Numb, Bruce sat in the patrol car and stared out the window as John Blake drove him to Old Town. He had a purpose. Bruce knew he needed to see Selina Kyle, to get to Bane. But his mind was scrabbling and trying to catch up. Trying to understand what all had happened the past day.
Just yesterday morning, he'd put Jonathan on a train back to Chicago. He'd gone home, and then everything had gone to hell. First, Bane shot up the stock exchange. Then Batman had not only utterly failed to capture Bane, but had brought the wrath of the entire police force on himself. Bruce and Alfred had fought. Alfred had left, and Bruce had woken up destitute.
Thank God for Miranda Tate.
His phone rang. The moment he saw Cherry's name on the caller ID, his internal organs turned to stone.
Jonathan. No.
"Cherry?"
"Is Sugar still with you?" Her voice is tightly controlled, but her worry is evident.
Bruce closed eyes. "I put her on a train yesterday morning. She's supposed to be home now."
"She never made it. I can't reach her. I know you're having difficulties right now, but…"
"I'll find her. I promise." He hung up and immediately dialed Fox.
"Who's missing?" Blake asked, shooting him a look.
"My partner. Lucius?"
"Yes, Mr. Wayne?"
"I need you to track Sugar's cell phone."
He heard Fox give a short, sharp exhale. "One moment." Fox must have pulled the phone away from his face, because his next words were muffled and unintelligible.
Bruce drummed his fingers on his thigh as he waited anxiously for Fox. It took a few minutes, but Fox finally said, "It's in Chicago."
Dammit. "She's not. Or, at least, she never met up with Cherry."
He heard computer keys clacking. "It's at the train station."
"Then it's probably in lost and found. Crap. I gotta go." He hung up and pressed his fist to his head. His heart pounded, and he wanted nothing more than to start hyperventilating. There was no doubt in Bruce's mind that Bane had gotten Jonathan. But why?
"What's going on?" Blake pulled up outside Selina's apartment building. He put the car in park and turned to Bruce. "I can help find your partner."
Bruce shook his head. "No. No, Bane has them. They wouldn't have disappeared…" He broke off and took a deep breath.
"That only tracks if Bane knows who you are. Why would he go after your partner otherwise?"
Bruce took another breath. Then, he opened his eyes and looked at Bane. "He's after me as Bruce Wayne, too. He took my fortune. Tried to take my company."
Blake didn't look convinced.
He sighed and lay his head against the seat. "Without going into detail, my partner may also be a person of interest to someone like Bane."
"Batman's dating a criminal?" Blake sounded cynically amused.
"They've left that life long behind them."
"Uh-huh. And don't think I haven't noticed the pronoun game you're suddenly playing."
Bruce blushed.
"Look. I don't care. Don't care who you're sleeping with or what their past is. You say they've gone straight, I've got no cause to doubt that. But tell me who to look for so I can at least keep my eye out for them."
He hesitated, then found three pictures of Jonathan: one as Sugar with the wig, one in every-day women's clothes and make-up without wig, and one as Sean.
Blake took the camera and thumbed through the three pictures, not batting an eye at the transition. "Green eyes or blue? They've got both here."
"Most likely blue. They rarely wear the green contacts anymore."
"Any name besides Sugar?" He handed the phone back to Bruce.
"Sean. Sean Miller."
"I'll try and find them."
Bruce swallowed. "Just …keep it off the books, okay?"
Blake snorted and nodded. "No problem. We orphans need to look out for each other, right?"
"Right." Bruce smiled and opened the door. "Don't wait. I'll get a cab."
"You got money?" Blake asked.
He turned warm and smiled. "Actually, no."
Blake grinned and handed him a few bills through the window before taking off.
Bruce watched him drive away, then looked down at his phone. Jonathan's face smiled shyly up at him, embarrassed, as always, at being caught by Bruce's camera. "Don't worry, Jonathan. I'm coming to find you."