Chpt. XVII: Arsenal
Dick & Roy made their way up more flights of stairs than Dick could count. His legs began to weaken. He was growing so tired he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. He struggled to grip onto the side rail of the stairs.
"Oh, come on, Grayson," Roy would call over his shoulder. "You can take a few more steps."
Dick gasped. "Why are we headed to the roof?"
"Because Drake's men were going to eventually find out where we were. If we stayed in the room, we would've been dead. If we went out through the lobby, we'd be dead too."
Dick heaved. He struggled to breathe. He took deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling as if he had just learned. His heartbeat felt normal again. "So you don't think Drake will find us on the roof?"
The two stopped at a grey door with a metal handle. Above read "EXIT" in bright red. Roy turned back to Dick with a grin. Just then, the two heard rapid footsteps echoing through the stairwell. Roy's grin grew larger. "I hope they'll find us," he said, "because this will be so cool."
Roy shoved through the exit door with Dick trailing behind. A burst of cool air blew passed Dick. He watched as Roy swiftly made his way to the edge of the building, taking long & fast steps while aiming his bow forward with an arrow already in place.
Dick removed the gun from the back of his waistband and pointed it towards the stairwell door. Dick waited for the men to come out, but nobody did. Dick kept his arms up, but relaxed. He turned and glanced at the city skyline. This part of the city looked beautiful. It was a lot higher than the window Dick looked through earlier in the night. Dick felt as though he were above the clouds. He felt high & mighty, truly royal. He felt as though he really was at the top of Mount Olympus.
"Come on, Dick!" Roy called. He stood with one foot on the edge of the building. He held the bow out over the edge, with the drawstring pulled far back. Roy shot the arrow out towards another skyscraper. A rope was attached to the arrow, & shot all the way down into the abyss that was Gotham City. The rope finally stopped & tightened. Roy detached the rope from the bow & tied it to the railing of the edge of the roof.
Dick watched Roy as he did this, then turned back to the doorway. The first attacker appeared through the doorway. He was a young boy who looked close to Dick's age. He held a gun of his own. He fumbled to aim it at Dick properly. Before he could wrap his finger around the trigger, Dick shot the boy twice in his arm. The boy howled in agony & dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes & clutched his arm.
Dick turned, stuffed the gun back in his waistband, and raced towards Roy, who was just about ready to leap off the building. "Wait, Roy!" Dick called as Roy stepped closer towards the edge.
Roy had hooked his bow onto the rope beneath fit feet. "Hold on!"
Just as Roy swung off the building, Dick leaped & wrapped his arms around Roy's broad shoulders. The two zipped down the line Roy had made. Cool air rushed passed Dick's face. He felt his hair blow back uncontrollably. Dick smiled as the sensation of flying brought back heartwarming memories. He felt his eyes begin to water. He told himself they were only because the air was so strong against his eyes. That was it.
His flight seemed to last forever until Dick heard shouting from the top of Olympus. Bullets whizzed passed Dick & Roy. Dick wrapped his legs completely around Roy to avoid having his swinging legs shot at.
The second skyscraper approached the two faster as seconds & bullets flew by. "Alright," Roy started, "I'm going to need you to tuck & roll once we get over the roof!"
Suddenly, the two felt themselves drop dozens of feet at an abrupt rate. Roy quickly gripped onto the rope with his two hands, his bow slipping up his wrists. Dick held on tighter as the two came into collision with reflections of themselves.
Roy kicked in the incoming window, letting go of the rope once slipping across the floor. Dick slid beside Roy, his back cut by a few shards of broken glass. Dick winced at the sharp pain, but bit his tongue & shot right back up.
Dick's eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark room. They had crashed into an office building filled with cubicles, creating an urban maze of computers & printers.
Dick turned and glanced out the large open window. Cool air brushed Dick's face. It howled like a ghost flying at the top of the tower. He saw the rope Roy had shot across the two buildings hanging straight down the second building. Drake's boys had cut the other end of the rope.
Dick blinked. A flash of red blinded Dick for a brief moment. Then it blinded him a second time. Finally, Dick could make out the laser guide of the sniper from the top of Olympus.
"Roy!" Dick called as he jumped to the right, falling onto his side. A boom echoed through the two buildings & into the carpet. The bullet shot right in between Roy's legs as he laid prostrate.
Roy scuttled up to his feet & readjusted his bow. "Alright," he grumbled. Roy removed an arrow from his quiver and slipped it into the bow. He pulled the drawstring back and stepped towards the open window. His arrow began to flash with a flickering red light. FInally, Roy released the drawstring, shooting the arrow towards the roof of Olympus.
"No!" Dick cried as the arrow shot whizzed through the air. Dick stumbled to Roy & watched the red ray of light make its way to the building. Suddenly the rooftop exploded into a blazing fire. Dick could hear screams of agony all the way across the two buildings. Chills were sent down his spine as the screams echoed into the night, then died down into the crackles of the fiery graves.
Dick turned to Roy, who stared blankly at what he had done. The fires reflected in Roy's sunglasses. Dick couldn't tell if Roy was content or ashamed, but his emotionless countenance disturbed him.
"Roy?" Dick said in a quiet voice, almost whispering it.
Roy suddenly turned to Dick & grinned. "Did you see that?" he said in an excited tone. "Bullseye, baby."
Dick scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Crazy son of a bitch," he mumbled. Dick turned back to the blazing fire. Dick imagined Drake bursting into flames. He imagined that Nolan was now dead, and that would be the end of it all. But Dick couldn't let himself believe anything would be that easy.
Roy turned back and began walking through the cubicles. "Come on, Dicky, let's go."
Dick sighed and followed suit. A dozen questions ran through Dick's mind. Why the hell did Roy have a bow and arrow set? Why did he have arrows tricked with explosives & ziplines? Why the hell did he have a matching jacket to go with the bow?
The two went through the office towards an elevator in the back. The elevator was active & took the two down to the lobby. Dick kept to himself for the duration of the elevator ride. The boys walked through the front lobby towards the big glass doors that led to the street. Dick & Roy watched as police cars had already made their way to the Olympus Hotel across the street. Nolan's men were at the entrance of the hotel in a standoff with the GCPD.
Roy nudged the door. "It's locked," he grumbled.
"Don't do anything just yet," Dick said. "If you bust the door or anything, you might trip an alarm & the cops will be on our asses too."
"Well, what, are we supposed to wait this out?" Roy asked.
"Well, we certainly don't fucking blow anything else up!" Dick spat. Dick turned back and noticed a table towards the elevator they had just gotten off from. There was a computer on the desk.
Dick bit his lip. "How much you wanna bet that's security?" Dick asked, nodding to the desk. He began walking to it with Roy following behind.
Dick walked around the edge of the desk & sat down on the large chair. He surveyed the computer underneath the desk. It was small & compact, but looked very sophisticated.
"Do you know anything about computers?" Roy asked.
"I don't know," Dick admitted. "I can find my way around one."
"Right," Roy sighed. "Leave it in the hands of the hacker that can 'find his way around one.'"
Dick rolled his eyes and woke the screen up. He pressed the 'Start' tab of the desktop, which showed the programs installed onto the computer. Dick searched 'security' & various names appeared. Dick read each one carefully. He came across one that read 'Axel Innovations Security System' & clicked on it. A bright white page emerged with a space to insert a username & password. Dick clicked the 'username' line & a recently used username popped up. It was a 6 digit figure. Dick clicked that, then clicked on the password.
Dick tapped his fingers against the surface of the cold desk, contemplating possible passwords that could be used. Dick glanced at Roy, who stood at the side of the desk. Underneath was a drawer. "Pull that open," Dick said, gesturing to the drawer under the desk.
Roy pulled the drawer open. He shook his head. "What am I looking for?"
Dick pushed his chair over to the drawer to peek into it. A pad of sticky notes lay amongst miscellaneous things in the drawer. Dick picked up the pad & read each one. One read 'Leo, get my lunch.' Another read 'Leo, stop flirting with Rosanne & stand guard at the front.' Dick chuckled at one that said 'Leo, don't eat my lunch again.'
Dick went to the desk & tried 'rosanne' as a password. It didn't work. Dick tried 'rosanne1' as well. It failed once more. Dick bit his lip & tried 'Rosanne1' as a last resort. It granted Dick access into the security account of Axel Innovations.
"Son of a bitch," Roy gasped.
Dick grinned like a fool as he went scrolling through the different commands available on the program. One read 'Disable Alarm System' in bold red letters. Dick clicked it.
Silence.
"Did it work?" Roy whispered.
Dick looked up at Roy. "Go open the door & see, man."
Roy nodded & walked over to the glass door. He approached the handle slowly and pushed it outward carefully. No alarm was tripped.
Dick rushed off of his seat and ran to catch up with Roy. He already was outside the door, bow protracted outward, arrow drawn back.
"Roy, I swear to God, if you put an arrow in a cop, I'll be super pissed."
"Shut up," Roy hissed. He slowly side stepped his way from the building, keeping an eye on the policemen. They were still shooting at Nolan's men.
Roy dropped the bow to his side & fast walked to the left, away from the police. Dick followed suit.
Dick watched as the policemen were sitting against their cars, hiding from the spray of bullets being shot at them. Dick heard one cop scoff, mocking the poor aim.
A bullet flew towards Dick, grazing his right arm. Dick hissed at the sudden burning pain & clutched to his wound. Dick bent down behind the trunk of a nearby car, avoiding more bullets. Dick peeked over to see Roy hold up his bow & pull back an arrow.
"NO!" Dick called, attempting to stop Roy from shooting & getting the police's attention.
The red arrow shot over the wall of policemen & their cars & landed towards one of the shooters by the Olympus hotel. It shot right into a boy's chest. The boy swung his assault rifle in the air, bullets spraying, as he fell onto the ground lifelessly.
The policemen began to turn their fire towards Roy. Roy lounged back over the car where Dick kneeled at & took cover.
"Dammit," Roy hissed as bullets shot at the metal surface of the car.
"Why did you get involved?" Dick shouted over the gunfire.
"Your brothers in blue over are complete garbage," Roy answered. "I was giving them a hand!"
Dick heard a policeman shout into a walkie talkie. "Help, we need more reinforcements at the Olympus hotel," he said. "We've got over three dozen tangos, all armed with military weapons, & one with a bow & arrow! I repeat, A BOW & ARROW!"
Dick looked across the street. The side Dick & Roy were in was more visible for the cops & mercenaries. If Dick & Roy made their way across the street, they'd avoid gunfire from the mercenaries, making it easier for the them to get away as the police shot both them & the men at the hotel.
Dick removed the handgun from his waistband. He looked at the gun, trying to figure out whether or not the weapon was loaded. Dick pressed a button on the side of the gun that ejected the magazine. The magazine was empty. Dick groaned & tossed the gun aside. Dick turned to Roy. "Okay, cover me," he said. "And DON'T shoot anyone else, alright?"
"Shut up & run," Roy said, leaping onto his feet & firing arrows into the crowd.
Without a second to spare, Dick ran across the street to the other side, away from the gunfire. Dick slid across the concrete towards another car & took over behind it. Dick turned back and watched as Roy reached into his quiver & pulled out a brightly tipped arrow. As Roy drew it back in the bow, he began to stepped from the cover of the car. He shot the arrow, which created a bright flash of light. Dick was blinded for a brief moment, but the light quickly faded, & suddenly Roy was beside him.
Dick stared at Roy, who was grinning at the befuddled policemen. Roy noticed Dick starring. "Flash arrow," Roy explained.
Dick rolled his eyes. "Come on, dude."
The two began to carefully make their way to the sidewalk, keeping their heads low to avoid gunfire. Suddenly a young man, somewhere between Dick & Roy's age, appeared from behind a van. "Bro, get down!" he cried, pointing somewhere behind DIck & Roy.
The two bent low & looked back. Neither saw anything. Dick turned back to find the young man suddenly had a rifle in his hands, aimed right at Dick's face.
Dick stared in shock. He felt immobilized, even though he knew he should run, or jump & wrestle the gun from the boy. Dick suddenly couldn't find the courage or strength to act.
Dick blinked, & there was a metal blade protruding from the boy's neck. Blood gushed out from it, & the boy fell.
Roy stood back up, stuffing what looked like the same glistening blades into his pocket. He stretched a hand out to Dick. "Come on!"
Dick grabbed his hand, still feeling phased from the rifle's barrel in his face. The two began to run down the street together. After they had gotten a few blocks away, Roy removed the arrow from his bow & slid it into the quiver slung over his back. Roy then shook the bow in a certain manner, & the entire bow folded & collapsed into itself. Suddenly, Roy was only holding one long red rod.
Dick watched in amazement at the technology of the bow. Suddenly he felt a soft vibration. It took him a moment to realize it was his phone ringing. Dick's hand shot into his pocket. Dick removed the phone from his pocket and checked the screen. It was 3:49 AM & Alfred had finally returned Dick's call.
Dick groaned & answered. "Hey, Al," Dick said casually.
"Good evening, Master Grayson," Alfred said in a calm soothing voice on the other line. "I apologize in advanced for returning your call so late."
"Don't sweat it, dude," Dick said in a slightly panicky tone. Dick turned and looked behind him, checking to see if he was being followed.
"Do you need me to come pick you up?" Alfred asked.
"No, no, no, not anymore," Dick answered. Roy shot Dick a confused look. Dick began to stammer. "I, uh...I'm on my way home now. Don't worry, Al."
"Master Grayson, it's incredibly late for you to still be out on the streets."
"Come on, relax!" Dick said. "I'll be fine."
"Sir," Alfred said in a more demanding tone.
"Al," Dick said back.
An awkward silence took place.
"Alfred, just do me one favor."
"What's that, Master Grayson?"
"This time, DON'T tell Bruce."
After an hour of running from what Dick & Roy thought were Nolan Drake's men to walking and chatting about nonsense, the two went their separate ways when Dick came across a bus stop that would take him closer to Wayne Manor. On the ride home, Dick continued to wonder about Roy's archery skills.
The bus took Dick only half a mile away from the front gates of the manor. Dick groaned as he stumbled off the bus & dragged himself home. After a few minutes, Dick realized how sore his body really was. This was all too much for one night. It all started with Rodrick asking Dick for help searching for his mother & sister.
That damn rat, Dick thought to himself.
Dick sighed and removed his phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen. He had one unread text message from earlier in the night that he neglected to acknowledge.
Dick opened the text message. It was from a number he didn't recognize. The message said, "Hi, this is Barbara, your tutor from earlier. I spent most of the morning deciding whether or not to text you, but here I am! Anyway, I was wondering if you would be interested in getting coffee tomorrow or something. We can go over our study arrangements."
Dick chuckled to himself as he read the text. He had almost forgotten that he met Barbara just a few hours earlier. He sighed with a smile on his face. He began to type a response to Barbara.