Chapter 17
Swinging through the street, Batman can't help but force his mind on the job at hand. Angry and frustrated at what is being done and not done for Dick is not putting Batman in a better mood.
We've had the video from the bathroom for over 24 hours and still nothing. Nothing came up on the prints and the fucker is smart enough to know to cover his face, thinks Batman, as he decides to end the night and head for home.
Finding the Batmobile where he had left it, Batman slips inside and starts the powerful engine. Zooming down the streets, he heads for out of the city, onto a small, very little used country back road; a road that, if one knows the way, will lead to a very special cave.
In no time at all, Batman finds himself in the cave. Jumping out of his vehicle, Batman strides over to the 'computer, only to find someone already there and the video from the school playing.
"Dick?!"
Batman grabs the chair and spins it and the boy away from the screen.
"What do you think you are doing, young man?"
"I'm trying to look for clues," comes the quiet reply.
"You don't need to see it," says Batman, kneeling next to the boy.
"But I do need to, Bruce," says Dick, as he glances over his shoulder to watch more of the video.
Taking a deep breath, Batman stands up and reaches over to the keyboard. Pressing a button, Batman shuts off the video.
"Dick, listen to me," says Batman, as he leans over the boy in the chair. "You don't need to prove anything to me. Not about this."
"Remember, a couple of years ago, I was just some kid you didn't even know," says Dick, but when Batman tries to interrupt, the boy waves him off. "Please let me finish."
Taking a deep breath, he continues, "you didn't even know me, but you took me in. Why? Maybe you felt pity, or sympathy, or because you saw a reflection of yourself, since we both lost our parents to crime. After I was here, you let me be involved in taking down Zucco. Why?"
"I thought it would help you," replies Batman. "To be involved with solving the crime would give you a closure that I didn't get."
"But the guy was caught," states Dick, glancing up at his mentor. "The guy who killed your parents."
"Yes, but I wasn't involved in it," replies Batman, shaking his head. "Maybe if I had been involved…"
"You would have felt the closure," finishes the boy, staring up at his mentor. "I need closure, Bruce. If that means, I have to help you catch the guy and see what…what he did to me, than that's what I need to do."
For a moment, Batman says nothing. He then reaches over to the keyboard and turns the screen on again, but doesn't start the video.
"I'll let you in on this, but if I find you can't handle it, I'll pull you."
"I accept," replies the boy, as he reaches for the keyboard to start the video again.
"And one other thing," says Batman, placing a hand over the boy's outstretched hand, "you aren't to do this alone. No videos by yourself, no going out on the streets by yourself. Nothing, until this is finished."
"Fine," replies Dick, as he finds the button to turn the video back on.
