Chapter 13: The Docks
Wizarding Section of the Docks
22:30 hrs
Dawlish felt the cold night air seeping into his bones as he stood watch over the shipment being unloaded at the wizarding section of the docks, having been there for at least an hour so far. He had already put in a full day's work as an Auror, and now he was here as "protective detail." The exhaustion was catching up to him, but he forced himself to stay alert.
The men unloading the drugs were clad in heavy fur clothing, cheap fur clothing, some could withstand the cold; being werewolves.
The workers unloading the crates were all dressed in cheap, heavy fur clothing, some of them werewolves.
Only job they could get with all the stigma against them. The fear that they were just like Greyback's pack who had in recent years grown in numbers.
Frankly, Dawlish couldn't find it in himself to care for whatever they were going through. To him, they were all just rabid dogs waiting to be put down but if they could be used to do jobs like these… then they were of use.
Suddenly, the sound of an engine roared in the distance, causing all the workers to stop and look. A 1970 Bentley T1, which Dawlish recognized from his encounters with the crime boss Zabini, rolled in.
Zabini's henchman got out of the car and gestured for Dawlish to enter it.
"Oi! Get back to work! All of you!"
With the order from the Auror, they got back into it as the Bentley slowly came to a stop just close to the container, its wheels shining bright silver in the moonlight shining on it.
A tall man in shades and a coat gestured for Dawlish to enter the car as he opened the passenger seat. "Looks fine out there. I've done a perimeter search and it's clear," he said.
He turned to the crime boss, who nodded, in his hands was one of the teddy bears he'd seen out there tightly, staring at it intently, he couldn't help his curiosity.
"The bears go straight to the dealers and the rabbits go straight to the Narrows."
Dawlish couldn't help his curiosity and asked, "What's the difference?"
At that Zabini let out a mirthless chuckle saying, "Ignorance is bliss, Amico."
Looking at the Auror he continued, "Don't burden yourself with the secrets of scary people."
Dawlish looked directly into the man's eyes for a moment and nodded, knowing he shouldn't push through on it.
They watched as the workers continued their labour in the freezing cold, feeling no sympathy for them despite their enhanced abilities.
The night was cold but the men in the docks continued working, they couldn't really feel the cold, it was unfortunate they thought that with all the enhanced reflexes, enhanced human abilities and this is all they could do. Work as ghost workers. Portrayed as the scum of the earth.
One of the workers, Pete had all these thoughts as he laboured on, it was his 3rd shift of the day and at the end of the month he still struggled to afford the necessities. He knew all these goods they were unloading probably had drugs, but he couldn't bring himself to grow a moral compass on it. It was barely visible as he moved to take a crate of the bear dolls to another container. He heard a click as he entered the container, but he ignored the sound, so absorbed in his thoughts.
Harry watched the man enter the container he was hiding in; he knew what he had to do. Move in quick, hard and make sure no sound escaped. That was easier said than done he thought, but it was necessary.
"Argh!"
Was the only sound that escaped the Pete's mouth before he was knocked unconscious by the electrical shock that had his body paralysed and a large, gloved hand clump his mouth and dragged into the container. No trace of whether a man had been attacked at all.
Two other werewolves were a bit farther from the container Pete was left in, but they too heard a sound which they passed off to be the birds at the docks.
The Batman stared at the bodies of the unconscious werewolf, knowing he had to act fast because he would wake up in a few and warn the others. Quickly, he went after the two.
From the position he was in he could see the Bentley further up ahead; he pondered on going straight for Zabini or first taking out his security.
In the end it was never a choice, he couldn't go for Zabini, or he'd be overwhelmed with the spell fire from the others, he had to make use of his stealth and utilise the confusion he'd unwittingly stir.
Harry took a deep breath, steeling himself for the fight ahead. He crouched down low, ready to pounce on the two werewolves that were patrolling the area. With lightning-fast reflexes, he leapt forward, throwing a powerful punch at the first werewolf's jaw. The impact sent the man reeling, but he quickly recovered and lunged at Harry, claws bared.
"Argh" screamed the Werewolf as he advanced forward on Harry's position.
Harry dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the werewolf's claws. He countered with a swift kick to the creature's ribs, eliciting a grunt of pain. As the werewolf stumbled back, Harry turned his attention to the second man, who was now charging at him.
With a quick twist of his body, Harry evaded the werewolf's attack, then retaliated with a flurry of punches and kicks. The werewolf fought back fiercely, but Harry's training and quick reflexes allowed him to avoid the worst of the blows.
As the fight wore on, Harry's adrenaline surged, and he felt his body responding with increased strength and agility. He moved with grace and precision, each movement calculated and efficient.
Finally, with a powerful blow to the second werewolf's head, Harry sent the man crashing to the ground, unconscious. He glanced around, making sure there were no other enemies lurking nearby. Satisfied that the area was clear, he continued his mission, his mind focused on taking down Zabini and his criminal empire once and for all.
Harry quickly made his move, using the shadows to his advantage as he quietly made his way towards the two other werewolves. He had to move fast, but also remain undetected, or else the whole operation would be compromised.
Using a trick he'd seen in Egypt, he used a variation of the switching spell to get one of the werewolves who'd been on high alert since their colleagues didn't come back, basically forcing the said person to apparate to his position with the loud sound making sure their ears were still ringing when he used the Fumos spell, clouding their vision but they would still come to seeing him once their senses went back to normal.
Quickly, he jumped right into the centre of their formation, waving his wand he conjured thick ropes of silver mid-jump and banished them towards the group, catching most of them by surprise. With the more talented and experienced bunch dodging the ropes and surrounding him. Immediately he ran straight for them, conjuring and banishing stones at them as they scrambled to get into a semblance of a formation.
Harry quickly struck one from behind with a precise blow to the head, his gloves glowing with the enhanced strength runes he'd carved on them. The werewolf went down without a sound, and Harry quickly moved on to the second one.
Dawlish scanned the area, trying to make sense of the chaos around him. The loud crack had startled him, and he was now confronted with the aftermath of a fierce battle. Smoke filled the air, obscuring his vision and making it hard to breathe. He could hear the sounds of fighting but couldn't see who was involved.
"Expecting any other visitors?" he asked the Don, his eyes darting back and forth as he tried to locate the source of the commotion.
"No," the Don replied, his voice tense.
"You best make your way out of here. Let me go catch what's happening."
Don Zabini nodded, feeling the urgency in the Dawlish's words.
Dawlish opened the door and stepped out into the smoke-filled night, squinting as he tried to see through the haze.
As he made his way through the docks, he saw bodies lying all around him, some unconscious and others badly injured. He knew he had to find the source of the fighting and put an end to it before things got even worse.
As Batman surveyed the chaos of the docks, his keen senses picked up the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. He turned his attention to see Auror Dawlish making his way out of the facility, his wand drawn and at the ready.
"Mercy!" yelled the man as the Batman closed in and knocked him out with an electrical shock.
Not wanting to kill them he just moved in close and delivered a powerful kick to one of the men's temples with the man falling unconscious.
As Batman battled on, he tried to avoid delivering any fatal blows to his opponents, not wanting to kill them if he could avoid it. He knew that taking down Zabini's operation was a priority. He'd sworn that he'd change the wizards and witches of this country, and for that he needed to give them a 2nd chance, show them a better way than what they did. His mother would be alive, if only the magical community were better, if it had the environment not to defeat a dark lord swiftly but avoid a dark lord rising entirely in the first place. For a moment, he paused to reflect on his larger mission of preventing future tragedies like hers and his father's.
But the blow-back of a spell striking his side brought him back to the present. He refocused his attention on the fight, ducking and weaving as he dodged his opponents' spells and strikes. He knew that he couldn't let his guard down if he wanted to achieve his goals and make a difference in the world.
"Argh!"
"Who's there?"
"Bloody hell! Move away from me fat ass!"
The entire docks had descended into utter chaos with all the smoke and now pure darkness all over. Grunts could be heard as Batman moved swiftly from one person to the next rendering each one unconscious, in seconds. As Dawlish surveyed the scene, his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness and he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure moving with incredible speed, taking out the mobsters one by one. He squinted, trying to get a better look, but the figure moved too fast and too erratically to be easily discernible.
All he heard were the grunts of men and saw some flashes of spell fire but other than the shadowy figure, there was nothing to show who was attacking them. Who could dare try to rob the mob, the Don no less?
Down below in the darkness, The Batman continued to move with incredible speed and agility, darting in and out of the shadows and taking out his opponents with swift, calculated blows.
In the car, Zabini wondered what was really happening out there, he saw the flickering lights of the spell fire illuminating the smoke-filled area. He could see his men lying unconscious on the ground, and he knew that he had to act fast. He quickly made his way to the boot of the car, where he had a direct floop to his security team.
When the entire place descended into complete darkness, only then did he have the sense to get out of the docks or whichever group of upstarts were attacking his men out there would surely move in on him.
"Get the reinforcements out there now!" he barked into the phone, "I want every last one of them taken down."
He could hear the shouts and screams of his men outside, and he knew that this was not just a simple robbery. This was an attack on his entire operation. He had to find out who was behind this and make them pay.
"Oi! Let's get out of here. Whoever did this will rue the day he messed with The Don!" he said to his driver.
Turning to check through the rear he saw the smoke clear and saw his men all down, panic enveloped him as he gazed at the dead werewolves.
Thump!
"Who's there!?"
"ME!" replied the Batman as he ripped the hood of the car, he could see the Don scrambling to reach for his wand. He moved quickly, using his grappling hook to yank the wand out of the Don's hand before he could even raise it.
"Who are you? What do you want?" the Don spat out, trying to squirm away from the Dark Knight.
"Who I am does not matter! I want answers, and I want them now," Batman replied sternly, his grip on the Don's collar tightening.
"I don't know what you're talking about freak. I run a legitimate business," the Don protested, but Batman could hear the fear in his voice.
"Then why do you have werewolves as your muscle?" Batman questioned, his voice cold and threatening.
The Don hesitated, his eyes darting around nervously, as if looking for a way out. "I needed the protection. In this line of work, you need strong people to watch your back," he finally admitted, his tone defensive.
"Protection from who?" Batman pressed, his grip on the Don's collar tightening even more.
"From people like you freak," the Don replied, looking up at Batman with a mixture of fear and defiance.
The Batman saw the Don's eyes flicker towards something behind him and he knew he had to act fast. He spun around, throwing the Don to the ground, as a burst of spell fire whizzed by his head.
Two more werewolves were charging towards him, snarling, and clawing. The Dark Knight dodged their attacks, using his training and gadgets to take them down one by one. In a flurry of punches, kicks, and batarangs, the werewolves were knocked out and lying still on the ground. No magic even necessary.
The Don was whimpering, trying to crawl away, but Batman grabbed him by the collar once again. "You're not going anywhere," he growled.
"What are you going to do with me?" the Don asked, his voice trembling with fear.
He turned and saw the Lighthouse and decided to use it as an example.
As Batman looked out from the top of the lighthouse, he saw the city stretching out below him. The streetlights twinkled like stars, and the occasional car zoomed by, its headlights casting a fleeting glow. The moon was just a sliver in the sky, but it was enough to illuminate the ocean that spread out to the horizon, its waves crashing against the shore.
The Don was tied up next to him, his face contorted in pain from the beating he had received. Batman looked at him coldly, his eyes filled with contempt.
"You're an example," he said, his voice low and menacing. "That Magical Britain does not belong to the corrupt anymore. Justice will prevail once more."
With a swift motion, Batman pulled out his magic-nullifying handcuffs and secured them around the Don's wrists. The man struggled, but it was futile. Batman had him in his grasp.
He raised his hand, and with a single punch, knocked the Don out. He then lifted the man's limp body over his shoulder and apparated to the top of the lighthouse.
As he tied the man's wrists around the lighthouse, Batman couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. The Don's reign of terror was over, and the people of Magical Britain could once again breathe easy.
As the Dark Knight turned to leave, he felt his wards fall being replaced by others. The aurors were finally arriving, and he knew he had to make a quick escape before they could catch him.
For the work was only just beginning.