far wall. I crawled over and behind the counter while he did that, but I haven't been able to get back up. It took everything out of me," Mendez said.
"Well, don't worry. We're going to get you out of here," Dick said, trying to sound reassuring.
The wounded man gave him a blank expression. "After that little well-planned rescue that just occurred? I won't hold my breath."
Dick sighed. The man deserved to be a little cranky. Don't take it personally, Grayson.
A loud noise came from the lobby, accompanied by glass shattering. Dick peeked over the counter to see a small fire starting on the opposite side of the room from the robber's fort.
"Was that a low-grade grenade?! He has grenades?!" Mendez shouted over the gunfire. More glass shattered.
"He's trying to shoot the officers outside now," Dick informed the other man.
"Why? What good will that do him? I don't think he cares anymore about getting away. I think he's just trying to hurt as many people as possible now," Mendez said.
Dick knew Mendez was probably right. There was no logical reason to shoot outside. It would just entice the police even more. But it wasn't just the police he was trying to hit. A hostage cried out as a bullet hit him in the arm. Unfortunately, with his hands tied behind his back, there was no way he could compress the wound. The man would lose blood fast and be dead within the hour if he didn't receive medical attention.
Dick tried to spot his fellow officers who'd come in with him, but he could only see two of them from his current position. Both were engaging the target with their guns. Unfortunately, however, neither was hitting their intended mark.
When he heard wood split, he snapped his neck to the side to see the criminal's fort hit. The gun barrel moved back from between the cracks. The robber carried the gun above the pile of tables and desks. From there, he aimed toward the aggressors inside the bank.
The robber was, while briefly, exposing himself now to take a shot at the officers. The man was wearing a generic black ski mask. Typical, Dick thought.
"Grayson, can you see him?" Mendez asked him.
Dick had almost forgotten about Mendez.
"Yeah, he's exposing himself to shoot the other officers who came in with me," Dick reported.
"Well, what are you waiting for? You have your gun, right? Take a shot," Mendez sternly said.
Dick froze. Take a shot. With, with his gun? He stared down at his hip where his gun lay holstered. He knew as an officer he would have to carry a weapon, but Dick never thought he'd have to use it, especially not lethally. He'd only used it for intimidation or to keep up appearances. It would look kind of weird if an officer of the law were afraid of using a gun. Even when he'd entered the building, he had it drawn, but he had never planned on using it. Besides, there was no way he could shoot the robber without shooting him in the head. He couldn't kill a man. Could he?
"I…I," Dick stuttered, barely audible.
"What, Grayson?" Mendez asked, giving him a questioning look.
Take the shot? What would Bruce think if he just took the shot?
"Grayson, do you have him in sight?!" Mendez was practically yelling, but to Dick, it was a dull roar in his ears. "Grayson!" Mendez yelled louder.
Dick had taken plenty of 'shots' in his life, but with batarangs, birdarangs, wingdings, escrima sticks, and even swords. However, he'd never taken the shot with a gun. Dick could see the masked head pop up now and then. He could easily make the shot; his reflexes were too acute and his aim too precise to not be able to. But the simple task had him close to panic.
Robin had taken an oath a long time ago never to use a gun, and therefore Nightwing did the same. But this wasn't Robin or Nightwing. This was Officer Dick Grayson, who'd taken an oath to protect the people and officers of this city by whatever means necessary. That included taking a shot if needed.
"Grayson! If you can take the shot, do it before anyone else gets hurt!" Mendez yelled behind him.
The words rang in his ears. He turned to Mendez, who was leaning on the counter wall. His shoulder was still bleeding heavily, and he needed medical attention. This couldn't happen until they took down the robber.
Take the shot before anyone else gets hurt. If it was that simple, why had Dick never gotten rid of the Joker, Two-Face, Blockbuster, or any of the criminals in Gotham or Bludhaven? They would all inevitably hurt more people, but they still hadn't been stopped. If it was so simple to stop them before more people were hurt, why hadn't he?
There was a line he'd been taught never to cross or even come close to. Right now, he was more than flirting with the line; he was seducing it. And while he thought he was in control, the line was. It came closer and faster to him the longer he sat there. He wished he was in his Nightwing costume. Dick could hide behind the mask, say a pun, bust in, and stop the robber with a few flips and kicks. Without the mask though, he was simply Officer Grayson, confused and frozen Officer Grayson.
He thought of all possible escapes from the situation. Dick had rubber bullets, but they were back in his police car. And there was just no way to move from behind the front desk counter without being spotted. For the second time that day, Dick found himself still. His body wanted to fight the stillness, but he was trapped.
Dick continued to debate with himself. What was the difference between him shooting the perk or one of his fellow officers? He was just as at fault for the robber's death if he just let someone else shoot him while he could've stopped it. However, he had no way of stopping the criminal without using his gun.
A scream caused Dick to startle. When he located the source, he saw a senior officer from his original group of seven go down, clutching his shoulder just like Mendez. Several officers moved in to help, but the man was unconscious before reaching him. Dick knew what he had to do.
He unholstered his gun. The metal was cold against his sweaty palms. He peeked above the counter to see if the robber was looking toward him. Seeing that the coast was clear, he stretched his arms over the counter and aimed for where he predicted the hooded head would appear. When it did, he hesitated for a brief moment, so brief no one would even think he'd thought twice. Dick pulled the trigger, and the regret hit him quicker than the recoil.