Thanks so much for the support guys! Enjoy chapter five!
-x-
The moment Branden woke up he immediately ordered all of SWAT out of the building and onto the streets with orders to find Batman at all costs. But only a few cops in Gordon's unit remained behind in the precinct.
Casey opted to stay in the infirmary and wait for Gordon to wake up. She was joined by his partner, Harvey Bullock. Bullock sat in a chair by Gordon, flipping through a magazine, and Casey lounged against the wall, sitting cross-legged on the floor, mindlessly playing Uno on her phone.
"Curse you computer." Casey swore as the computer she was playing against used a draw four wildcard.
Bullock ignored her.
"Damn." The computer played its last card, winning the game. Casey put her phone down and sighed.
Across the room, Gordon groaned and stirred. Casey stood up, stretching as she did so, and walked over to the bed. His eyes blinked open and he groaned again. "What time is it?"
"Ten minutes to midnight," said Casey.
"And the Batman?" He asked.
"Gone." Casey reported. Bullock put his magazine down.
"Branden?"
"He took most of SWAT out into the field," Bullock said.
Gordon sat up and rubbed his head. "He'll be hunting down the Bat. Where's Barbara?"
"In your office," said Casey. "And I think you should know but Branden is planning on going for the bounty on Batman's head."
Gordon groaned again. "Of course he is. I wouldn't expect any less from him."
Casey smiled while Bullock just coughed.
Gordon swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood up. "I'm going to go see Barbara. Bullock, go round up who's left at the precinct."
"Of course," Bullock nodded and left.
"Is Barbara alright?" Gordon asked.
"She was fine the last time I checked in on her. She's watching tv." Of course, Casey knew that wasn't exactly the truth. She took a moment to check something on her phone: two lights blinked back up at her.
Barbara snooped in a lot of stuff in the GCPD's database but kept her distance from Casey's department. But Casey had her eyes in other departments as well. She knew all about the missing weapons cache. And she knew the interest Barbara had in it.
Casey also began to track the caches until one of the lights blinked out. At first she thought it malfunctioned until a second light blinked out. Then she understood: Barbara must've been able to get a hold of Batman. She couldn't do anything about the caches so she took matter into her own hands. Casey couldn't help but admire Barbara's tenacity.
"Something wrong?" Gordon turned to her.
Casey hastily put her phone away. "Nothing."
They found Barbara sitting in Gordon's office hunched over her laptop. Her head jerked up the moment they walked in.
"Dad!" She hopped up, closing her laptop shut. "Are you okay?"
He briefly hugged her. "I'm fine Barbara."
"Bullock said you got hit pretty badly." She pulled away from him.
"Nothing I can't handle," he replied. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me, Barbara. When I leave, lock the doors to my office until I get back. Don't open it for anyone."
She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Anyone?"
"Branden's on the move tonight. Casey told me he's in on the bounty for the Batman. I need to keep him from doing anything stupid."
"Fine." Barbara pulled away and crossed her arms.
Casey pulled out her phone again. Still two more lights left.
"Stay safe." Gordon sounded strained. "I love you."
"Love you too." She replied.
Casey gave Barbara a reassuring smile before she followed Gordon out the door. "So, what's the plan?" She asked Gordon after he closed the door.
"I'm taking you home first. Then I'm going to find Branden."
"I don't have any complaints about that. Getting some sleep sounds really nice." She said.
She checked her phone in time to see another light blinked out and smiled.
-x-
But the moment she and Gordon reached his car, the dispatch radio came to life. "We got an anonymous tip about the perpetrator in the Dixon Docks shooting. Suspect's name is Chucky Berks. Anyone copy?"
"10-4, I copy." Gordon said into the receiver. "Bullock! Grab another car!" He shouted over his shoulder.
Casey clambered into the front while Gordon started the car. "We've been getting a lot of anonymous tips in tonight," she commented.
Gordon's fingers tightened on the wheel but he didn't say anything. Casey fell silent as he pulled out the parking lot, snow rendered their visibility to near zero. "Gross," she muttered.
"It's only going to get worse." He replied.
"Like it hasn't already?" She asked.
He didn't say anything. But the thought of the assassins loomed over the both of them and Casey was glad she was going to the safety of her apartment.
After Gordon arrested the criminal Batman beat up.
-x-
Casey sat in the cruiser while Gordon and Bullock made the arrest. Instead, she checked her phone to find all the lights signaling the weapon caches locations gone. She smiled. There was one less thing for Penguin to get his hands on now.
It was after midnight now. Christmas morning. Barbara sent her a text wishing her Merry Christmas. Casey texted her the same back.
Gordon came back and Casey slipped her phone back into her pocket. "Bullock will take him back to the precinct for processing."
Casey merely nodded and they drove away.
By the time they crossed the bridge, the radio came back to life.
"We got an anonymous tip in about the missing girl from the Diamond District. It said she's in a Hat Shop in the Bowery."
"You better go," Casey commented. "Branden won't care."
He was silent for a moment but he picked up the radio. "I copy."
"You can just let me out here." Casey said. "My apartment's not far. I can make it."
He looked hesitant but finally nodded and pulled over. "Be careful. I'll see you in a couple days."
"Yeah." She opened the door and stepped out. "Have a good Christmas, Gordon."
He smiled humorlessly. "You too, Casey."
She shut the door and he drove off. Casey turned back and pulled her coat tighter against her. The snow was still coming down heavily. It wasn't going to let up anytime soon.
As soon as I get home, I'll call Mom and tell her I won't be able to make it home for Christmas and I'll come out and soon as the weather clears, she promised herself. She didn't want to make her mother worry.
She went around a corner and headed for Park Row. Her apartment was located in the middle of Park Row, close the Monarch Theater. Actually it wasn't too far from the courthouse and her abandoned car.
BANG.
She paused and looked around. The street was empty except for herself. But that banging she just heard sounded like someone kicking a garbage can over...
It's nothing, she told herself but walked faster.
She turned another corner when she heard the noise again but this time it was louder. Her heart thudded heavily in her chest. That couldn't be a coincidence.
She was being followed.
BANG.
She let out a shriek of surprise when garbage can fell over on its side in front of her. One side of it was dented but in the center of the dent there was a singular hole. A bullet hole.
She should've realized those bangs were gunshots.
Casey ran. She bypassed the way to her apartment and instead headed into the Bowery. She could find cover in the roofed street somewhere and call Gordon. As she ran past the Chemical Ace building, she felt something painfully cut into her leg and she fell, faceplanting in the snow.
She groaned as she sat up. A streak of red stained her right calf. Whoever followed her shot her. He grazed her leg but it was enough to trip her.
Something hard dug into her back of her head. "Stand up," a man commanded.
She tentatively held her hands up and slowly stood up. Behind her, stood a man wearing a red coat with black armor. His face was obscured by a ski mask but one eye was covered by a red lens. But he pointed his fist at her and she see the pistol mounted to his wrist and on he had a deadly looking sniper rifle strapped to the back.
Casey gulped.
"No running," the man threatened. "Or I won't hesitate to put a bullet between your eyes."
Casey believed him. "Okay," she breathed out.
"Walk." He motioned toward the alley and she did. She didn't dare hesitate or look back, she walked where he directed her.
Who was this man? And what did he want with her? Her eyes began to water and she did her best to suppress a sniffle. Don't cry. She didn't want to burst out into tears in front of a killer. For all she knew, it would annoy him and he'd shoot her.
He turned her down another street and before her, she saw the Gotham Merchants Bank.
"Get in," he said and shoved her into the bank.
Inside, multiple armed men sat around on boxes and chairs. The whole place was a mess. Desks were overturned, paper and broken glass strewn all over the floor.
At the sight of them in the doorway, the men jumped up.
"What the hell you doin'?" The man behind her shouted. "Start patrolling and cover the area!"
The men scattered. And the man behind her gripped her arm in a vise grip and dragged her into the middle of the room, right below the walkway above. "You two," he barked at two men lagging behind. "Keep an eye on her. I have to go invite the Bat."
When she heard his words, she understood. This man had to be one of the assassins out for Batman's head. She bit her lip to stifle a sob. Why did this have to happen to her?
"On the ground, hands in the air." One of the lackeys ordered and Casey complied, keeping her teary eyes on the floor.
I don't want to be here. I want to go home.
-x-
The assassin came back sometime later. "Should only be shortly now," he said smugly and pulled out a radio. "I sent him his invitation."
The radio cackled to life and he spoke into it, striding towards Casey. "Hello Batman. I see you decoded my message. Well done. But I'm afraid playtime's over. Come meet me at the bank so I can put a bullet in you and collect my prize."
He reached Casey and she flinched when the pistol on his wrist touched her head. "Oh," he added, "and in case of thinking of backing out—I've got a hostage a very itchy trigger finger."
Casey couldn't help herself and a whimper escaped her throat. The man chuckled before turning to his men. "Be on guard, the Bat's coming!"
"Yessir, Deadshot!" Someone shouted back.
Deadshot, as he was now known, moved away from Casey. "Don't let her move," he ordered a man before climbing up a ladder onto the walkway.
She looked away from the gun pointed at her face. Batman was coming, she tried to calm herself. Batman saved her once, he can do it again.
"Quit slacking off!" She heard Deadshot order from above.
"Relax. We got this!" Another goon protested in the distance.
The minutes seemed to stretch on forever. There was silence in the bank, broken only by Deadshot shouting at some of his henchmen.
Where was Batman? He had to be here by now. He wouldn't leave her to die.
As if in answer, someone shouted out. "Hey come over here, I found someone!"
"It's over, Batman!" Deadshot shouted. "You hear me! OVER!"
Casey nearly cried out in relief. He was here.
She heard more scuffling above her as if someone was running around until there was movement in the corner of her eye. Deadshot had returned and he started patrolling the ground floor. "Find him!" He roared.
The man guarding her scampered off and Casey relaxed only marginally. I'm going to be okay. I'm going to be okay. She chanted in her head.
"AAH!" Someone screamed from above and then there was a man swinging down from one of the decorative heads on the wall.
"Goddammit!" She heard Deadshot curse.
She let out another whimper when she spotted him coming towards her, pistols raised. But she let out a shriek of terror when he grabbed her and pulled her against him. His left wrist was pointed over her shoulder but she felt the other pistol prod her back.
"Alright, Batman," Deadshot called from his position behind her. "Let's see how you deal with this."
"Please don't." Casey begged. She felt tears well up in her eyes again. "Please, it's Christmas."
"Shut up." He dug the pistol harder into her back and she squealed.
Only moments later, Deadshot was ripped off of her and Casey careened forward, letting out a scream. She landed on the floor and scrambled to turn around just in time to see Batman punch Deadshot in the face. Deadshot fell to the floor, unmoving.
Relief flooded through her. She was okay. Batman came.
Batman turned towards her and Casey blurted out the first thing that came to mind: "I swear I'm not doing this on purpose." This was the second time she got herself in trouble and the second time he saved her life.
"I was just walking back home because Gordon had to get somewhere in a hurry—something about a lead on a murder—and he just ambushed me. I wasn't looking for any trouble or anything," she rattled off. Casey, you're doing that thing again where you just keep running your mouth. Stop it. She closed her mouth.
"Are you alright?" Batman didn't seem fazed.
She stood up, brushing her coat as she did so. "Just bruised and having an adrenaline rush but I'm okay."
He nodded and returned to Deadshot, handcuffing his hands together and doing something to the pistols on his wrists. "Do you have a way to contact Gordon?" He asked after a moment.
Casey instantly reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell. Low Battery flashed across the screen. "My battery's dying but I might be able to get him," she said.
"Good." He strode up the stairs to where the other men were lying on the floor, unconscious as well.
She couldn't get to Gordon through the phone but was able to send him a text of her location and what happened right before her cell died. Just great. What a night this has been. She was only supposed to find Anarky and that was it. She didn't sign up for assassins.
"I sent him a text but I don't know if he got it," she told Batman when he returned.
"I sent him an anonymous tip."
Even in the great storm of the century, Batman still had service. What kind of tech was he using? Casey felt curious. She'd love to get her hands on whatever he was using. It had to be military grade or higher...
"Uugh..." Deadshot groaned on the floor and stirred. Casey tensed but Batman placed himself in front of her, blocking her from the assassin's sight.
"Face to face at last," Deadshot finally said. "Though I've gotta say—I was expecting someone a little more intimidating."
"You're through terrorizing Gotham." Batman growled.
"If fate's decided today's the day, so be it. Just finish me quickly, will ya?" Deadshot replied.
Batman didn't say anything but turned away from him. He headed for the doorway.
"Um!" Casey tried to get his attention. He stopped for a moment and glanced at her. She flushed. "Thanks for saving me... y'know, again."
He merely nodded and left. Casey's legs gave out and she sank to the floor. How close had to come to dying tonight? Three times? More than she ever wanted to in her entire life.
And then she realized Batman left her alone in a building with a killer.
-x-
She placed herself as far away from Deadshot as she possibly could without actually leaving the building. But for some reason he seemed content to sit there cuffed and waiting for Gordon to show.
If she had her laptop, she could probably look him up and see who he actually was and how dangerous he is. But she didn't have it and her phone was dead and all she could was sit and wait for Gordon.
Which happened quicker than she expected. It wasn't long before Gordon burst into the bank with Bullock on his heels. "Casey!" He shouted when he spotted her.
Casey waved weakly. "I'm okay."
"I should have taken you home personally," he said when he approached her. "Are you hurt?"
"He grazed my leg with a bullet." She gestured to her bloodstained leg. "But other than that, I'm okay. Just a bit shaken."
Behind Gordon, Bullock hauled Deadshot to his feet. "He's one of the assassins," Casey told Gordon. "He tried to kill Batman."
"Batman was here?"
"He saved my life. Again."
"Still..." Gordon trailed off. "We'll take him to Blackgate. And we'll get that leg of yours look at and then, I promise I'll get you home."
Casey smiled. "Let's hope I get there."
Bullock shoved Deadshot into another police cruiser and it drove away. "Well that's four down!" He said cheerfully.
"Four?" Casey asked.
"There was that one from Blackgate." Bollock counted on his fingers. "The guy from Penguin's busted ship. That one chick in the shipping container in the Steel Mill and now this guy."
"You've been busy."
"Don't I know it," Gordon grumbled next to Casey. "Branden's been trying to send us off on wild goose chases. He wants to give us the slip." He shook his head. "But enough of that. I'm taking you home."
"You keep saying that." Casey yawned. "Hopefully it'll be the last."
"Uh, Gordon?" Bullock called from his spot. "You might want to see this."
They crowded around Bullock who was watching a news feed on his phone. In the grainy image, she saw Batman fighting over several thugs on a balcony.
"After years of on-and-off unconfirmed sightings," Vicki Vale's voice crackled through the speaker, "with no recorded video, we've seen the Bat twice tonight and caught him on film! Could this be the turning of a new leaf for the mysterious vigilante? Is he about to become a public figure? One thing's for sure—after what I've seen him do tonight, he's on his way to becoming a household name. You saw it here tonight. The Batman on live television. This is Vicki Vale, signing off."
"That's the Gotham Royal Hotel," Casey said after a moment.
"Dammit!" Gordon cursed. "Bullock let's go. Casey, I'm sorry but we've got to get to the Royal."
"Way ahead of you." Casey slid into the backseat of Gordon's cruiser. She accepted the fact that she wasn't going home soon—if at all tonight."I'm going to need something to charge my phone with. Bullock, can you plug it into the jack up front?"
Bullock took her phone from her and got in the front seat. "Let's go, Gordon."
Gordon opened his mouth to speak when a flash of bright light exploded to the southeast and a large BOOM followed.
"What the hell was that?" Gordon roared and dashed for the dispatch radio.
Casey looked up. Even in the blizzard, she could see the smoke plume. Something must've caught fire. Something big.
-x-
One of things I disliked heavily in Origins was Batman leaving innocent people alone with the criminals after he knocked them out. Especially the girl in Mad Hatter's shop. Not everyone knows self-defense like you do, Batman.
Big sigh.
Reviews, favorites, and follows are love! See you in chapter six!