Chapter Eighteen
There's no way he was here for me. It was just a coincidence; only an idiot would go to a weapons deal and not expect the feds or Batman to show up. Guess I'm an idiot, I'd just thought Penguin's men would shoot us full of holes or the GCPD would pop out of the gun crates in the worst case scenario.
"Everybody out!" someone bellowed. A stream of gunshots followed by a choking shriek accompanied the command.
Croc was snarling but I couldn't find him through the white gas.
Someone ran buy and knocked the crutch out from under my arm, sending me to the asphalt where I stayed and feebly wrapped an arm over my head. Gagging into the gas I heard the first sounds of Batman's attack, heavy strikes and breaking bones. It's happening again. This time he's going to find me and finish the job. A body dropped like stone next to me. Tears from the gas and absolute fear poured down my face as I screamed.
I crawled forward away from the man and whoever had sent him to the ground. Scraping my fingers I clawed across the concrete, awkwardly using my opposing knee to drag my weight. When I was lifted away from the ground by my vest I looked up hopefully for Croc and instead made eye contact with a set of glowing lense covered eyes and gas mask poking out from under a pointy-eared cowl. A shriek tore out of my throat as I thrashed in his grip. He tried to keep a hold on me but I got one weak kick at his armored gut. He didn't even react, his grip pulling the vest up to the bottom of my ribs. Random gunfire exploded nearby. I choked on my own cries as something burned into my abdomen. Looking down through swollen watery eyes as red bloomed through the front of my shirt. Batman looked down just as a clawed fist smashed into his head. I landed on my back, gagging and coughing while I tried to touch my stomach. Forcing a shaking hand against my wound I felt my legs going numb. Trying to catch a breath through the dissipating chemical fog and my own winded body, I had no idea what to do.
Laying on my back I could hear the nearby scuffle and continuing panicked gunshots. Concrete cracked under Croc's errant strikes, his animalistic roaring getting cut off from Batman's hits. Gasping for breath I rolled to my side and began inching away from the fighting. Unable to spare a free hand for my wound I could feel a rush of blood curtaining my stomach with every movement. Suddenly I was hooked under my arms and dragged backwards into a car. Blurry eyed, I managed to yank my legs into the car as the person who'd dragged me slammed the door shut.
"Stay with me Doll. Let's move it Terry," the man above me shouted at the driver. Blinking through irritated eyes I looked up at the man. "Loose Lips?" I rasped. He smiled weakly. "Yeah baby, c'mon now we'll get you fixed up you just gotta stay awake," he urged, gripping my bloody hand. I tried to focus in on his face but my vision kept blinking in and out.
"What about Croc?"
He didn't hear me, instead grabbing at something that may have been a walkie-talkie and shouting into it. I registered he was smacking the side of my face but I couldn't bring myself to care. My vision fuzzed out along with reality.