Don't miss chapter 89, if you haven't read it yet. I'm posting these close together so you may only get one alert. Could be a Two-fer on the 14th.
WARNINGS: VERY STRONG LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE . . .
"They're not going to be happy with you at the precinct," Bruce commented the minute the doors closed.
"Ask me if I care," Dick grimaced. He slumped against the back of the elevator; rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair.
"Are you all right," Bruce asked again now that they were private.
Dick didn't answer because, at this moment, he didn't know. He watched the numbers light up as they descended rather than look over at Bruce.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. He saw Bruce's startled expression as the older man glanced at him, but Dick kept his face carefully ahead. "For dragging you away from Gotham tonight. I know that was a pretty big operation, and you were depending upon me and all . . ."
"Dick."
Against his better judgment, he looked over at the man he had thought of as his father for the past fifteen years or so.
"Yeah?"
"Shut up," Bruce ordered.
The corner of Dick's mouth ticked up slightly, and he blinked rapidly as he returned to the elevator's overhead display.
"We'll head to the car and change," Bruce spoke softly. Elevators often had cameras these days. He spoke without moving his lips.
"Right," Dick said as the doors opened.
As they made their way out, Dick's eyes were drawn again to the drops of blood that marked the path the hitman had taken when he had left with Elle. All that blood . . . Each drop precious because it was so hard to replace.
When they finally made it to where Bruce had parked the Batmobile, Dick began to change; his Nightwing costume being beneath his clothing. Bruce stopped him.
"You know, your captain had a point. As Nightwing, this guy wouldn't be able to find you," Bruce told him.
Dick scowled. "I'm not hiding. We may have a better chance of finding him if he can find me first."
"Then you'll need to stay in your civvies," Bruce told him. "This concerns Dick Grayson . . ."
Bruce finished changing in record time. The cold weather might have helped. So far the skies were clear, but the wind was supposed to be blowing in an artic front down from Canada. Snow by morning wouldn't be a surprise. Much of the snow had melted from the last snowfall, but not all of it.
"You have another way to enter your apartment," Bruce asked.
"Most often I scale the wall and enter through the kitchen window," Dick told him. "Elle always keeps it unlocked for me." He looked critically at the larger man. "It may be a tight squeeze for you," he warned.
Bruce checked his chronometer. "They should be finishing up now. I'll give you a lift to the roof and we'll take a look around the apartment for any clues. Will they leave a cop stationed behind, do you think, or just seal it up with police tape?"
"I doubt they'd waste the manpower, especially since I left with you," Dick said. "We're too shorthanded as it is."
Bruce pulled down his cowl and stepped over to his son. "Grab hold," he instructed as he aimed his grapnel gun.
Before he could move, Dick's cell buzzed. "Hold up. It's after two in the morning. Who'd be calling me now?" A quick glance deepened the frown on his face. "Unknown caller."
Dick pressed speaker and set the phone on the hood of the Batmobile. "Grayson here."
"You should know who I am by now," a gruff male voice came through.
"Your name? So sorry . . . Would you care to enlighten me," Dick answered.
His heart started pounding, and he threw a glance up at Batman who was quietly contacting Oracle to trace the call.
"I'll introduce myself when we meet in person," the man said. "Don't bother tracing me. I'm going to tell you my exact location, but you need to take it off of speaker for that. This is a private party."
"Sounds like a trap to me. Why should I come?"
He could hear the guy's smile when he spoke again. "Because, supercop, you aren't the only guest of honor in attendance tonight."
"Elle?! She's still alive?" Dick dove for the phone.
"She is, but won't be for long," the hitman admitted. "But I find myself a sentimental guy tonight. I thought it might be nice if the two of you had the chance to bid one another one last good night. Sort of like Romeo and that Juliet chick."
Dick gritted his teeth. "I prefer happily-ever-afters to tragedies. Why should I show up when I know you plan to just kill us both?"
"Because I won't give her the satisfaction of death until you arrive," was his come-back.
"Not convincing me . . ." Dick told him.
"No? Well then, let's see what I can do about that." Those words were followed by the muted sound of him setting the phone down. When he spoke again, his voice was farther away.
"How's about you convincing supercop to join us, eh, darling?"
A short pause and then the distinctive sound of fist meeting flesh. A feminine grunt sounded, followed by silence. When Dick was about to yell, Batman placed a glove hand over his mouth.
A loud sigh. "I can see that neither of you wish to be accommodating."
Batman signaled to get in the car. He had the location . . . If they hurried, maybe they could arrive before the guy expected them. Dick nodded, but before he can move a gunshot rang out over the phone so loudly it echoed off the buildings around them.
Dick yelled, "Elle! NO!"
Batman's hands were suddenly around him as Dick realized his knees had given out in his shock.
"No! Dick, no," Elle's voice can be heard now. "He didn't . . . He missed . . ."
Dick would have sank to the ground by now. Only Batman kept him upright.
"This time," the hitman was back, "And now that I have your attention . . ."
A sharp pop sounded, and Elle screamed. Pain-filled sobs could be heard in the background.
"We're going to play a game," he finished.
"Elle!" Dick was back on his feet, clutching his cell. "You fucking bastard," he yelled. ""No games! Stop it! Just stop . . . Tell me where the hell it is you want me to go!"
"I'm sure you already know the general area, but the night is passing quickly and my patience is wearing thin. There are two hundred and six bones in the human body. I shall break one of hers every five minutes until you get here."
"No! Don't hurt her anymore," Dick begged him. "I'll be there. Just tell me where the fuck to go!"
The man kept talking as if Dick hadn't interrupted him. "I suggest you hurry because I won't stop until I see you. I can assure you that your fiancée will be begging for my bullet by the time you arrive. Call me when you reach the North-West parking lot of Astor Park."
"No, Dick, don't," Elle cried out. "He wants to kill us both! Stay away!" A ringing slap cut her off.
"Better run," he said. "Every five minutes; starting now."
Elle's weeping was extinguished when the call ended abruptly.
Dick clutched his phone and turned to Bruce. "Promise me . . . You'll save her. Don't let her die!"
The Batmobile tore out of the alley a couple of seconds later; tires squealing. GPS showed them the fastest route to the park. Luckily, the streets were fairly deserted at this time of night and Batman blew through every red light they came to.
"If . . . If she doesn't make it," Dick swallowed. He stared out of the windshield in front of him. He couldn't look at Bruce when he said this. "I'm going to kill him."
He felt eyes glance his way. They were going too fast for more than that. "I've never heard you take a defeatist attitude before."
"Not defeatist," Dick corrected. "Realist. Somebody isn't walking out of that park tonight. Out of the three of us; that piece of shit, Elle, or me . . . If it isn't Elle that's doing the walking; it won't be any of us."
"Dick . . . I can't let you kill him. You know that." It was Bruce's voice that spoke softly; not Batman's.
"No, Bruce!" Dick's hand sliced the air in front of him. "Don't talk to me about respecting life, not when I know what that son of a bitch is doing to her; will do to her. But I guarantee you that I will get the name of his employer out of him before . . . before. I need you to promise me that you will get him, or her, or whoever the hell this is."
He glanced over to see Bruce nod once. One tiny knot in the mess that was his gut unraveled.
"I'll get him," he promised. "But I won't kill him for you. If you want this mystery person to die, then you'll have to live in order to do the deed yourself."
Dick's mouth curved up into a slight smile. "Nice try," he told him. He appreciated the attempt.
"Don't go into this thinking that you're going to die or you will," Batman warned. "You owe Elle your best game. Don't short her by writing yourself off before we even get there."
Whatever Dick was going to say was interrupted by his cell phone buzzing. He jumped in spite of himself, staring at his phone like it was a serpent.
Batman slammed his fist against the steering wheel. "We're still nine minutes out. Damn it!"
Batman pressed the accelerator to the floor, but they were already driving recklessly as it was. If they managed to total the Batmobile, he harbored no illusions that the guy would stop his countdown just because they'd be forced to walk the rest of the way.
Dick swallowed. "If I don't pick up, do you think he would still go through with it?"
"Yes."
Sighing, Dick picked up on the third ring. "You sick fuck . . . You knew how long it was going to take me to get there," he snarled into the phone.
"Hang up, Dick! Don't do this," Elle was yelling. "Please, just hang up!"
She was trying to be brave. Dick could still hear the pain, the fear, and tears despite how hard she was trying to suppress them.
"Aren't you the brave one, sweetums," her assailant was saying to her. "Haven't you heard that shared pain is halved?"
"Stop hurting her! I'm coming," Dick shouted into the phone. "You couldn't stop me if you tried!"
It was obvious that the man on the other side of the phone wasn't listening.
"I want your screams, darling Arabella. When you hold back, you spoil my fun, and force me to have to hurt you more to get what I want."
Elle snarled at him. "Go to hell!"
"Just remember, it was your choice," he said.
It wasn't a pop this time, but a solid 'whump' that was heard. Elle cried out, but it was soft and breathless, and followed up by weak coughs.
"Hm, that wasn't much, but I'll cut you some slack as I felt at least two ribs go with that kick. It's hard to scream without air in your lungs, eh, my darling?" He returned to the phone. "You have another five minutes."
The call ended.
Dick punched the dash. "Can't we go any faster?"
"Not without doing his job for him," Batman's growl was gruffer than usual. "ETA seven minutes."
"I'm going to kill him," Dick gritted out. "I'm going to rip that bastard's heart out of his chest with my bare hands."
"Dick . . ."
"Shut up, Bruce," Dick growled. "You're not going to talk me out of it. You'll have to take me down to stop me."
"He doesn't know about me," Batman reminded him. "We have the upper hand here going in. We can . . ."
"Do we? We can . . . What, Bruce? Listen as he snaps Elle's bones? He's torturing her," Dick yelled at him. "And he's fucking enjoying it!"
There was a moment of silence; the atmosphere in the vehicle was strained, tense with suppressed emotions. Something or someone was going to snap soon . . . Batman just hoped it wasn't his son.
"Oracle," Batman's voice was soft, calm though he felt anything but.
"Here," she spoke through the car's speakers; her voice sounded choked even on that one word.
"Where Red Robin?"
"In route to Astor Park. He's in the Batcopter. ETA fourteen minutes," she intoned.
Dick stared at the dash. "The smuggling operation?"
"Dad's got it covered. Superboy and Wonder Girl are providing all the backup necessary. They should have it wrapped up in a few. Oh, and Dad says, 'good luck'." Oracle told them.
Batman hummed. "The Batcopter . . . Good choice."
It was capable of carrying the lot of them. Important, considering that Elle would likely be in dire need of medical care.
"Robin is with him," she informed them. "He insisted."
Dick frowned. "How did you . . .? You've been listening?"
She sounded mildly apologetic. "Ever since Batman asked me to trace the call . . . I'm sorry, Dick. They'll help you get her out of this. I know you'll save her."
"Oracle," Batman interrupted. "Connect Red Robin, but maintain radio silence."
"Already done," Tim's voice came through next. "Radio silence; check. Nothing to give away our hand early."
"Stay alert," Batman warned. "I want you to know his location the moment he gives it."
Dick's phone buzzed and all talking stopped.
"God damn you to hell . . ." he said, answering.
A soft, choked, gasping was heard; tiny breaths because breathing normally hurt. There was a low, keening moan . . .
"Hm, what next? Ah, I know just the thing," the man said, cheerfully. His voice dropped low and dangerous in the next second. "What do you think a pistol butt will do to a cheekbone? Let's find out, shall we?"
"Fuck . . ." he whispered. A lone tear slid down Dick face. He scrubbed it off angrily.
The crack of the pistol against flesh and bone was obscenely loud. No scream or crying was heard, however. The silence tore at his heart just as much as the sound of Elle's tears had.
"Elle?" Dick's voice wavered uncertainly. Had the bastard killed her by accident? "Elle?"
The hitman grunted. "She was never an accommodating victim . . . Ah, merely unconscious."
Dick covered his eyes with his free hand. After a moment, it slid down to cover his mouth. He didn't trust himself to speak just yet.
"Now, listen very carefully, cop. You will do exactly as I say and I'll make this quick for the both of you. Fuck around and I will make this last a week for her. I can get very creative with a knife and a cattle prod."
The Batmobile pulled into the parking lot and slid to a stop.
"I'm here! I'm here! I just pulled into the parking lot," Dick yelled into the phone; throwing open the door and stumbling out. "Where the fuck do you want me to go now?"
"You made good time," the man commented. "And here I was thinking that you weren't taking this seriously."
"Where are you? Tell me what the hell do you want now?" Batman came around the side of the car and silently put his hand on Dick's shoulder, reminding him to keep it together.
"All business now, are we? Good. Now, leave your weapon behind and walk up the nature trail. Keep your phone on you. I'll tell you when to stop."
"I'll want to see her when I get there," Dick demanded.
"Oh dear," he sounded almost regretful. "I'm afraid that ship has already sailed."
"No!" Dick snarled. "I want to see her!"
Anger flared in the man's voice. "You don't make the demands, supercop! What? Are you anxious to play another game with me? Your girlfriend doesn't look nearly so enthusiastic."
Dick was already running up the path. "No more games!"
"Then you do exactly as I say or I will shoot her in the stomach as see how long it takes her to bleed out! What do you think, cop? Fun times ahead or not?"
"You sick fuck!" he growled.
"Not yet," he replied. "But I'm sure I can arrange something suitably 'sick'. I might even let you watch."
"I'm going to end you," Dick promised.
"Better men than you have tried." The call ended.
REACTIONS?
Almost the whole clan is there, but will it be in time?
I'll remind you again: Possibly a Two-fer today, 1-14-16. I'm getting this one in early. Keep checking, because when they go up this quickly, you may only get one alert. You can also check my profile page. I keep things updated there on a pretty regular basis; always what I have just posted for you.
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