Wow, it has been a really long time since I updated this…I'm sorry everyone, I have had a lot to do recently plus there were some other fics I wanted to finish so I could devote more time to this. Hopefully that will be the case as there aren't too many more chapters to go. Anyway, please enjoy! Reviews are welcome.
The crash sent Robin flying out of his room and into the corridor as the hotel walls around him seemed to shake. There were people yelling and complaining all around him, their moans almost seeming to echo from the walls like the hotel itself was complaining but they all stopped as he heard a whining voice shout that made his blood run cold. The HIVE Five, he thought feeling like he had been stabbed in the gut. What were they doing here? Were they going back to the crime scene or something? Had they left something there that could incriminate them? What did we miss? His mind snapped into action as he hammered on the door next to his, hoping that his observation skills had been wrong just this once.
"Wally!" He shouted in frustration. "Get up!"
He shoved himself against the door like he was going to break it down but it only creaked in protest. He knew there was nobody inside anyway. He had been listening out since he had made that proclamation outside that woman's room-he refused to acknowledge her name even if he had checked it in the hotel's book-to see if he would slink back with his tail between his legs but he had heard nothing. He gave an angry grunt and punched the door. He knew what his friend was like with women and on the whole he chose to ignore it but now it was interfering with his case and that couldn't be allowed. He was going to have words with him tomorrow.
He heard his name and he looked up to see Victor and Garfield were running towards him, Victor in nightclothes like him and Garfield still in uniform with his policeman's hat bobbing on his head like a ship in a rough sea. He must have just got back from escorting Raven home, he thought and that suddenly made him think of Kori. God, was she still here? He hadn't thought to check any other rooms for her name. If she was, he knew he wouldn't forgive himself if something happened to her because of his case. He had to make sure she was safe.
"Dick!" Garfield called out again as he reached the door just ahead of a panting Victor. "What's going on? I just got outside and the place went boom!"
"It's the HIVE Five!" Dick answered as he watched the young man's face pale. "I heard Gizmo's voice, he said something about a mission. Did you guys hear them?"
"No but we saw the hole they left in one of the walls." Victor told him as he straightened up and steadied his breathing. He wasn't an unfit man but in his line of police work, there wasn't much running involved. "Thing's bigger than me. It looks like they are heading for the crime scene on the other side of the hotel. The idiots got the wrong end of the building!"
That's so typical of them, Dick thought with a little sigh of relief. "We can't let them reach it!" He insisted as there was another smaller crashing sound that felt much closer. "Let's go! Do either of you two know where Kori's room is?"
"No clue," Victor said as they started running down the darkened corridor. "She left before us and I didn't see where she went. Why, you want us to get her?"
"No!" Dick shouted out before hastily adding "I want to make sure she's safe and out of the way." He saw Victor give Garfield a knowing look and wanted to groan. They all already knew what she was like. Damn it, he thought, if her room was anywhere near the explosion she would probably be there already, putting herself in danger. Why did she have to be so headstrong? And why did he have to find that so attractive?
They ran through the web of shadowy hallways, the moonlight flickering on the walls like disgruntled ghosts as they moved through it. They were about to turn around a sharp corner when Dick heard the sound of bickering.
"Hold it!" He halted suddenly and threw out an arm to stop the other two tumbling around the corner and giving them away. They only just narrowly avoided crashing into him and they fell behind him, crouching in the near darkness. "I can hear them!" He whispered and he pointed around the corner where the noises were getting louder.
They all peered around the corner and instantly caught sight of them all. They were standing on guard almost in a circle around one of them and Dick could make out the outline of Gizmo as he berated another one of them, his arms failing like a toddler in the middle of a tantrum.
"What do you mean you didn't get the room number? Are you an idiot?"
Seymour was standing in front of the wailing boy, looking down with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry guys, she was being so weird I forgot," he explained before his face creased into a worried frown under his bandage. "She seemed kind of distracted, like she couldn't make up her mind or something. And when I mentioned taking out the detectives, she flipped."
"She's probably trying to be careful," Billy honked out next to him in his brash accent and Wycked next to him gave a stiff nod in agreement. "She just wants to get outta this here hellhole as fast as she can and can you blame her?"
"No…" Seymour relented but he still frowned. "You don't think something's happened to her do you?"
Mammoth let out a howl of laughter as Gizmo and the others sniggered. "Seymour, this is Jinx we're talking about, she can handle anything. Now, we need to move and get to this crime scene. She won't be too far away."
"Right." They all affirmed as they moved off down the corridor. Dick pressed the other two against the wall as they brushed past the corner, holding in a breath as they strode past. Once they were out of sight, he turned to look at their surprised faces as they were now riveted to his.
"Oh my good God," Victor breathed out in disbelief. "You're telling me the murderer has been in the hotel this whole time?"
"And it was Miss Jinx? How did we not see her?" Garfield lamented with his hands planted in his hair under his hat. "She was supposed to be so ugly!"
"Listen to me!" Dick hissed sharply. "Where ever she is, we can't let them find her. They don't know where her room is which means we can still get her if she doesn't leave with them tonight. If she does, we've lost the case. I want you two to get to the crime scene and make sure they don't get close to it. I'm going to follow them and see if I can deter them. Got it?"
"Got it!" They said in eager unison as they stood up quietly and ran back the way they came. Dick watched their retreating backs until they disappeared into the shadows before he turned and went after the HIVE Five. He suddenly thought of Wally, holed up in a room two doors down from the gang's target and he felt a jolt of panic. If he ends up hurt because of this or if he does anything stupidly sacrificial, he vowed knowing his friend like the back of his hand, I'm going to kill him before anyone else can get their hands on him.
He managed to keep up with them as they made their way down the various passages that lead through the heart of the Academy Hotel. He made sure he was a good few paces behind them as they went along and he was quickly able to make some observations. Firstly, it appeared that Gizmo was leading the group as he barked out orders and directions in his shrill voice, frequently punctuating his speech with insults that the others ignored. Secondly they seemed to have no clue where they were going. The directions they went in and the corners they turned appeared to be done on Gizmo's whims and sheer guessing rather than any educated thought. Several times Dick had had to roll backwards and hide as they backtracked and he was beginning to wonder which would come first; daylight or them finding the crime scene.
He watched as they turned another corner and he raced to catch up with them. He wasn't exactly sure where they were in the maze that was the hotel building but he was pretty sure they were nowhere near the crime scene. He ran down the corridor to catch up with them, seeing only a glimpse as they rounded another corner. They won't get away, he thought with a determined smile as he dashed around the corner to see the long stretch of hallway in front of him was empty.
What? He thought as he took a few hesitant steps forward, looking straight ahead for any sign of them. Where could they have got to, they were right here only a second ago-
Two meaty fists suddenly grabbed at his neck from the darkness and he was lifted up into the air. His feet kicked around desperately to try and find the ground and he clawed at the huge hands that were holding his throat and choking him but they didn't budge. He heard a hollow laugh that he recognised as Mammoth's and he wheezed for air, making him laugh harder.
"Did you really think we wouldn't notice you following us Dick Grayson?" He sneered as his grip got tighter and Dick heaved for air, his body flapping like a dying fish in his hands. "We're not stupid."
"Really? You could have had me fooled." Dick quipped back, causing Mammoth to scowl and squeeze him harder. Dick could feel his limbs getting heavier and his mind was beginning to grow blurry as he fought limply to be free.
"Laugh all you want." Mammoth said gleefully as his face started to go blue. "There's nobody who can save you now."
"I am afraid you are wrong!" A voice suddenly cried from behind him and a heavy weight was brought crashing down on him. Mammoth reeled from the blow, dropping Dick just before another blow rained down on him that made him fall to the floor in a groaning heap. Dick lay spluttering on the ground for a few seconds before he looked up and saw Kori was cradling his head in her hands. Dumped on the ground next to her were the shattered remains of a chair, a few legs sticking upwards like a beetle that had been left on its back.
"Dick!" She cried out, shaking him to try and get a response before pounding on his chest to make him take in a great breath. "Oh Dick, I thought he had killed you! What on Earth do you think you were doing, you could have been hurt-"
He blinked up at her as she berated him, her anger seeming to make her words slip as she repeatedly called him a klorbag, and he could see teardrops catching at the corners of her eyes that sparkled down at him. He couldn't take his eyes away from her and he was suddenly reminded of Raven's words. Was this what she had been talking about? He sat up slowly and when his eyes were level with hers, he suddenly stilled her flow of angry words by placing a firm kiss on her lips.
It didn't take her long to kiss him back and bring a hand to his cheek as she drew him in closer. He felt her tears dampen his cheek and he broke the kiss to wipe them away and also to get his breath back as his chest was still burning. She beamed at him almost shyly and he found he was smiling almost as widely back.
"Kori…" He breathed out as for the first time in his life, his mind was unable to come up with any rational thoughts. "I…I…"
"You don't need to say anything Dick." She smiled as their foreheads made contact. "Thought I will say, if you do anything like that again, it will be you who is hit with the chair."
"How did you-" He started to say as he looked around in astonishment at the broken bits of wood around them.
She giggled loudly. "I heard the HIVE Five pass my room and then when I peered out I saw you following them. You didn't have any back-up so I figured that could be me." She looked darkly over at Mammoth who was still slumped on the floor out cold. "Then I saw him grab you and I panicked…"
"I'm glad you did, otherwise I would have been done for." Dick laughed before he suddenly realised. "Wait, the rest of them are still out there! And they are heading for the crime scene to find Miss Jinx!"
"She's been here the whole time?" Kori gasped before she scrambled to her feet, ignoring the splinters of wood embedded in her knees. "Where are Vic and Gar?"
"They sound be there already." Dick tried to get up but he still felt a little dazed and Kori had to help him up. Her strength took him by surprise and he ended up toppling into her, pinning them both against the wall with their lips a hair's breadth from each other. Kori seized the opportunity and kissed him lightly with another bubble of laughter.
"You're not usually this unsteady Dick. Is something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," He said getting his feet back as he straightened up, still keeping her body close to his. "It's just my breath's been taken away."
Meanwhile, Victor and Garfield were waiting at the corridor positioned a few metres away from the door of room 13. Garfield had wanted to stand in front of it but Victor had warned against it as they didn't want to give it away. They had the advantage now that they knew the HIVE Five didn't know the room number and they weren't planning to let it slip from their fingers.
The place was eerily still as they stood there, weapons pointed out in front of them. Garfield was holding out his baton, which was nervously wobbling as he stared into the darkness whilst Victor was holding a rather strange looking gun. It looked almost like a miniature cannon and looked like it had been messily clomped together and then smoothed out, with chunky bits of metal sticking out of it that strangely seemed to make it look like it naturally belonged on his arm. Parts of it were also glowing light blue and Garfield couldn't help but eye it warily. Victor saw him staring and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe," He said, giving it a gentle pat. "I made this myself during my army years and it's served me well. Nobody's going to get past this baby."
"You were in the army?" Garfield's eyes were wide as he stared at his friend. "For how long?"
"Almost eight years," He answered proudly. "I came from a family of army men so I joined up the first chance I got. I served around the world until this put an end to my army career." He bent over and pulled up a section of his trousers, revealing a prosthetic foot made of metal and wood which had been painted blue. Garfield nearly dropped his baton as he gawped at it.
"I didn't even realise you had one of these!" He exclaimed. "Did you make this yourself too?"
"Sure did." Victor grinned, glad that he was freaking out like some people did. "After that, I spent a bit of time in a military hospital and grew fascinated with everything there. That's how I ended up here; turns out it pays to have a doctor who isn't fazed by the sight of violence like some are."
"That is seriously co-" Garfield went to say but there was a sudden noise from the other end of the corridor and they both froze still. There was nothing but silence as the seconds ticked by but something now felt different, like they were being watched.
"Vic…what's going on?" Garfield whispered sounding scared. Victor could catch how much he was trembling in his voice and it made him realise how new to all this he was.
"I don't know, just stay calm and-duck!" Victor suddenly slammed them both into the ground as a flash of blinding light suddenly flew down the corridor, narrowly missing them both as it hit the wall and caused another explosion. The walls around them quaked with the force of impact and Garfield cried out.
"It's them!"
"Hold on!" Victor forced himself upwards into a crouching position and readied his own weapon. "Cover your ears!" He yelled and Garfield was only just able to obey before there was another loud bang and blue light burned his eyes, making them feel like they had been looking straight at the sun when it had been right in front of his nose. As his vision settled back to normal he could just make out the five figures that were at the end of the corridor. They had created a defensive formation using some tables they appeared to have dragged from an empty room and were ducking behind it as they shot at them. Their faces were lit up by another blast from Victor and he gasped when he recognised them all. When he had first joined the force, the realisation of his boyhood dream, he had spent hours poring over every file the force had on every major criminal and each of the names of the five men they were fighting had come up frequently. Wycked, Billy Numerous, Seymour and Gizmo. The only ones missing from the line-up were Mammoth and Miss Jinx. That was a good thing, he suddenly thought. That means they haven't found her yet…
"Why are they coming from there?!" He heard Victor bellow as he was snapped back into their situation. "They must have really gotten lost! Can you see Dick or Kori?!"
"No but I can't see Miss Jinx either!" He called back. "That means they haven't found her yet!" There was another loud noise and he could see that they were advancing, shuffling the tables forwards inch by inch. "We can't let them get down the corridor!"
"They won't get down here on my watch!" Victor roared as the light show got more and more explosive. Garfield felt so useless; what could he do? He was just him.
Suddenly there was a shout and he watched in horror as Billy Numerous leapt over their barricade and started to run for them, deftly dodging the blue beams Victor shot at him. There was a wide grin on his face as he got closer.
"You losers are gonna wish you were never born…"
"Shut your face!" Garfield sat up and, without thinking, his instinct took over and he threw his baton at him with all of his might. It spiralled through the air and hit him square in the chest, knocking him to the ground and taking all the wind from his chest.
"Nice!" He heard Victor say behind him and he wanted to jump up and down with the excitement of it all. Then they heard the sound of scuffling and shouting coming from behind their barricade and the table pulsed like something had been slammed into it. There was a loud nasal call of "Retreat!" which followed by running and then quiet. Both him and Victor peered over, still with the cannon in front of them as Dick and Kori's heads popped up from around the corner.
"Friends!" Kori beamed delightedly as she ran over to them, Dick following her at a more measured pace but with his own smile. She squeezed them both in a huge hug that they were sure was going to leave bruises in the morning and when she finally freed them they noticed her cheeks were a lot pinker than normal and she seemed almost flustered. Victor gave Dick a look but Garfield shrugged it off as her being excited after the fight and he began gabbling excitedly.
"Oh my gosh Kori, you were amazing you saw them off like boom and bash!" He gestured wildly with punches and slaps like a hyper toddler and they all watched him almost indulgently. "And we totally saw them off! Victor was so cool with his gun thing and we didn't let them get down the corridor and now we've seen them off! We won!"
"You were pretty good too when you got rid of Billy," Victor said. "I'd be glad to have you at my back anytime."
"Yes I saw that too. Good work Gar." Dick added and Garfield's smile went as wide as a jack o lantern's as his eyes shone. Kori noticed how happy he looked and gave him another hug. She was so filled with joy that she didn't hear Garfield's muffled protests that he couldn't breathe and when she did let him go, he had to heave to catch his breath.
Dick went into the crime scene and gave it a quick look over but nothing had been touched. Letting out a sigh of relief, he looked over at the window at the approaching daylight and smiled even more brightly than before. It had certainly been a night to remember, he thought and he could feel his face go hot at the memory of the soft kisses he and Kori had exchanged. He had to make himself think of the case and how that had all gone so well for them. The HIVE Five had been forced to retreat without their leader, the crime scene was still perfect and the best thing was, Miss Jinx was still in the hotel. As the sunlight trickled into the room, he gave a satisfied nod. Now he could begin his plan to end the case once and for all. He heard the others talking outside and he realised with a start that Wally hadn't appeared despite behind in a room two doors down. He must have heard everything yet he hadn't come out. He frowned. He really was going to have words with him.