Ch. 2: A Knight at the Docks
The clouds were heavy tonight. The pale moon, barely visible in sky, reflected a light polish onto the docks of Gotham below. It was a perfect night for scum to be lurking; and John Blake knew it.
Standing on the roof of an abandoned five story industrial building nearby, he watched carefully through his night vision binoculars as Dr. Jonathan Crane and two bigger, more muscular men got out of a large black SUV. Crane was empty handed, but each thug with him was holding a fully automatic assault rifle. All three of them were wearing masks that were made from a stitched up burlap bag. This came as no surprise to Blake, who had been following these men for over a month, watching their movements, tracking their shipments. But what he still didn't know was who did the buying or what was in the large crates that they always traded. Based on the size of the crates, he guessed some sort of weapons, but until he got his hands on one, he would never know for sure. But he did know where they were going: to the port across the bay, Metropolis.
Tonight he was going to find out what was in the mystery crate. Tonight he was going to stop waiting around for something to happen and actually get his hands dirty. Reaching into the pocket of his trench coat, he pulled out a black ski mask and slid it over his head before rappelling down the side of the building with a rope he had tied around a large chimney stack.
If you're working alone, wear a mask.
As he reached the ground, he slid off his harness and crept over to a large metal shipping crate. He quietly peered around the corner to spot each man and noted that one of them had a slight limp in his left leg.
I'm not afraid to be seen standing up to these guys.
He then pulled out two marble sized objects and rolled them behind the three men and grabbed a small mine from inside his pocket.
The mask is not for you. It's to protect the people you care about.
The two marbles made a sputtering noise and began spewing out smoke, causing the three men to turn towards the action.
Count to five, then throw.
Blake threw the mine, which landed behind the trio and caused a quick and sudden explosion. Startled by the noise, they staggered into the smoke where Blake met them with two nightsticks drawn. Striking the man with the limp first, Blake cracked his kneecap with the nightstick in his right hand. Meanwhile the nightstick in his left hand followed through with an uppercut motion into the man's jaw.
Blake then kicked upward, landing the blow into the chest of the second armed man causing him to fall back several feet onto the concrete. As the smoke cleared, Crane looked around and found himself all alone.
"It can't be you!" he shouted out, "You died, you're…you're dead!"
"Crane…" Blake whispered behind him, causing him to spin around into the arms of the masked vigilante. Blake then lifted him up by his shirt collar and slammed him into a nearby wall. "What's in the crate, doctor?" He asked with a raspy voice.
"You're not him, you're a wannabe!" Crane yelled, which prompted Blake to hit him hard in the nose. "Jesus!" Crane screamed, "That's not how this works!" Blake then hit him in the nose again. "Gahhh! Alright alright, just stop hitting me! They're guns." His eyes were watering now and his nose began to bleed profusely.
"Guns? What kind of guns need to be shipped out in secret in the middle of the night?" Blake asked.
"The illegal kind?" Crane retorted, which prompted Blake to rear his hand back again before Crane stopped him, "Wait, wait, wait. They're special guns. Meant to hold some kind of high powered toxic bullet. Some gunsmith in Gotham has been making them for an anonymous buyer in Metropolis who only goes by Al."
"When did you even get into the gun selling business, Crane?" Blake growled.
"Hey, it's tough on the streets right now; a guy's gotta make a living."
Out of the corner of his eye, Blake saw red and blue lights flashing down the street.
"Uh oh, looks like the cavalry is on its way," Crane laughed, "You better run before they lock you up with me in Arkham!"
Blake pulled out a zip tie. "Hug the pole, Crane," he said motioning towards a light pole nearby. After tying up Crane, he ran to a nearby manhole and climbed down into the sewer, carefully sliding the top back over the opening before descending.
At the bottom of the ladder, Blake reached up and pulled off his ski mask, replacing it with night vision goggles he had found in the Batcave. The sewer was suddenly illuminated with a green light, and he began to walk. As he turned a few corners, he found his way to another ladder which he then ascended to find the batpod, one of the few remaining pieces of technology left to him from the Batman. Mounting the retrofitted motorcycle, he rode back through the dark narrow roads that led to Wayne Manor and the cave entrance enshrouded by a waterfall on the southeast side.