Chpt. VI: Wayne Manor
Dick watched as Alfred opened the bedroom door. Dick's eyes opened wide at the sight of the large elegant bedroom.
Dick's walk from the car to the front steps of Wayne Manor had been mind blowing for him. He hadn't seen a place that could bring him to awe in years. The building was large, like a castle of a king. Bruce Wayne's front lawn was basically a vast field that Bruce could use to defend his home with his own private army. The darkness of the night made the home look eerie, but hauntingly beautiful. The Manor was overwhelmingly magnificent. Dick's doubts about Bruce Wayne had momentarily vanished.
Now, as he stood under the doorway of his new bedroom, his wonder grew even more.
Dick walked inside, admiring the large window to the left. It took up almost the entire wall. A few bookshelves were built into the walls, & a few dressers were set along the walls. Around the room hung frames with paintings of different landscapes, all which seemed to be of Wayne Manor.
Dick went to the bed. It was a large king size bed with silk blankets & thick pillows. Dick pressed his hands down on the mattress. His hands sunk deep in the softness, like a large marshmallow. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen a proper bed.
Dick turned around & was startled by a giant family portrait. Dick's heart rate began to slow once he saw the portrait clearly. It was a father with his wife to his right, sitting in a large chair. On her lap sat a young boy. The father & son both wore dark suits that went well with their dark colored hair. The mother wore a dark blue dress that yet seemed to shimmer & glow in the portrait. Dick wasn't sure if it was the work of the artist or if that's how she truly appeared.
Dick turned back to Alfred, who had been watching him the entire time with a friendly smile & his hands behind his back.
Dick nodded to the painting above. "These are Bruce Wayne's parents?"
Alfred turned to the painting. He slowly nodded. "Yes, they were, sir," he responded in a gentle voice.
Dick looked at Alfred. He looked at his face. There was a small hint of pain that began spreading across Alfred's face. The Waynes were dead, that much was clear. Alfred seemed to be going down a heartbreaking memory lane. Dick looked away once Alfred's eyes began to look glassy.
After a few moments, Alfred spoke up again. "That photo was painted in here," Alfred said with a small crack in his voice. He cleared his throat, speaking again. "This was Master Bruce's bedroom when the portrait was done."
Dick's eyes widened. "Crap, this was Bruce Wayne's bedroom?"
Alfred nodded. "Is that an issue, sir?"
Dick bit his lip. He shook his head. "I just feel like it's a bit of an invasion of Bruce Wayne's painful past, you know?" Dick gestured to the painting. "This was his bedroom when his parents were alive, but they're dead now. I don't know if it's a good idea for a stranger like me to be here."
Alfred gave a warm smile. "Son, they died a very long time ago. Master Bruce has already mourned their deaths." Alfred began to turn around when he added something else. "Besides, it seemed a bit fitting considering your circumstances."
Dick's heart began to pound. Was he referring to his dead parents?
"On the other hand, if you wish to be moved to a different bedroom, I'd be happy to escort you to another," Alfred suggested. "However, none are as spacious & elegant as this one."
Dick glanced around the bedroom. It did feel weird sleeping in Bruce Wayne's childhood bedroom. It felt even stranger with that portrait of his dead parents hung on the wall opposite from the bed, as if they'd be watching that bed for the rest of eternity.
Still, Dick couldn't bring himself to reject Bruce's offer in sleeping in his old bedroom in risk of offending him.
Dick smiled as he turned to Alfred. "I'll be fine for now, I think."
Alfred smiled. "Very well. I'll leave you to settle in, then," he said as he turned to walk out the door.
Dick began scanning the room. He wanted to familiarize himself with it. He put his hands on his hips when he felt something. He traced his fingers down his back pocketwhen he realized he still had the envelope.
Dick silently cursed to himself as he searched a place to keep the money. He considered hiding the money in the pillow. Dick grabbed the pillow to find the actual pillow wasn't kept in a pillow case. It was an entire silk pillow. Dick cursed at the rich man's pillows & tried lifting up the mattress, considering leaving the envelope there. But Dick also thought about Alfred, & the chances of him washing the bed sheets as part of his butler duties. Dick shook his head and dropped the mattress. Dick dropped to the floor to look & see if he could somehow leave the envelope under the bed. There was nowhere to leave it, & he couldn't exactly leave it on the ground under the bed. Alfred might clean under there too. Dick sat up & looked all around the room, looking for the one spot Alfred wouldn't clean or touch.
Dick's eyes slowly rose up to the portrait of Bruce Wayne & his parents. Perhaps there was an indention behind the painting Dick could leave the envelope in…
No. Dick could never do that. It was disrespectful. Dick only imagined if it were a portrait of his own parents & a random street rat stuck things behind THEM.
Dick ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He looked at the bedroom door, which Alfred had left slightly cracked open. Dick rushed to the door, swinging it open. He looked down the hallway in one direction. Then the other. Alfred was a few yards down, almost at the end of the hall.
"Hey, Al," Dick called out.
Alfred stopped and turned back to Dick. Dick gestured for Alfred to come back, then disappeared into his room.
After a few moments, Alfred appeared at the bedroom door. "What can I do for you, Master Dick?"
Dick opened his mouth to speak then closed it. He then spoke again with something different to say than what was on his mind. "I, uh, don't know if I'm all that comfortable with you calling me Master Dick."
Alfred let out a small chuckle. "Master Bruce felt the same when I started using that title for him as well. It'll grow on you."
Dick opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, not wanting to continue with that discussion. "Alright, anyway, I need to ask you a favor."
Alfred nodded. "Anything, sir."
Dick swallowed. He felt his hands becomes a bit clammy. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then spoke. "I need to hide something in here," he started. "My concern is that when my room is being cleaned, it'll raise some questions. But perhaps if this particular something were...overlooked…" Dick trailed off, eyeing Alfred's expression.
Alfred shook his head, laughing softly. "Oh, son, how uncanny your similarities with Master Bruce are. He was just as mischievous as you, hiding silly little things around the home."
Dick nodded, unsure what to say. It wasn't everyday Dick was compared to a billionaire. Dick grabbed the envelope from his pocket and held it out for Alfred to see. "I think there's about-"
"Please," Alfred interrupted, waving a hand. Alfred had closed his eyes. "The less details I know, sir, the better I will be at keeping this secret."
Dick nodded, understanding. Alfred began to walk over to the wall where Dick's bed was against. Alfred began stroking the wall with his hand. Suddenly his hand stopped. He tapped a spot with his finger & stepped aside for Dick. "Place your finger there," Alfred said.
Dick's face grew questioning when he looked at the spot Alfred pointed at. It was a random spot on the wooden wall. The wall was rows of hard wood panels, each one being around 6 inches long by 2 inches horizontally. The panel had a few holes within the wood, given the wood a more natural look. Alfred had pointed at one of the holes.
Dick hesitated, but he took a step closer to the wall. He stuck his finger within the hole. He wasn't sure what to do at this point. Dick traced his finger within the hole, trying to feel out the panel. The hole wasn't too deep, but the panel did appear a bit loose.
Dick pulled the panel toward him with his finger. The panel slid to the right, extending out. Beneath the wooden panel was a metal safe. It had what appeared to be a thumbprint scanner on the safe.
Dick turned back to Alfred. "I can keep my money here?"
Alfred nodded and stepped closer to safe. "Yes, it's just that the imprint on the scanner is defaulted to my thumb." Alfred rose his thumb up onto the panel & scanned it. The safe scanner light shone from its original blue hue to a bright green hue. The safe door swung outward, over the wooden panel.
Dick peeked at the inside of the safe. It was empty. He turned to Alfred. "Why is the default your thumb?"
Alfred let out a sigh. "Because at the time when our security was being installed, Master Bruce had been preoccupied & couldn't personalize the finger scanners himself."
Dick nodded slowly, trying to imagine what Bruce Wayne could have possibly been doing that he didn't even bother to set up his own home security system.
Dick opened his envelope. He removed three bills from the envelope and put them in his pocket. He put the envelope with the rest of the money in the safe. He shut the safe door shut.
Alfred opened a drawer from a nearby nightstand & removed a remote from inside. He pointed it at the safe & pressed a few keys. The scanner began to blink. He set the remote back in the drawer & shut it. "Alright sir, you can now set the safe's scanner to your own finger."
Dick nodded. He raised his hand, about to place his thumb up onto the scanner, but hesitated. Should he use a finger as predictable as his thumb?
Dick extended his ring finger and placed it on the scanner. The scanner hummed for a brief moment, but eventually turned from blue to green again.
Dick grinned in satisfaction. He slid the wooden panel back shut. He turned to Alfred, who had been watching with the same warm, friendly smile. Dick smiled back. "Thank you," he said.
Alfred nodded. He began to turn away, but then stopped as if remembering something. "I forgot to mention, sir, there's a laptop in the nightstand if you begin to feel bored at any time."
Dick raised an eyebrow. He turned and looked down at the nightstand behind him. He opened the drawer to find a large laptop. The black lid seemed to shine against the light from the lamp on the nightstand. Dick let out a chuckle. "Thanks, Al, is there anything else about this room I should know about before I knock out? Any nooks or crannies?"
Alfred held up a finger. "Now that you mention it, there's a secret passageway to a dungeon behind that bookshelf," Alfred said, pointing at a shelf near the bed.
Dick looked back at the shelf. He began to walk towards it when Alfred pulled Dick back. "I was only joking, sir."
Dick let out a laugh. "In this giant mansion, you can never be too sure."
Alfred smiled and nodded. "Right you are, sir. I do believe that's everything. The lavatory is at the end of the hall to the right. I'll be sure to wake you up for breakfast, but if you must rest, I'll give you the extra hours."
Dick let out a sigh. "Thanks, Al," he said, hoping he didn't sound like a broken record.
Alfred threw his hands up. "Right, right, you're already tired. You've had a long day. I'll be out of your hair now." Alfred walked out of the bedroom and shut the door behind him.
Dick laid back on the bed, feeling exhausted. Just laying on the bed brought such a wave of comfort & relief, Dick didn't even bother changing out of the clothes he had worn for 2 whole days. He just wanted to relax & sleep. Something a boy his age shouldn't have to yearn for so much. But every time Dick shut his eyes, he saw a gun pointed at his face. He tried to push the image from his head, but then the sight of the grenade going off terrorized his mind. Dick began shifting in the bed, wondering how he'd get to sleep at night. He fought hard, but then he let the tears rush out. He wasn't going to sleep again.