Chapter 12: The Robbery at the Bank
It should have been a normal day at Dearborn Bank. Then again, what exactly constitutes 'normal' for a Gotham bank? Because she knows many people who would claim a robbery is not an odd occurrence for the city's banks.
The supposed lack of originality does not make the situation any less serious.
Dearborn Bank is not one of Gotham's most prestigious and important banks, but it still frequents many customers. With a quick glance at the vicinity, she estimates the hostage number to be between a dozen and two dozen people including the bank employees and security guard. She more carefully counts the combatants and finds there are eleven of them.
She takes a deep, steadying breath before placing a carefree and mischievous smirk on her face.
Blue Bird nimbly lands behind a robber from the rafters after carefully observing the situation and prepares herself for the inevitable fight.
It's right when she grapples herself to the ground that she realizes the adrenaline before a fight will never get old.
"You know, most people would make an appointment when they have business with the bank."
The robber directly in front of her turns swiftly to face her, but Blue Bird is even quicker to punch the man's temple. He falls to the ground unconscious.
His so-called friends instantly direct their attention to her. Not all of them begin to shoot at her which she uses to her advantage.
Blue Bird faces the closest combatant in the direction of the hostages. He attempts to fire his gun, but Blue Bird knows how to successfully evade gunfire. She twists and jumps, performing physical feats that she couldn't do a year ago.
In the background, she hears an increase of yelling and gunfire. Her smirk only grows.
Time for step two.
Once she lands her last flip, Blue Bird whips out a Batarang and flings it at the hand of the closest robber. He shouts in pain, dropping his gun to grip his now bleeding hand. She sprints at him, kicking his stomach to knock him off balance. He stumbles on his feet, although he falls to the ground following a firm punch by the vigilante attacking him.
Blue Bird doesn't take a second to rest. More gunfire is fired at her. As she dodges, she sprints to the hostages huddled in the corner. She is perfectly aware that more robbers are either shooting at her from a distance or redirecting their efforts to ambushing Batman. However, the fact simply makes her feel more assured.
She throws more Batarangs at the surrounding criminals, diverting their attention and allowing her to easily incapacitate them one-by-one. Two robbers were able to dodge the Batarangs. Once they had the chance, they rushed to move in front of the hostages and continued to shoot at her.
However, by the time they began to do that, Blue Bird had already taken out the remaining robbers near her.
She's aware she won't be able to evade the gunfire forever with acrobatics. One shot is guaranteed to hit eventually, and she would prefer to avoid that this early afternoon. So she takes out her grappling hook, aiming just above the remaining robbers.
She soars in the air, twisting her body so she comes at the criminals at an angle. It's more difficult for them to hit her when she does that.
She is close enough to hear the empty click of the handgun, signaling the lack of ammo in the female robber's weapon. The woman curses and frantically searches her pockets. The man next to her glanced at her for a split second. Unfortunately, when he looked back to the target they were shooting at, all he saw was a boot rapidly approaching his face.
The man tumbled to the ground disoriented, groaning at the sudden pain.
The woman recognizes the useless endeavor and throws her gun aside. She pulls out a knife. Her hand shakes as she points it at Blue Bird who stands a few feet away over the groaning man's body. Despite her obvious fear, her face is steady and full of determination.
Blue Bird waits for the lady to make the first move. She didn't have to wait for long.
The robber attacks the vigilante, attempting to swipe her with a stroke of her knife. Instead of stepping back or meeting the robber head on, Blue Bird simply leaps to the side.
The robber stumbles on her feet at the unexpected movement. She attempts to face the vigilante, but her knife is knocked out of her grip before she could do so.
The robber doesn't last much longer after that. She is promptly knocked unconscious and collapses to the ground.
Blue Bird is quick to scan her surroundings and finds that no combatants remain. Or at least, there are no combatants attacking her or guarding the hostages.
She relaxes ever so slightly.
Time for step three.
When the attack on the robbers had begun, the hostages had huddled together in one of the corners. There they still remain, fearful eyes locked onto Blue Bird and whatever display is occurring behind her.
She eyes each hostage before her. She had pulled out a Batarang when she first faced the hostages, obviously hidden out of sight from them. Although, once she determined they all were truly terrified civilians and no hidden criminals hid among them, she put it away and held her hands in front of her.
"It's alright. I'm here to get you all out of here."
They all slumped in relief. Some wiped tears off their faces, and others closed their eyes to calm themselves. But when Blue Bird untied the bound security guard, they all followed her out of the building and profusely thanked her once they were safe in the custody of the police.
Blue Bird could only smile and ensure they were all taken care of. Some hostages originally arrived at the bank with people they knew so she didn't need to keep an eye on them. The majority of the group, however, went to the bank alone. Those were the people she made sure to watch over.
They each were scurried off by officers and paramedics. Blue Bird assisted in that as she led a young woman to the side. A paramedic took over for her. She took the chance to assure herself that nobody was injured and they all were safe and being reassured of their safety.
The gunfire in the building had stopped sometime after she led the hostages out of the bank. When it finally did, the officers stormed into the building to retrieve the robbers.
As they did so, she made her rounds around the small blocked off area. She visited each person, telling small jokes or calming words to those people who needed it.
Some recovered from the shock fast enough to ask her questions. After all, she is the new vigilante of Gotham. Not much is known about her.
One young boy, not even a teenager, had seized the opportunity and asked, "Are we never going to see Robin again?"
Those around them froze in apprehension, but she only softly smiled and leaned in closer to the boy. "I think the classic saying goes along the lines of 'never say never,' doesn't it?"
She eventually made her rounds and double checked to confirm that she wasn't needed. Then, and only then, did she nod to herself, confident that step four was complete, and grappled herself away.
In her opinion, step four was the most important step, and she couldn't leave until she knew she completed it. After all, she learned long ago how useless it is to rescue someone if they are alone in the aftermath.
A good hero had taught her that.
OoO
As the Batmobile drove inside of the cave, a blue-clad girl threw open the door and jumped out of the car before it could come to a complete stop. She sprinted to the changing rooms and shouted an enthusiastic "Hey, Alfred!" to the man sitting in front of the wall of monitors.
The roar of engines ceased and Batman exited the car. He walked towards the man sitting before the computers.
Alfred looked at Batman expectantly. "Well?"
Batman took his cowl off and Bruce Wayne stared at his butler. "You were on the comms, Alfred. You know how it went."
Alfred rose from the chair and clasped his hands behind his back. "That may be, Master Bruce, yet I would appreciate it if you would indulge an old man."
Bruce narrowed his eyes. He gave his account after a moment of hesitation. "Blue Bird was the first to arrive at the bank. It was decided that she would provide a distraction, drawing the criminals' attention. When I arrived, she was meant to incapacitate those guarding the hostages and then lead them outside."
If Alfred was one to roll his eyes, he would have. "And how did she do?"
Appearing as if he swallowed a lemon, Bruce's face minutely scrunched up in displeasure. "She performed her duty sufficiently."
"Oh, B, I know I was amazing, but you don't have to flatter me."
Blue Bird, now dressed as Allison James, strolled over to the pair. In place of her uniform, she was now wearing a flowery skirt and a tank top. She was hastily tying her hair into a single braid.
Bruce smoothed his features and lifted a sole eyebrow. "I said you performed sufficiently, nothing more."
Allison secured her braid with a tie and rolled her eyes. "We both know that coming from you, those words are glowing remarks of praise. Seriously, though, I successfully drew their attention away from the hostages so none of them were injured and I didn't get shot. Admit it, Bruce, I did pretty good for my first time as 'Red Herring.'"
"You could have gotten there sooner."
"Really?" Allison was unimpressed. "I could have gotten there sooner? The robbery was in the middle of the day, it was going to take some time to get there. Also, I distinctly remember you getting there after me. I could be wrong."
Bruce glared at her, but she knew where to look in order to spot the amusement. He stiffly walked past Allison towards the changing rooms.
"I have to return to work."
"It's a good thing you're CEO or else you would have gotten a stern talking to for that long lunch break."
"I believe you're mistaken, Miss Allison. I wouldn't be surprised if Mister Fox decided to give that stern talk to Master Bruce."
The girl laughed and readily agreed. She could very well imagine that happening.
Bruce grumbled under his breath as he walked away from the pair.
With a lighthearted smile on her face, Allison turned to the monitors and asked, "Do we know what the situation with the robbery is?"
She leaned in to access the keyboard and pulled up the arrest forms for the robbers.
Alfred peered at the forms and said, "There are no connections I nor the GCPD discovered to major organized crime. The group appears to be lone-acting individuals who became ambitious."
She squinted at the pictures of the criminals and hummed. "Or desperate."
She finished considering the information in front of her, but didn't turn away from it when she asked in a low voice, "Any news?"
In the screen's reflection, she could see the butler's head tilt marginally down. "There is no news, I'm afraid."
Allison nodded her head, failing to appear unaffected with the announcement of no news.
No news isn't bad. So he hasn't woken up. At least it hasn't gotten worse.
That's what she is trying to convince herself. Jury's out for how well it's working. But considering she feels her heart sink and tears prick her eyes, she doesn't think it's working very well.
Her tense smile is a stark difference from her previous lighthearted one. She closes out of the forms on the screens and turns away from the monitors. As she walks towards the stairs, she says over her shoulder, "I got to go, Alfie. See you tonight!"
OoO
"Oh, that reminds me! Allison, I heard that not too long ago, Liam Worthing made a visit to your estate," Heather Lawrence, the daughter of a successful politician who is part of the Mayor's cabinet, asked with widened eyes and a gentle uplift of her lips in a falsely innocent and inquisitive manner. "Surely I heard wrong."
Seven or so girls glanced at each other in the loose circle they are seated in. Retaining perfect posture, they each leaned in close from their seats in anticipation.
Allison leaned against the back of her lawn chair. An outsider would praise her for the relaxed and confident poise she was exuding. However, a trained eye could tell her indulgent smile was a bit too strained to be genuine.
While all of the girls before her are currently being trained to catch the slightest of tells, only a significantly skilled and well trained eye could properly read her. That fact doesn't stop the rising young ladies of Gotham from attempting to understand the challenge that is Allison James.
"Certainly everyone here heard about the dinner my parents and I hosted for the Worthing family? I dare not think it is a surprise then that Liam, who is a member of the Worthing family, joined us at the James mansion for that dinner. Of course, you have my apologies if you just now heard about that event. The news of high society reaches everybody at different velocities, I'm afraid."
The surrounding girls titter and seem ready to combust in chatter for a possible new subject of gossip, yet Heather is quick to eliminate that subject. After all, a socialite who isn't up to speed with the most important events of high society has zero worth and no reliability.
"I thank you, but no apologies are necessary," Heather pleasantly said despite the glare in her eyes. "I am well aware of the dinner you shared with the Worthings. It is precisely because of the addition of that dinner which makes the occasion of Liam visiting you the day before he left much more… interesting."
Allison outwardly smiled, but inwardly was furious.
Every year or so, a family of an aspiring young socialite hosts an event for fellow aspiring young socialites of influential families to attend. This year, it was agreed that there would be an event for boys and a separate event for girls. Allison doesn't mind this decision. If she gets to deal with less spoiled brats, then she approves.
These events are meant to celebrate the next generation who will 'run' this city. However, it truly is more purposed to throw the young girls into the political atmosphere and to assist them in making connections.
If she had her way, she wouldn't be here. She doesn't need to come nor does she want to. Although, her attendance was inevitable since her parents helped organize it.
There are exactly twenty young girls of varying ages gathered at a picnic lunch in Willow Lin's backyard. Willow is eleven, a year older than Allison, yet she is much quieter. She is similar in personality to other socialite girls their age, yet she is a clear follower and not a leader. Her family was able to win the 'honor' of hosting this lunch.
Multiple families fight for the ability to host the event since it is a clear way for their child to attend. Another easy way to have your child be allowed to go is for you to help organize it or to be among the richest in Gotham.
Allison feels so fortunate that her parents are both.
While the Lins are hosting the event, Allison's parents along with a few others are the ones to send the invitations and basically plan the event. The glorified picnic idea came from her mother. But because only twenty girls are allowed to attend, they make the decision on who can come. The event is selective and therefore prestigious. Socialite parents dream for their children to attend.
Anyone who will become anybody in this city is invited.
There aren't any strict rules for this event. The sole unsaid rule is that only the families who organize the event may send invitations. And this is where Allison discovered a loophole.
Judging by how the surrounding girls are becoming more and more daring with their questions, she hopes her loophole arrives soon.
In the meantime, she takes a sip of her frankly disgusting lemonade and says, "A business proposition, if you must know. It is common knowledge that I and Liam are to inherit our fathers' businesses. It shouldn't be a surprise that he joined his father to learn how these transactions work."
Heather smugly grinned as if she discovered a goldmine of information. "You are both so young. Did you truly sit in to witness the transaction?"
For as spoiled as she is, Heather Lawrence is still the daughter of a politician. She is smart and she can discover holes in people's stories. Heather knows that it is typically frowned upon for parents to include their children in business talks if they are not even teenagers. So either her parents committed a despicable crime against Allison's innocence or Liam Worthing spent time alone with Allison. Both are prime subjects of gossip and could potentially stain a person's reputation despite their young age.
Heather Lawrence shouldn't know about this meeting, yet she does. Allison recognizes that she is surrounded by clever and conniving girls regardless of their age. It's like she said: Heather is smart.
Unfortunate for her that Allison is smarter.
She freely laughed at the silly notion. "Of course not! I myself asked my mother why he came, but he is coming to that age where he must be entrusted with more opportunities to learn, according to his father. Then again, that is not the only reason he came."
She didn't continue and allowed the tension the girls felt to grow. They all were on the edge of their seats.
Heather, who was almost becoming visibly annoyed that Allison held the girls' attention and thus control over the conversation she started, asked, "What is the other reason?"
Allison hummed, startled as if the question was insignificant and unexpected. Then she smiled in patient understanding and nodded her head. "Oh, just that he wished to personally invite my family to the premier of the last movie of his acting career. It's an all-star cast, and he gave us various information on the plot and when it is to be released. His parents wanted to honor the newfound friendship and alliance that has been created between our families. You know, signify the strength and trust of our family's relationship."
She pretended to examine her nails while those around her processed the information. While it has been rumored that the Worthings chose to be partners with the Jameses, she has just now confirmed it. Any potential gossip of what relationship she has with Liam has no stance and will shrivel in comparison to the bombshell she shared.
Heather Lawrence can continue to try and determine if there are any romantic interactions between Allison and Liam, but unless she gains more concrete evidence, any interactions between them can be claimed to be good-natured talks between two allies.
For the past half an hour, Allison has been hammered with questions. She doesn't socialize with others her age much. This is their golden opportunity to trip Allison up and gain information on her.
But for the past half an hour, Allison has successfully evaded all nefarious questions and talked her way out of lead-on observations. She's almost disappointed. These girls were supposed to be the best and brightest of her age and they aren't even challenging her wit.
It's a good thing she prepared in advance a way to excite this boring and pompous picnic.
Polite chatter and fake laughter has been echoing throughout the backyard from the moment this event officially began. However, all the noise seemed to suddenly pause at once. Allison was facing the patio so she saw right away what caused the new-found silence.
A relieved grin snuck its way onto her face. It's the most authentic reaction she's had since this started.
"Barbara!" Allison jumped up from her chair and extended her arms wide to greet the new arrival.
Barbara Gordon stands at the door of the patio in a summery blue dress. The soft blue went perfectly with her striking red hair. While Babs was afraid the flower design was a bit too much, Allison insisted on the dress because she knew it would simply be perfect.
She was right.
The blond strides over to the ginger, purposefully ignoring the pointed glares and loud whispers along the way. Babs waits for her friend to approach. It isn't difficult to perceive that she is unsure on what to do. Despite her obvious apprehension, she stands confidently as if there are no reasons why she shouldn't be here.
Allison nearly jumps up the stairs in excitement and greets Barbara with a hug. She whispers in her ear, "Seriously, thank you for coming. I really owe you one."
Babs laughs quietly so no eavesdroppers can hear. She hugs Allison tightly. "Please, you're giving me the opportunity to ruin these girls' year and cause some chaos. I should be thanking you."
The unsaid rule states that only twenty girls shall be invited at the discretion of those organizing the event. However, while it has never occurred, there are no rules that prohibits the host from inviting another girl to the event.
It is only fitting that Babs be invited. Out of everyone here, herself included, Barbara Gordon will certainly be the one to have the most impact in Gotham.
Judging by the dumbfounded and offended expressions of the other invitees, nobody else is wise enough to recognize that.
As Allison links arms with Babs, leading her to the table she was sitting at, she waves a nearby waiter over and kindly requests an extra chair to be brought over for her friend. The waiter is quick to do so with a gracious smile. He's an older gentleman, probably old enough to be retired, and Allison has noticed how he in particular has been receiving dismissive commands. Unlike the other waiters at the event, he is always quick to obey each command with a pleasant demeanor despite the scathing tones directed towards him.
She's also noticed that he's been doing more work than the other much younger waiters. She wouldn't be surprised if he's taken up some of their responsibilities.
When the event is over, she plans to ensure that this older gentleman is brought into her family's employment.
The old waiter sets the requested chair next to the one Allison sat at. The two friends stopped by the refreshment table before they walked over to the table. Allison made sure to steer Babs away from the lemonade.
Whispers and soft chatter were filling the backyard. The girls weren't too discrete with the gossip which she was a tad astonished by. Sure, this is a big controversy and incredibly chaotic for a social event, but any and all gossip should be shared away from the ears of those they are gossiping about! Discretion is important for gossip because a person never knows when they need another's assistance, and if it was known they gossiped about a certain person, they may be unable to get out of the situation they're in. Juliet stressed this lesson to Allison.
Didn't their parents teach them anything?!
While Allison softly but excitedly spoke to Babs, she briefly stated that she is frankly disappointed with the young socialites gathered today. Babs was confused and told her to explain why later. Allison would have rolled her eyes if she was in a different setting.
They calmly strolled over to take their seats. Before sitting, Allison amicably grinned and said, "Ladies, allow me to introduce to you Barbara Gordon, if you are unfamiliar with her. She is the daughter of Captain Gordon and a dear friend of mine at school."
Barbara sent her an alarmed look before all the girls introduced themselves. Allison knew why Babs was abruptly unsettled. Her capricious behavior easily perturbed Babs since it's very rare for her to be around Allison when she is in socialite-mode. For someone who wasn't brought up in this atmosphere, the sudden change in personality probably is alarming.
Although she was proud when Babs quickly recovered and warmly nodded at each introduction.
When the introductions were finished, Heather Lawrence was swift to say, "Barbara, I certainly was not expecting to see you here."
For reasons unknown, Heather despises Babs. It truly is a mystery why, especially because Babs is awesome.
A severely irritated look appeared on Babs' face. Before she could open her mouth to respond, Allison quickly said with an embarrassed smile, "That would be me!"
The attention was immediately drawn back to her which, for once, she was thankful for.
If Heather was ever to insult or make a degrading comment at school to Babs, she would instantly fire back an incensed remark. Babs is smart to ensure her responses will never get her into actual trouble, but if she was to make a similar comment at this setting, it definitely would not be good for either of them.
The blond appealed to the table with a friendly countenance. "I apologize for the surprise. I got so drawn into these wonderful conversations with you all that I forgot what I meant to say when I first got here! I asked Willow earlier this week if it would be permissible to invite a friend of mine from school, and she was sweet enough to agree. Please forgive me for neglecting to share this change."
Nobody wasted a second to assure Allison that no apologies were necessary. She played her part rather well as she asked again and again if they were certain. Everyone instantly agreed and insisted the issue be forgotten and that Babs is welcomed.
Because at the end of the day, Allison got permission from one of the hosts. Willow doesn't recognize the power she holds at this event. Not one person can claim Barbara shouldn't be here without the fear of upsetting the host and appearing ungrateful.
It doesn't matter if nobody wants Barbara to be here. They have no choice in the matter.
While she gratefully remarks on the kindness of all gathered, she is so close from breaking out into a smug grin. Babs carefully watches her with widened eyes, a little shocked that Allison gained control over the situation as fast as she did.
Heather Lawrence, on the other hand, quietly seethed in her seat after mumbling, "No harm was done."
With that, the conversations resumed. Without Lawrence to lead the invasive questions directed to Allison, the environment was nearly tame. Barbara gained confidence rather fast and contributed easily to the conversation.
At times, a question or two would get minorly political or nosy. Those questions were mainly for Allison or Babs. But whenever one would arise, the person the question wasn't meant for would instantly support the other and dismiss the conversation or redirect it.
For instance, when Lawrence regained her confidence, she asked Barbara if the rumors were true that her father was going to receive a promotion. The question seems innocuous, but it actually is dangerous. If Babs stated that he was probably going to receive a promotion soon, everyone would claim she and her father were incredibly arrogant and should not assume he is to gain a promoted position. If she said the opposite, that he was not to receive a promotion soon, the city would begin to believe that Captain Gordon will never be able to rise up in the police ranks. Allison wouldn't be surprised if some even questioned his credibility.
Therefore, Allison nonchalantly exited the small conversation she was having and stated, "Oh, Captain Gordon? Have you met him? He is so incredibly kind and my parents constantly remark on the exceptional and distinguished work he does for the city. Have any of you girls met him before?"
Thus birthed the abundant compliments of Captain Gordon. Some praised his abilities and achievements, others his character. It wasn't until Allison said offhandedly to Babs that she has a wonderful father when the others recalled the familial connection.
Babs appreciatively accepted the compliments and talked about her father with a sly glance at Allison. She merely lifted her ice tea (which is so much tastier than the lemonade) in acknowledgment and sipped it, allowing Babs to continue the conversation.
The lunch eventually ended with little note-worthy occurrences. It wasn't until she was saying goodbye to everybody that she realized she had fun. Obviously she has Babs to thank for that.
Barbara really proved herself, not that Allison is surprised. She knew her friend was strong, self-assured, intelligent, and quick on her feet. It's about time everybody else started to see that, too.
But Allison began to realize that even she underestimated her friend.
After checking in with her family chauffeur, she offered to drive Babs home. She may live in the city and Allison is certainly going out of her way, but she hasn't really talked to Babs much in the chaos of the past few weeks.
Barbara accepted the offer and thanked her, explaining that her father was working and she would have had to pay for a ride home. In hindsight, Allison cannot believe that she mistook the devious expression on her face for excitement.
They entered the car and gave the address to the driver. They were able to talk as freely as they liked because of the wall separating the driver from the passengers.
This is where Barbara planned to trap and ambush Allison.
"So," Barbara innocently begins once the car started to move, "how've you been doing these past couple of days? It's been a while."
She winced, unaware of the danger she's in. "I'm really sorry, Babs. When the Worthings came over, my parents went crazy about trying to get on their good side. Not a good excuse, I know, but they were obsessed over this and they drew me into it."
Barbara, who initially appeared to have another question on the tip of her lips, paused and examined Allison. She softly asked, "You alright?"
She waved the question off and didn't think about it. "Yeah, totally. It's my parents. Nothing they haven't done before," she helplessly shrugged and begged for Barbara to drop it.
Fortunately, she did. Unfortunately, she asked, "Have you talked to Dick recently?"
Crap. She doesn't want to lie to Babs.
Barbara, Dick, and her are all best friends. Allison knows that she has to lie to her, but that doesn't mean she likes it. Truthfully, Babs deserves to know what happened to Dick. Also, if she told Babs, then she would have a friend to be there with her as they both struggle to process the situation. She's thankful she has Bruce and Alfred, and she knows that if she didn't have them, she would not be in a good place.
But having a friend by her side is different.
She doesn't want to lie to Babs, except she has to. This may be hypocritical, but it's safer for Babs not to know. What happened to Dick made her realize that.
And besides, Allison's not sure this is her secret to tell.
She scrunches up her face. "I talked to him a couple weeks ago, I think when you and your dad were on that trip. He did say that he was visiting the circus, seeing if he could help out at all. Not to perform, I don't think, because imagine the press! The idiot hasn't talked to me since, though."
Perplexed, Babs raised her eyebrows. "Seriously? Not even a text?"
Allison wildly waved her arms in exasperation. "No! You think he would. He better have a good excuse because he's really living up to his nickname."
Barbara laughed, but there was something off in it that caught her notice. "I guess he is. What did Mr. Wayne say?"
Allison almost said something to support her story, something like Mr. Wayne said Dick is happy to be reunited with his friends at Haley's Circus.
She is so freaking glad she stopped herself before she did because then she would have been screwed.
"Mr. Wayne? You know I don't talk to him much outside of the rare occasions when I'm at Dick's house and he's there. I'm pretty sure Dick is fine. He probably lost his phone or something like the moron he is."
Babs hummed in agreement. "He can be pretty stupid. He always does idiotic things."
There was a moment of silence after that, but Allison swiftly began talking about something else with Babs.
However, inside of Allison's head, she allowed her suspicion to grow just as she feared suspicion was growing inside of Barbara's head.
OoO
Inside a room on the second floor of the Wayne Manor, the clacking of a keyboard is heard paired with the occasional frustrated growls and sighs from a young girl.
Allison James sits at the bedside of her best friend, yet her attention is locked onto her computer.
"Something just doesn't fit!" Allison suddenly exclaimed, slamming the lid to her computer closed and slouching in her seat. She slaps her hands onto face and releases a frustrated groan. "I know there has to be something," she mumbles into her hands.
She rubs her eyes, attempting to ease her eyesight after staring at the LED light for as long as she did (she wasn't keeping track, but judging by the strain she feels in her eyes, it was probably too long). She eventually moves her hands so as to put the computer on her lap down to the floor. She straightens in her seat, resting her elbows on her knees and her head on her hands.
"You remember that crime scene B and I visited last night? The warehouse one?" Allison asks Dick, not expecting an answer. "CSI estimated the fight happened sometime in the early afternoon. They put the official time frame in their files a couple hours ago."
She paused and bit her lip in thought. "Bruce was the one who went down and investigated. He didn't want the officers interacting with me. Probably smart," she breathlessly chucked, "since they no doubt would have gotten in my way and questioned my authority. I observed from a distance–a nearby rooftop. I don't think I could have found something anyways. Both Bruce and CSI reported no evidence that could hint to who did it. No cams, fingerprints, even the bullets were swiped."
Allison grimaced. "There wasn't a corpse with a bullet inside it. They either had entry and exit wounds from being shot or they were stabbed. Everything about it is clean," she mumbled, then tilted her head in thought, "you know, except for the bodies."
"We can't even tell if they all were on the same side," she continued. "B won't admit it, but I can tell even he's impressed by how little evidence there is… Impressed may be the wrong word, but we know what I mean."
She examined her nails even though information was whirling inside of her mind faster than she could verbally convey. Eventually, she clasped her hands together and set them on her lap. She lifted her head and gazed at the window.
"The time frame CSI estimated of the warehouse crime scene matches the time of when the robbery from yesterday happened," she said nonchalantly, stating the fact for what it is. She began to slowly shake her head almost like she's having trouble wrapping her head around the coincidence.
"I didn't point this out to Bruce yet. Knowing him, he probably already figured that out. 'S not hard to. He probably already figured out that it means nothing. It's just a coincidence," she mumbled even though she obviously wasn't convinced. "I doubt Bruce thinks there's anything more. But I-I just…" Allison's words trailed off as she struggled to verbalize the conflict of her thoughts.
She starts again slowly. "Logic tells me it's a coincidence, but something in my gut tells me there's more. And I just–I–I just know something about these two situations feels off," Allison spoke, her passion growing and growing with every word. "You were the one to tell me to always listen to my gut because it might save mine or somebody else's life someday. But Dick," she sighed, her fervency suddenly abandoning her, "I don't know if I'm reading too much into it. My paranoia hasn't exactly been helping me lately."
She hates that what she last said is true. When began working with the vigilantes to solve cases, she learned how to develop a healthy sense of paranoia. That paranoia definitely has helped multiple times before. But ever since the incident, her paranoia grew tenfold and she's now suspicious of almost everything while working.
One time she raised her fists in preparation to fight a running figure who appeared in the periphery of her vision before she realized it was just a crying child. She counted around five instances of simple mugging when she was convinced it was something more–either a trap or a ploy from a larger villain. Even yesterday during the robbery it took an extreme amount of time for her to be comfortable to leave the hostages. Part of the reason she stayed truly was to ensure their mental health wasn't in shambles, but she also stayed to make sure they weren't in danger because she wasn't sure if there would be some kind of followup from the attempted robbery.
She doesn't really trust her instincts at this point. They have been too out of it recently for them to be reliable.
She shook her head. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. In other news, I'm a little worried about Babs. Now that I think about it, I might need to tell Bruce this, too. But only if he gives me a practical solution and doesn't tell me that I need to distance myself from her."
Allison narrowed her eyes in thought.
"Wait, he might actually do that…"
Her phone interrupted her chain of thought. As she glanced at it, she saw a one Roy Harper was calling her.
She frowned.
That's weird.
Allison would call him if there were any updates. There's really no point in him calling her to check in with Dick…
So why would he call her?
Regardless, she answered the call. "What's up, Harper?" She couldn't hide the curiosity in her voice.
"Oh thank fuck, you picked up," Roy sounded breathless.
"Uh, yeah," Allison started, "I picked–"
"No time. Are you–?"
"Did you actually interrupt me, you filthy ginger?"
What is it with boys who think they could interrupt her?
"I did. And normally I would very offended by that statement–"
"You should be grateful I was merciful enough to not resort to nastier insults. Afterall, you–"
"Allison, look."
"-interrupted me. And you just did it again."
"You can be mad at me later," Roy pleaded, "but you need to listen to me because I don't have time–"
Allison may be immature right now because it does seem like Roy has important information to share, however it is his fault for being so incredibly impolite.
"Mr. Harper, I am hanging up this phone call and I will not listen to whatever you want to say until you provide me with a sincere apology."
"Allison–"
"Nope. There is no information that is worthy of the offense of interrupting somebody. Goodbye, and please take your time in calling me back."
She hung up on him despite his loud protests. If his information was world-ending, Mr. Queen would have contacted Bruce. Even if the information was dangerous, the receiver of that information would still be Bruce.
Subconclusion: there was no need to interrupt Allison.
Points for consideration: Allison is tired of people interrupting her, and she is tired regardless because of this stupid case.
Conclusion: Roy can wait, and Allison can have her fun.
Allison snickered. Her phone pinged, signaling a text message. She continued to giggle, anticipating an incensed response which would send her into wheezing laughter.
Don't blame me for the lacking of warning
Huh?
The door suddenly swung open, wind surging into the room. Her hair blew into her face due to the rush of air, and Allison had to forcefully hold it back in order to see the intruder.
Except, the intruder wasn't in the doorway. He stood on the other side of the bed, speaking faster than her brain could process as he hovered over Dick.
Allison was paralyzed as she struggled to catch up to the abrupt development.
The intruder resumed his frantic and incoherent chatter for another two seconds before he just as quickly stopped.
Allison stared at him.
He stared at Allison.
Bright green eyes narrowed in confusion. "Who are you supposed to be?"
Instead of responding, she slowly picked up her phone. She called the last number she spoke to on her phone. It began to ring. She kept her widened eyes on the intruder in front of her the entire time.
The phone only rang once before Roy picked up.
"I apologize for interrupting you, you fucking brat."
Yeah, Allison mused, she deserves that one.
"Um, why is Kid Flash in Gotham?"
So this chapter was a little late. I am adjusting the update schedule because it honestly is not sustainable to update once a week during college. It will either be once every other week or once a month.
Thanks again for the support guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter, it definitely sets up some fun future developments.