AUHOR'S NOTE: Sorry it took so long to add another chapter to this story. I have been very busy in changing jobs and didn't have much time. I hope it was worth the wait.
Chapter 29
Later that night, Dick tosses and turns in his bed. He had decided to again try to sleep in his own bed, wanting to reclaim the room that is his. Turning, he looks over at his clock.
Just passed 2. I don't feel tired, but I know I should sleep, thinks the boy, shifting again his bed. Thinking he hears something, Dick stops moving in his bed. What was that?
Slipping out of bed, the boy walks over to the window that earlier had been covered in the sticky residue. Pushing the curtains aside, he stares at the closed window. Breathing a sigh of relief, Dick begins to relax until his eyes focus on the shadows on the lawn, specifically the shadow of a man below his window.
"No," whispers the boy, as he stands frozen by the window.
Stepping into the light, the shadow becomes Yarsmith. Waving up at the boy in the window, the man drops something white on the lawn and walks away. Watching, the boy doesn't leave the window until he feels that Yarsmith must be gone. Quietly, Dick moves away from the window and opens the door leading to the hallway. Sticking his head out, he looks up and down the hall before leaving his room.
Quietly, the boy pads down the hall and toward the stairs. Walking down the stairs, he keeps his eyes and ears open in case Alfred or Bruce are moving around. Finding no one, Dick moves toward the side door that would lead him to the lawn where Yarsmith had dropped the white item.
Pausing next to the door, Dick checks the security system before touching the door handle. Good thing I know the code for the security system, otherwise I'd have to find a different way to get outside to see what is on the lawn. Quickly entering the code, Dick waits for the system to go green and then gently opens the door.
"And where do you think you are going, young man?"
Turning, the boy looks up into the face of Alfred.
"Umm, wanted some fresh air," suggests Dick, keeping his hand on the door knob.
"So open a window," replies the older man. "Why are you trying to sneak out of the house?"
"I need to face him," mumbles the boy.
"Face whom?" asks Alfred, though he has a sinking feeling and knows whom the boy means.
"Yarsmith," replies the boy. "He was out there."
"What?" replies the older man, shocked. "And you just intended to go outside on your own?"
"I think he left. He...dropped something white on the lawn. I want to see what it is."
"Or maybe he's trying to trick you outside," suggests Alfred.
"You know he doesn't have to trick me to go outside to get a hold of me," replies the boy under his breath.
"Master Dick," replies Alfred, at a loose for words.
Turning back to the door, the boy jerks open the door. Before stepping outside, he looks around. Seeing no one, he glances back at the older man.
"I'll be quick," says Dick before running outside.
Running as fast as his legs will carry him, Dick moves to where he saw Yarsmith drop the item. Finding it quickly, he bends down and picks it up. Seeing that the item is just a piece of paper, Dick opens it, but, while he can see that there is writing, he finds that it is too dark to make out the words. Glancing up, Dick freezes as he notices the shadow in the shape of a man standing at the edge of the building, between him and the open door.
"If I wanted to grab you here, I could. That old man in there couldn't stop me," says Yarsmith as he slowly moves toward the boy.
Saying nothing, the boy gets ready to run past the man.
"But I figure what I wrote in the note will get you to come to me," continues Yarsmith. "The proof of the note is in your bedroom.. I went up there, while you were coming down here."
Turning away, the older man walks away from the house and the boy. Watching the man leave, the boy quickly rushes to the open door and Alfred who was leaning out.
"What took so long?" asks Alfred, scanning the darkness behind the boy.
"I had a hard time finding the object. It was easier to see from my window," replies the boy, not wanting to let the older man know that Yarsmith had been out there.
"Well, what was it?" asks Alfred, glancing down at the paper in the boy's hand.
"It's nothing. Just some scrap blown onto the lawn," replies the boy, moving past the older man.
"Master Dick," says Alfred, turning and watching the boy move past him.
"What, Alfi?" asks the boy, glancing over his shoulder at the man.
"We'll get through this," says the older man, finding himself not able to call the boy a liar.
"I know," replies the boy, before taking off toward his bedroom. Behind him, he can hear as Alfred activates the security system again.
