CHAPTER 22

PHOENIX'S JOURNAL

"What's going on?" I asked, when I heard Alfred bringing someone scuffling towards me. "Do we have an intruder?" I pulled out my staff and shook it out to full length, adopting a defensive stance.

"Not in the usual sense, young sir," Alfred said with a sigh. "Master Jason has discovered the cave and, I fear, the rest of the secret."

"Hey!" Jason shouted. "You're Robin! That is so cool! That means that Bruce is Batman! That's even cooler! I've been livin' with Batman and Robin!"

I was silent until Jay finally ran down. Putting the escrima sticks away, I folded my arms over my chest. "Okay. I'm Robin, or I was. So what are you gonna do about it, Jay?"

"Do? I'm not going to….Oh…" Light had dawned. "Dickiebird, I'm not gonna tell the secret. It's safe with me. I don't rat on my friends."

He sounded sure of himself and trustworthy. But I'd known Jason such a short time and I couldn't read his face or his body language. "Alfred? What do you think? Can he be trusted?"

Alfred answered in a measuring tone that let me know he was sizing Jason up pretty thoroughly. Aside from Bruce, Alfie is probably the best judge of character I've ever known.

"I believe that you can, Master Dick. The lad has shown loyalty to you since he helped you escape from that dreadful man's gang," Alfred said.

"Hey, I already told you I'm not gonna tell anybody. So where's Batman, anyway? Shouldn't he be here?" Jason asked.

My mind turned back to Batman and a slightly better solution to my problem occurred to me. Jason had been training with Bruce and I during the past weeks and he'd been getting pretty good. If I stayed on his earpiece and advised him, maybe he could help.

"Jason," I said in my most serious voice. "Have you ever wished you could be Robin?"

"Well, yeah, o'course I have," Jason said. "Every Gotham kid wants to be Robin or be Robin's friend. S*&t! He's the coolest kid in town!" He paused, then asked. "Just what are you askin' me, Dickie? You're Robin, not me."

I started pulling of the costume. "I can't be Robin anymore, Jay, and Batman needs help, fast! Alfred, help me get this off and put Jason into the uniform, would you?"

"Waitaminnit, you're sending me out as Robin?" Jason's voice went squeaky with disbelief. "But I don't know how to do what Robin does. I'll get killed out there!"

"No, you won't. You'll be wearing an earpiece that connects to me. You describe what's happening, I tell you what to do. You've got enough physical skills to get you by and I'll fill in the rest. This is an emergency, Jay, or I wouldn't ask you." While I was talking, Alfred was stripping the Robin gear off me. The rustling sound in Jason's direction told me that he was pulling off his clothes and putting the suit on.

"By the way, my codename is Phoenix," I told Jason while I put on the t-shirt and sweats I normally wore in the cave. "Alfie, would you show Jason how to use the wrist-comp? He'll need it."

"You push aside the flap of neoprene here, and the holographic screen lights up here," Alfred said.

Jason said, "Oooh! Wow! Now how do I surf on it? Does it get games?"

"Yeah, but you don't have time to play 'em right now," I reminded Jason. "That red button lets you talk to me. The green one turns the screen on and off. The keyboard is holographic, but put your fingers onto it like a real keyboard and it'll read your keystrokes. You won't be using it tonight except to talk to me. If we have to look something up, I'll cue you."

"Okay," he sounded disappointed. "Wow, Dick I just saw myself in the mirror. I look…I look like Robin!"

"That's the idea," I said, working hard to keep the sheer envy out of my voice. No, I reminded myself, the mission comes first. "Alfred will drive you to Batman's last known location. Alfie, I've sent the coordinates to the limo."

"I shall take young master Robin there and drop him off," Alfred said. "And I shall remain there subtly in case I am needed."

"Thanks, Alfred," I said with a sigh of relief. "If Batman's hurt, you may need to get him home." And bail Jason out, too, I added silently.

STATEMENT OF: JASON PETER TODD

The next thing I knew, I was looking at myself in the mirror and D #n! if I didn't see Robin looking back at me. The mask has white eyelets, so nobody can see what color my eyes are unless I press the button that opens the mask up. I played with it for a few moments, 'now you see me, now you don't', until Alfie took my green gauntleted hands away from the mask.

"This is not a toy, Master Jason," he intoned. "The mask protects your identity and ours as well. Do not let anyone see your eyes." Alfie went over to Dick and whispered something into his ear, but I heard it anyway. "Are you certain that this is the only way to rescue the Master? The lad has had so very little training..."

"I know, Alfred, but I don't have any choice," Dick said, his voice quivering. "But I'm so d#$%ned useless! Batman would end up rescuing me in the end. This is our best shot at helping him."

Alfred turned to look at me and Dick kinda sighed.

"Hey, I'm here listening, ya know!" I said. "I'll do my best, Dick. Just trust me, okay?" For some weird reason, I really wanted to not screw this one up. I don't know why I cared so much, but I did.

Alfred kinda shook himself together and gestured towards a big black car parked in the cave. "Well then, young Robin, come with me. I will drop you off a block away from Master Batman's coordinates. Both Master Phoenix and I will be observing your progress and giving you advice over your earpiece. Do you have it turned on?"

I fiddled with it and heard a low tone. "Yeah, it's on. Say, Alfie, what do I call you when I talk to you on the comm-link?"

"You may refer to me as 'Agent A'," he said. "Now come. It's time we were on our way."

So we piled into this huge limo. I sat in the back and Alfie was all chauffer behind the wheel. While we drove, Di...I mean, Phoenix gave me the details about the gang Batman was trying to bring down and how he'd heard gunshots and now Batman wasn't answering.

"So, why don't I get a gun?" I asked Dick. "If those guys get guns, why don't I?" I fiddled with the 'birdarangs' in my belt. Yeah, I can throw a rock as good as anyone, but I'd never tossed anything like this. They were sharp little f$% #rs, but they weren't like anything I'd ever seen before.

"We don't use guns. Not ever," Dick said. "We don't kill. Ever. You will take down and restrain the thugs and help Batman. If you had a gun, you might be tempted to use it."

"What? You want me to take down a bunch of thugs? Like more than one?" My voice got high pitched at the thought. "What do I do if they run for me?"

"Look for high ground," Phoenix said, like this was all perfectly reasonable. "Flip over them if you can; like the exercises you've been doing with Batman and I. Climb on top of something to stay out of their reach. Move fast, then outrun them. You're smaller and quicker than they are."

"Goddam it," I whispered under my breath. "You are smaller and quicker than they are and you're a goddamned acrobat, Di...Phoenix!"

There was a silence over the comm, then Dick said in a really quiet voice, "You don't have to do this, Jason. I guess I pushed you into it. If you don't feel like you can, I..I understand." Long silence, then he said. "Alfred, take Jason back to the cave. I'll suit up again and we'll see what I can do."

"Wait! You're not gonna try to rescue him, are you?" Sure, Dickie was real good at that fighting in the dark stuff, but against a buncha goons who could see..."They'll kill ya! Y'can't see nothin' an' they'll kill ya dead!"

"Somebody has to help him," Dickie said. "I took an oath, a long time ago. I can't not help him."

I started breathing heavy 'cause I was really gonna do this. I had ta do this. "No. I'm goin' in. Alfie, turn around and take me where Batman is. Dickie, you gotta keep talkin' ta me so I know what the H# $ I'm doin'!"

"Just so, young sir," Alfie said in his grave voice. "And I will also give you support. You will not be alone."

"Okay…" I said, trying ta catch my breath. Only one time I ever been this scared, an' that was with a gun ta my head. "This it?"

We'd pulled inta a dark alleyway in the industrial side of Gotham. These buildings were shut down for the night an' some ain't been open in years. Places like this attract rats, mostly the two-legged variety, if ya catch my drift.

"Yes, this is it. The GPS says that Batman is in the building across the street," Alfred said. "I will wait here for you. Now, your suit will give you some protection. It's made with Kevlar and is bullet resistant…"

"Bullet-proof?" I suddenly felt a lot lighter.

"Bullet resistant," Alfie emphasized that last word. "That means you try not to get shot if you can. If you do and it doesn't penetrate, you will still run the risk of broken bones and severe bruising."

"He's right, Robin," Phoenix, I guess I gotta call him, added. "Move quickly and don't stay in one place long. Be aware of your surroundings. All of them."

"Uh, okay," I said. "I guess I'm goin' in." I said and got outta the car fast before I lost my nerve. I tippy-toed around back and listened at the half-open door before I slipped inside.

It was half-lit, with a dim light bulb on the far end of the room. I hid behind some boxes when I saw a guy run from one stack o'boxes to another. As soon as he moved, whizz-zap! A batarang hit where he had been.

"Hey, Bats! Good luck with that!" A voice in another part of the building yelled. "We know you got shot. You're leavin' a trail of blood wherever you go an' it's just a matter of time before we get you!"

There was a loud bang and I saw a muzzle flash off in a corner. Opposite, a shadowy figure darted out and dove behind heavier cover. I saw a dark liquid trail he left on the floor behind him.

"Batman! Batman, can you hear me?" I whispered into the communicator the way Alfred had showed me. No answer. "Phoenix, he's alive but I think his comm-link is busted. He was shot but he can still run."

"Good," Dick's voice said and I heard the relief.

"I'm hidden inside the building an' I can see some of the goons, but most of them are hidden. Whaddaya want me ta do?" I asked.

"Go out there and draw their fire. We have to give Batman a chance to escape," Phoenix said, really confident that I was gonna do this.

"Draw their fire?! Are you crazy? Those guys got guns!" I whispered as loudly as I dared.

"That's what Robin does," Phoenix said. "He makes sure that Batman gets home okay. Just go for high ground, like I told you. And use the grapple gun. You like rappelling, don't you?"

I looked at the grapple gun on my belt and started to smile. He was right. I did like to rappel. There had even been a couple times, when Bruce was absent and Alfred on the other side of the house, that Dick and I had slung a rope over the side of the upstairs landing and swung down to the marble floor in the entryway. Even blind, Dick was really good at it. And we hadn't been caught.

"Okay, here goes," I said and shot the gun up into the rafters. Then with a loud whoop, I took off to follow it and swung onto a beam. "Hey, you a#$%^*&s! You forgot that Batman has a partner!"

I could see 'em all now, four of them scattered among the boxes. And there was Batman, crouched between a wall and a big shelf full of boxes. Looked like the wall was propping him up. The nearest exit wasn't too far away. I grinned, stuck out my tongue and gave the goons the finger, then took off further into the building.

They were chasin' me all right. I heard the boxes crashing left an' right while the goons tried ta get around 'em fast. Didn't help 'em much. I was running over the tops of the tall shelf units and toppling them in my wake. This oughta give Batman time ta get himself out.

I was laughing at the sheer joy of all this mayhem an' how freakin' stupid those guys were, until I felt something hot pass just in front of my nose. I looked over to where it came from and one of the guys had wised up. He was sittin' on top of the shelves with his gun pointed right at me and a big sh#$%-eatin' grin on his face.