Bruce nodded to his sons as they crossed Gotham's rooftops, Talia's elite team close behind. Bruce had taken the previous night to memorize everything Talia had to offer. She knew that Jason had been purchased for $1.2 million, that he was being mildly sedated and then transported by a secure bank transport truck, that he was being dropped off by the harbor at exactly 6:30 am, and that Sionis was due to find a barely conscious Redhood in the broom closet of the warehouse at exactly 6:34 am.
Bruce wouldn't allow it to happen.
Damian had been overly quiet since Talia had disappeared the previous night without another word to her son. Bruce knew that Damian was starting to build walls against his mother, but he could see how easily those walls crumbled in person; especially without the right person to act as a buffer for the youngest Robin. Bruce suspected it was in an effort to appease Richard and his brother's dislike for Damian's first 8 years of homelife, that Damian seemed to fight against the urge to go to or cling to his mother. Bruce suspected she would make herself known again before she made her way back across the Atlantic, no matter how much she prided herself in being like her father; the Demon head. She was a mother through and through. While Bruce was training in Nanda Parbat with the League and other off-grid elitist survivalist groups, the softer side of Talia is what really drew him in, enraptured Bruce Wayne under the guise of the Bat. While the Bat had consumed much of his personality, he would always be the small upper-class well-to-do boy from the city. In the beginning, he had very little stomach for some of the more crude survivalist necessities, and Talia's compassion towards him or the children they encountered is what brought them together that night. Bruce didn't know until 9 years later that he had a son because of that one night but Talia couldn't be more proud that she had mothered the child of the Batman and brought her father the male heir he'd always demanded of. Unfortunately, Bruce couldn't shake the inkling of distrust he'd garnered from seeing his child's mother again. Her cover story made perfect sense which is why Bruce held his tongue in front of his children but at the end of the day, he knew something was amiss. He wasn't sure if he was bothered by the fact that Tali was willing to lend her personal guard for Redhood's rescue mission or that she was so secretive about her other business dealings while in America. If she was only here to act as an impromptu rescuer for Bruce, her son, and Tim then why did she also have another obligation to attend to at the same time? There were just enough strings that weren't watched strongly enough to the evidence she laid out for them that had Bruce on high alert.
Out of his periphery he could see Talia's men keeping up with them but staying far enough back to show the kind of respect the League of Shadows demanded of the leading officer of their party.
They came to a halt and Bruce motioned for Tim and Damian to rest at his side. They had chosen the last-story building by the docks so that they had the advantage of every angle while being practically on top of the drop-off location.
They had to time their ambush well so that the Court never signaled to Back Mask's men that Jason was ready to be picked up by the purchasing party. While Dick was in danger, Bruce knew he couldn't leave his second-oldest son in the cruel gangster's hands. Jason had stolen enough territory and financial opportunities from Sionis that he'd flay Jason almost as badly as the Joker, but he'd kill him if he knew there was a rescue attempt on the way. Bruce couldn't fail his second son again, not like this.
Unfortunately, there was no way to circle back and gear up so Bruce was relying on blunted knives, a bo staff, and a spare field unfirm from Talia's equipment stash. Tim and Damian were dressed similarly, in dark firm cargo pants with tactical long-sleeve shirts and vests. They each had leather chest holsters meant for guns that strapped under the chest and hid well under most jackets. Each boy had loaded their holsters with flashbangs, smoke pellets, and a collapsable bo-staff, much to Talia's displeasure. Bruce knew they would be at a disadvantage now but Jason's situation was time sensitive. They would have to report back to the cave to inform Alfred, Batgirl, and the League of what happened before organizing a more formidable rescue mission for Dick.
Bruce motioned with 2 fingers down towards the pier and warehouse entrance. Damian and Tim nodded so Bruce gave an open-palmed signal twice and then put a finger to his lips. They nodded and grappled off the roof to begin their short stakeout.
Before long, Bruce heard and then spotted bright lights approach from the freeway. The armored bank car turned off the road and onto the short path leading to dock 15 by the warehouse where Bruce and his boys were perched. The truck looked freshly spray painted, to hide whatever company logo might be under. The truck rolled to a squeaky stop before stalling. Eventually, the truck headlights shut off and Bruce jerked his hand in the air; signaling for Talia's men to advance. Within 4 seconds of Bruce's 4-fingered air salute, the muscle-bound, weaponized men descended onto the truck. 2 men took to the front while the rest of the men barricaded the back doors.
The driver and passenger were taken by surprise. The passenger was quickly put down while the driver struggled. He slipped a choke hold twice and pulled his gun but was unsuccessful in pulling the trigger. Talia's man, a shorter stockier man named Harlow, gripped his gun hand and squeezed when the man's finger was halfway to the trigger, pinching his finger at a gruesome angle and pulling a cry from the driver. He jerked and tried to pull away but that left him vulnerable to Harlow's partner, Maddox.
Maddox easily slipped a pale beefy arm around the driver's throat and squeezed. He was able to subdue the driver in a few short seconds due to the perfect under-neck angle he'd gotten on the man. The driver's cry alerted the back passengers with Jason so the men didn't open the door initially. Bruce had formed the plan intentionally so that Talia's men took the initial brunt of abuse while obeying his no-kill rule as closely as possible. He'd much rather save Tim and Damian for backup as they were still weak and recovering from their captivity. Damian didn't like it but Bruce had ordered him in the Batman's voice to stand down until Jason was ready to be physically retrieved. Tim's voice sprouted over his comms, "I think these are some lower-level thugs of something. They're not fighting like the talons that got us" Bruce grunted in agreement but wondered where Cobb had ordered his enhanced men to if not the selling of Dick's brother.
Bruce observed as the men silently surrounded the truck doors and removed their quick barricade. No one moved so Bruce touched the borrowed comm in his right ear, activating it to Mickel's voice.
"Why aren't you proceeding?" Bruce demanded.
"We've removed the barricade but we don't hear anything from inside. I suspect they want us to come to them and I want to minimize their advantage…sir"
Bruce grunted in confirmation and let Mickel direct his team to safely wait out Jason's captors, "You have 12 minutes before Black Mask's men realize that the Court is behind schedule" Fortunately, any comms or radio equipment was damaged and in the front seat beside the 2 unconscious figures.
"Affirmative"
Bruce saw Tim and Damian edging their way closer to the truck from where they were ordered to wait on either side of the warehouse building. Mickel gave his men a 2 fingered directional salute and they slowly backed up into a winder half circle around the truck doors. Mickel nodded to 2 men beside him and they circled around the front to the broken driver's side. 1 man uncapped a metal tool from his touch and Bruce realized it was a flash bomb or smoke grenade a second before he brought the cap to his mouth and ripped the tie off with a quick jerk. He slid open the small compartment window behind the driver's side and threw in the metal canister before slamming the small panel door shut. Not 30 seconds later, the door was kicked open from the inside and 6 figures stumbled out. Bruce spotted Jason's bent head in the very back, his bicep gripped by 2 burly men in silver goggles and dark grey armor. They forced his head down with a strong grip on his upper neck. Talia's elite team descended on them immediately, attacking with precision that most wouldn't expect from stocky tall men.
Bruce watched from his perch as Jason was shoved to the ground as the Court's members started to defend themselves. One man with short dirty blonde hair was taken down quickly as Mickel jammed the butt of his handgun into the base of his throat. He choked and flailed backward as he fought to breathe and keep his balance. Besides them, Bruce saw Jason edging away from the fight rather quickly, letting Bruce know that he wasn't too harmed or robbed of his faculties to understand the severity of the situation. Jason was a survivor, despite his temper he knew when to make himself scarce. Bruce nodded, knowing that Tim and Damian were watching him like birds of prey, waiting for his signal to allow them into the fray. Tim and Damian took off, skirting around the main fight and making their way to Jason. Tim hauled Jason to his feet while Damian checked him over briefly. They conversed for a few seconds as Damian pulled a switchblade from his back pocket and sliced through zip-ties holding Jason's wrists and biceps together. Tim and Jason nodded at something Damian said before they started to make their way back towards the warehouse.
Bruce checked back in on the fight to confirm that Talia's men were holding their own. Bruce had come with more reinforcements but the Court's soldiers were still incredibly sturdy. The fight was down to 4 of the COurt's men and 10 of Talia's. These men seemed to be more along the lines and skill level that Bruce was suspecting. The talons were doing their best to kick and throw Talia's men, to restrict the elite team from attacking all at once and overwhelm them. The talons that were down were heavily tranqed with 7 times the suggested amount of adult sedative and Bruce was certain that while most of Talia's men were alright, there was 1 man who wasn't moving at all and at least 3 others that were dragging themselves away to avoid being a distraction for their partners. Some men had propped themselves up against the wall and were aiming for the Talons still standing.
Bruce looked away and grappled down to the docks as Jason, Tim, and Damian approached. Tim was breathing heavily and Jason was limping slightly.
"Report" Bruce barked as his pulse fought to stay level. He almost had all his boys back within arms reach. He just had to make sure that they weren't too hurt.
Normally Jason fought back against Bruce's instances that they report to Bruce or give automatic status updates, but he was exhausted and in pain. Old habits kicked in and he gruffly responded, listing the pains that jarred his body too much to ignore.
"Deep cut on the right side, severe bruising, exhaustion, and a sprained leg; maybe just hella bruised" Jason added.
Bruce nodded before stepping forward and resting a firm hand on Jason's shoulder, "Are you ok?" he finally asked.
Jason's cheeks burned slightly at the blatant question. Bruce was so rarely transparent in his concern that Jason often felt flustered, "I'm fine" he nodded, "Lincoln, the douche, kicked out my right leg right before they put me in the truck above the sewers; but I'm fine" he added.
"We need to get Dickhead" he said seriously.
Bruce nodded, "We will circle back with Talia's men right now and make it back to Alfred and Batgirl. I want us to have proper reinforcements when we re-attack the Court's base. I expect everyone except Superman and the Martians will need a rebreather to make it down there"
Jason didn't seem shocked to hear that they had reinforcements from the League of Shadows and Bruce surmised that this was what Damian had told Jason.
"He's not down there," Jason said quickly, "And the Justice League is probably split dealing with fires right now"
"How do you know?"
"They were moving Dick while they were moving me. All the big fish left their little shit hole in the sewers. I dunno if they're running or going to a new base but Dick's not down there anymore" Bruce narrowed his eyes realizing his observation regarding the combination of human and meta guards for Jason's transport wasn't worthless. Cobb had split his men and sent the most expendable out with Jason.
"And the League?" Tim asked.
Jason shrugged, "I'm not 100% sure but I heard 2 reports on the radio's truck about the Flash dealing with 2 escaped convicts and Superman and Wnderwoman are dealing with some genomorphs gone batshit wild"
"The Light?" Damian asked. Genomorphs were a scientific production and weapon the Light was known for. Created alongside Connor Kent by Luthor; and apparently the Court of Owls"
"It can't be a coincidence" Bruce murmured as his mind raced to connect the growing dots, "Cobb said that Light was bidding to buy us but Talia said they were financial partners…There's more to this"
"Yea, yea yea" Jason urged. "We gotta get back and see what the damage is"
Bruce nodded and turned his attention back towards the fight. The talons had been subdued but had taken down one more man, leaving Talia's team at a capable limit of 8.
Bruce didn't ask for an update or how anyone was doing, "All capable bodies are to report back with us to North-West Gotham" Bruce ordered in a deep voice, "We're collecting reinforcements and heading back out"
Bruce wasn't sure how they would confirm and verify Dick's location soon enough to make a quick turnaround but he hoped Baraba, himself, and Tim would be able to make some progress and do some real damage once they got on the Batcomputer's mainframe once again. Talia's men nodded and Mickel turned and started issuing orders to his men. One man had died from a slash to the throat and 6 were out of commission and would be of no help to the rescue mission.
After commandeering the armored truck and Mickel's original vehicle. They quickly made their way back to the Batcave. Bruce had them pull over right before the entrance started to dip down underground. He jumped out the side and dug around in the fallen leaves that surrounded Wayne Manor's grounds. He pulled out the biometric lock he'd dug exactly 11 paces from the road and leveled it with his eye. He waited until the retina scan completed and the shrill device beeped once before he returned to the truck. He pointed the device at where he knew the gateway entrance to be and clicked the device like a garage opener.
The trucks descended into the Batcave and Bruce spotted Alfred waiting for them with his trusty shotgun, issued from his British special forces experience. Bruce couldn't contain the small smirk he felt grace his lips. Alfred would have been notified of intruders a mile back and he'd made his way down here to defend the cave. For all he knew the Court could have been attacking and Alfred was waiting here with a simple shotgun from the 70's. He'd have to give Alfred a talking-to after this.
Bruce leaned his hand out the window as an open palmed sign before flashing 4 fingers down and 2 up. Alfred's expression cleared instantly and his shoulder drooped severely, the shotgun almost slipping from his hands.
"Mas-" Alfred cut himself off with a guarded look at the other occupants.
Tim jogged past Bruce and made his way to the Wayne Butler, "Alfred!" Tim exclaimed as the older man engulfed him in a hug. Tim was almost Alfred's height now and soon the older man would be the shortest resident in the Manor.
"It's alright, Alfred" Bruce reassured the man over Tim's dark locks, "They're on lease…from Talia Al-"
"Mother lent us her men to procure Todd and Richard" Damian finished boldly. He hopped out of the truck and made his way over to Alfred, "Pennyworth, I am pleased to see the Court has not attacked the cave-" Damian didn't get to finish as Alfred wrapped a free arm around Damian and pulled him into his side.
Alfred bent down to briefly touch his lips to Damian's crown, "I am blessed that my boys are almost all home" he murmured. Damian flushed but didn't try to pull away.
Bruce felt something settle in his chest at seeing the boys and Alfred. He turned towards the back of Mickel's jeep and stood by as Jason clambered out awkwardly. He was trying not to put on weight on his right leg when it was bent. He knew Jason would never accept his hand but stayed beside him nonetheless. Jason grumbled and glanced at him but hopped out of the truck and made his way over to Alfred.
"The prodigal son hath return" he proclaimed in a haughty tone.
Alfred's eyes brightened even further and he opened his arms wide to accept a superficially disgruntled Jason, "Master Jason, I am pleased to find one more boy back home so soon" He turned to all the Robins, "Is anyone hiding any injuries? Come now, fess up before I force a full body examination and request Dr. Leslie"
"Alfred!" Damian cried quietly while shooting indiscreet looks towards the strangers watching from behind.
Brtuce stepped up with a warm pat on Alfred's shoulder, "Update me on everything we've missed. We need to gather a team and head back out asap. The Court still has Dick and Jason confirmed that they moved him above ground"
Alfred nodded, "Ms. Gordon is on her way right now. I will gather food and drink as you all look 20 stones too light. I suppose you and Master Timmothy will begin somewhere online?" Alfred asked. Bruce was glad to hear that Alfred at least called for backup when he thought the Court was attacking.
Bruce nodded and looked to Jason and Damian, "Jason I want you here to corral and act as a standpoint for Talia's men-"
"They're my mother's men! I should be in charge" Damian argued quickly.
Bruce glared, not in the mood for his thought pattern and directions to be disrupted, "Jason is injured and the best thing for him right now is a position where he needs to sit and watch" He turned to Jason specifically, "Start reaching out to the League and the Young Justice to confirm who is occupied, who needs help, and who can help"
He looked down to Damian, "I need you to start scouring the manor and Dick's old room. Deathstroke was in here more than once and the Court was on the forest grounds. Now that we know those 2 had a confirmed partnership in the past-"
"Who knows what bugs could be hiding upstairs" Jason finished.
"I'm ready!" Tim called from where he had pulled up an extra chair to the Batcomputer. He had 5 tabs open and 1 looked like a street camera monitoring system. Bruce nodded and turned back to Jason and Damian, "Do not fight me on this. The faster we make progress, the faster we get Dick back. Jason is on watch duty and Damian, you are to sweep every corner of the Manor"
Without waiting for another he turned sharply and took a seat beside Tim, connecting the spare Bluetooth keyboard and turning to another monitor.
Damian gave Jason a look of outrage to which Jason shrugged and picked up his red laptop. He knew it was going a bit overboard to have so many things customized or specialized belongings but when the guy who gave you daddy issues is reliably rich, you tend to have petty preferences in life.
He logged on to his laptop and found a chair beside Mickel and his men. He kicked up his feet and started typing, "Okay, Harper. Get your ass over here now" he said under his breath.
"Talia told us that the tails she sent after Cobb to confirm the entrance was off of J street and 2nd" Tim informed Bruce without prompting.
Bruce nodded, "That's a block away from where Wison and I entered the manhole entrances from old City renovations"
Tim nodded as his fingers flew across the thousand-dollar keyboard, "I set a minor code to start looking for any truckers that stopped at that longer than 2 minutes near the intersection lights around those streets and I think I found Dick's truck"
Bruce leaned over, glancing over the pride he felt for Tim's technology skill and ambition.
Tim pointed at his third monitor, "This truck pulled up 30 minutes after Jason was reportedly sent away" A similar truck to the one Jason was in pulled up and parked. A single individual entered the camera's line of sight before the feed suddenly cut.
"I think this is them moving Dick" Tim supplied, "The feed cut is too convenient but I did get the plate and make of the truck"
"Track it," Bruce said.
"I already did, it's-"
"You're ok!"
Heads turned to see Barbara bounding down the stairs in half a Batgirl suit. Tim stood up to greet Barbara, seeing as she was the only appropriate one to hug beside Alfred. Jason and Barabara butted heads too frequently and Damian still insisted that he despised her. Baraba pulled away and glanced at Bruce and Jason, "Are you ok? What happened? Bruce went looking for you with Deathstroke of all people and then disappeared for like 3 months!"
Jason smirked, "The old man got caught, that's what"
"Dick is still with the Court and we have a lead on a truck he might have been placed in early today"
"Let's go then" Barabara agreed wholeheartedly. Out of all his sons, Barabra seemed to be the one to pick up Bruce's need for concise efficiency sometimes.
"Woah Woah, hold your horses," Jason said, "I'm fucked up and starving. We don't know where the League or the JL is and we don't even know where Dickhead actually is yet"
Barabar gnawed her bottom lip and Jason could feel the tension thicken, "The Justice League was hours away from launching a rescue and search mission for you guys but then fires and fights started to break out and no one has had a chance to breath for almost a month straight. Young Justice isn't even at the mountain all the time because they're running aid and recon missions between the Leagers"
"What?" Tim asked, shocked.
Barbara nodded, "Wonderwoman is MIA after going after a shipment from Luthor that was rumored to have red and black kryptonite, and Superman and Martian Manhunter have been off-world dealing with white Martians claiming we sent a war signal to them"
"I heard that the Flash is dealing with Captain Boomerang and Mr. Freeze," Jason said, sitting up in his chair more.
Barbara nodded, "And Abra Kadabra and Godspeed…they just keep coming and no one has any idea how they keep escaping. We were considering placing some in Arkham just to keep them there longer than 3 days"
"How are they escaping?" Damian asked outraged. He was just making his way down the stairs into the cave. He was holding a box of cheeze-its and was in sweats and Dick's old hoodie; the sleeves were rolled up and over at least 4 times to keep from swallowing his narrow arms.
Barabara shrugged, "No one has had time to launch a proper investigation. I've been helping Young Justice as much as I can myself while still looking after Gotham"
"The Joker hasn't broken free?" Bruce asked with narrowed eyes.
The redhead shook her head, "I think the biggest threat out there right now is Dent or Sionis but both have been pretty quiet"
She crossed her arms, "I know you're thinking this all too good to be true and that while each league member is dealing with a load of shit, why haven't Gotham's bog bads escaped too?" She shrugged, "I've been up to my elbows every night in regular mugging and surveillance so I haven't had any time to look into anything besides you 5 disappearing"
Bruce nodded his thanks and looked to Jason, "Is anyone responding to the main lines or comms?"
Jason flipped his laptop around to show Bruce his attempts to reach out, "I got a message back from Roy and half of Young Justice"
"Who is considered half?" Tim asked with concern.
Jason smirked, preparing a romantic jibe that rhymed with lonnor lent when Barabra spoke, "Wally, Artemis, and Zatanna are the only ones who are free enough to not be on active field duty" Barbara replied.
Jason nodded, "Roy told me that he got back from South America about a month ago and has been playing catch-up with the YJ team. Blue Beetle, Megan, Artemis, and Superboy are all out in the field helping the Flash, trying to find Wonderwoman, assisting Green Arrow, and who knows what else"
Bruce nodded, "It's an obvious distraction. The Court didn't want anyone substantial looking for us underground and they don't want a proper team to be put together for Nightwing's rescue mission either"
No one replied while Bruce fell into investigation mode. He turned to Jason and Barbara, "Call Roy and tell him to bring everyone from the Moutnain that can be spared. If they're not field ready they'll assist with recon back at base while we move out"
"Move out where?" Jason threw out a hand, "I repeat, we don't know where Goldboy is, B"
"He's in downtown Gotham"
All heads turned to look at Tim who was scrolling in on a map of central downtown Gotham, "The truck I keyed into is parked in the Plaza's parking garage"
"That's gotta be the wrong truck, why would the Court have a business penthouse suite at the plaza?" Jason said.
Tim shrugged as he reviewed his monitor. Everyone knew the Plaza. It was the business center with the 4 tallest buildings in Gotham. Wayne Ent. operated out of the building to the left of the Plaza's main skyscraper.
Bruce narrowed his eyes at the map and Tim continued, "I don't have anything more to go off of but if we make it there we can only assume it's one of the penthouses because the other offices would be too cluttered to allow any room or large gatherings. If I can get to the elevator I can confirm what floor they went to no problem"
"This is assuming a lot though" Damian commented, "There might not be a large group and this could be a decoy leading us in the wrong direction"
Bruce nodded as he considered their options, from there it would be a matter of subvertly scaling their way to that floor and formulating a rescue mission while in the field. It was risky and had innumerable unknown variables but Bruce couldn't stand his son with the Court of Owls any longer than was necessary. Even if this was a decoy or a ploy to lure them after a wild goose chase, it was still one avenue marked as checked.
"Does Luthor have a suite in the tower?" Bruce asked as Tim's fingers flew across the keys.
He shook his head, "No, but one of Luthor's business partners does. Her name is Lydia Ryland. She has a net worth of $4.5 billion and has too many overseas assets to list."
Bruce watched over Tim's shoulder as he confirmed that Lydia owned the top floor suite, "I've met her at a handful of Wayne and Lexcorp events. She is a preferred third-party transaction vendor between the Feds and other weapons manufacturers" Bruce confirmed. Tim threw up a few different pictures and angles of her onto the various monitors before them. Bruce wondered if there was a connection or if Luthrow was using his business partner for the Court to have a temporary hideaway. He glanced over a video of Lydia Ryland at a masked ball Wayne gala last year. It was Mardi Gra themed so most wore extravagant clothing and overdone masks for the event. She turned to face forward for a split second and Bruce froze, "Stop" he ordered.
Tim looked up at Bruce's tone and then saw he was watching the video. He stopped the paparazzi footage of the event. Freezing Lydia at a different angle.
"Rewind" Bruce ordered. Bruce's tone had caught everyone's attention, even Mickel and his men lounging near the back of the cave.
"Stop" Bruce called suddenly. Tim paused the footage of Lydia's lean fave looking straight forward. Her lips were a plum color and her pale skin was covered in a slight rosy hue from makeup and alcohol. Her upper face was covered by a narrow black mask that was lined with diamonds and gold frill.
Bruce didn't say anything for a moment and Jason finally broke the silence, "What's wrong with her?-"
"Pull up what Martian Manhunter put together of Dick's memory"
"The memory images from Miss Martian?" Tim clarified.
Bruce nodded and watched as Tim logged into the League files and through various levels of authorization before pulling the sketch image Martian Manhunter and his niece had put together after delving into Dick's mind. One image was a black and grey likeness of William Cobb in a suit and a floor-length robe; the other was a woman with a black and green mask. The woman's face was covered, save for her lips and chin. Her lips were a dark plum color but her cheeks were bare of any makeup or rosiness.
"Fuuuuck" Jason breathed in the back as it dawned on him.
Bruce nodded in agreement, "Lydia Ryland is a member of the Court of Owls" He turned to Baraba, "This was taken from Dick's mind and mirrored into a physical image by Martian Manhunter after a tumultuous mind-delve session" he explained.
Baraba crossed her arms, "yea…I know. I heard" She replied with disapproving eyes, "Why wasn't this pulled in general? She isn't in hiding so our facial scans or even GCPD's recognition systems should have made some percentage of a connection"
Bruce examined the image closer, "We ran it through the basic criminal databases first to get a hit and then got sidetracked. Even Luthor has an arrest record so we thought it would get a match"
"So, she's a meta?" Barbara asked hesitantly. Bruce shook his head, "I'm not confident. The structure and hierarchy of the Court are vague enough as it is. From what I can tell, she and a few others like Cobb head the organization in a 2 tiered fashion. Lincoln Marsh is their current Talon and they want Dick to succeed him"
"All those guys are talons, right? The ones that attacked and the ones we have captured?"
Tim shook his head, "They're all enhanced pretty much the same way but it seems like being their official Talon is some special position for their best uh-soldier. They've got normal people working for them too but we know so little about them...How deep does this go?" Tim breathed in shock, "Luthor and Cobb and the Light and now some random Wayne Ent. Competitor?"
Bruce nodded, "First we save Nightwing, then we launch a full investigation. Tim, when we get Dick back, I want you to pull every interaction and contract that exists between Wayne Ent. and Ryland Transactions"
Tim nodded as Bruce turned away, "Suit up" he ordered the young adults around him"
"When will the others arrive?" Bruce asked Jason.
"Eta is at least 10 minutes, but we should probably have everyone meet us in the field to save time" he replied and Bruce nodded, "Set it up. I don't want anyone to enter the building yet. Meet the block before and we will confirm Dick's location and activity before entering"
Jason gave a middle finger, "Whoops" He flipped up his thumb instead.