Shadows and Secrets
Chapter 14
Bruce felt like time had slowed. He didn't even care to look at the damage to the front of the manor. He'd access that later. What mattered were the two people inside—his precious son and father.
He pushed through the emergency crews and his heart slammed into his chest as he saw two body bags rolled out.
No!
"Richard! Alfred!" He bellowed not caring who heard. This was his family! He grabbed the nearest medic within reach.
"Where are they?!"
"Sir! You need to calm down! You can't be here!"
"Answer me!" Bruce roared.
"Mister Wayne! Over here!"
Bruce let go of the medic and turned to see none other than the Commissioner. He reached him in three strides. "Are they okay, Gordon?! Where are they?"
"Slow down. I just got here minutes before you did. One fatality. Identity unknown."
"What? What do you mean unknown? Adult, child?"
"It's one of the assailants. Alfred is down. He took two bullets center mass."
Bruce sucked in a breath. "Is he alive?"
"Yes. Medics had declared him dead on arrival and then he came back. I have no idea how. He wants to talk to you."
Bruce turned hearing several curses coming from another room. Only Alfred could curse like that. He brushed past Gordon and practically ran into more personnel who looked more stunned than him at that moment.
"Get your hands off me! I ain't dead, son of a XXXXX! That slimy XXXXX, oh when I get my hands on him!"
"Alfred?!" Bruce yelled entering the room. Had the circumstances been different, he would have found it humorous, but it was far from it.
Alfred was literally sitting up inside a black body bag with the coroner and several medics attempting to tend to him. His head was covered in bandages with several wrapped around his torso. He was quite alive and well as Bruce expertly examined the damage done to him. It truly seemed to be a miracle he was breathing.
Bruce fell to his knees and reached out gripping his arm in a hug careful of his injuries.
"Alfred! Thank God! I thought I lost you! Where's Dick? Is he okay?"
Alfred could barely look at Bruce. "They took him, Bruce. He's gone. It's all my fault!" The older man suddenly burst into tears.
Bruce glared at those around him though he knew they were trying to help. "Nothing leaves this room. Understood? You'll be signing NDA's before leaving the premises."
Five heads nodded at him.
"Shh, Alfred. You nearly died trying to protect him. I'll find him and those responsible. You are injured. Let these guys fix you up and get you to Gotham General."
Commissioner Gordon came up behind Bruce following his direction. "I need a private room secured at Gotham General with top security NOW!"
Alfred nodded as a stretcher came in and the medics loaded him onto it.
Five minutes later, a police-escorted ambulance roared out of Wayne Manor.
"Gordon, I want your best men on this. Comb through anything and everything. Find the men responsible. They will not get away with harming my child."
Gordon cocked his head. "Yours?"
"It's true. I'm holding back all public knowledge, but I suppose that will now come to light. Yes, Dick is officially adopted as a Wayne."
Gordon looked at him solemnly. "Congratulations. We will do our best to find those accountable. Shall I loop in the big guy?"
Bruce shook his head. "No, I'll do it myself."
The big guy aka Batman. He was already looped in and he was furious.
With Alfred gone, Bruce typed in a call to a secure line and stepped away into another room.
It rang once. "This is Selena! What's up Bruce?"
"Alfred is hurt and Dick's been kidnapped. I need your help."
"What?! Slow down! Is Alfred okay? What happened? You know what I'm on my way."
"No. Meet me at my office. The manor is off-limits for the investigation."
"Got it. Bruce, I am so sorry. I'll see you soon."
With a click, the line went dead.
Bruce now wished he could track his son, but he was too young to carry a phone.
He knew the media vultures would be here soon if not already on their way. He had to get out before the swarm began.
He went over to Gordon who was shouting out instructions to his team.
"I'll call you when I can from a secure line. Keep me in the loop if you hear anything."
"Of course, sir. We'll find him. There is no rock under this city they can hide under."
Bruce smiled thinly. If they are even in the city.
Bruce threaded his way through incoming bomb squad techs and more crime scene personnel. He jumped into the car and headed out a side exit toward his office.
His head was reeling. How on earth was Dick the target? The general public didn't even know. Did they just grab him thinking he could be an easy ransom demand? How Alfred managed to survive two slugs was also insane. Unless… Bruce thought hard. What shirt was he wearing? He usually wore his pressed white shirt and gray blazer, but he wore a black and gold flecked polo. It clicked. Well, what are the chances? That specific outfit had been custom designed by himself and it had saved Alfred's life. That shirt had two layers of kevlar sewn into it. Sure it wasn't 100% foolproof but if the shooter was far enough away the bullets were less likely to penetrate through and through. Whatever blood there was would have blended in with the shirt and based on the bandages, Alfred would be sore for a few weeks with massive bruising. Bruce worried about the possibility of internal bleeding.
The force alone would've hurt and knocked him out. Since Alfred was older the shock of it definitely could have stopped his heart even for a few minutes. He was lucky it wasn't a headshot. Alfred was only a threat in extreme circumstances. This was one of those times. Even fewer people knew about his service as an MI6 agent 30 years ago. The Queen's Shadow is an inner circle of five men who are the top soldiers of any country in the world. They guarded the royal family. Alfred had been the leader of that team. He is a lethal killing machine.
Who else do you think taught Batman defensive moves and strategic maneuvers?
Though Bruce would not kill, he could certainly come very close. All thanks to Alfred.
Now his main focus was rescuing his son. As if the kid didn't have enough trauma already. Bruce worried he may never recover. If he thought Alfred was dead….Bruce didn't finish that thought. The first thing was to find the boy.
He went to his office because he had a backup server that fed information about the Manor in case of this very scenario. All video recordings and security footage he could pull up at his desk and watch it unfold. He stepped on the gas urging his vehicle forward.
Back at the office, he secured it from any "extra" interference. Shades were drawn and security measures locked down. Selena arrived ten minutes after him and rapped on his door.
He buzzed her in.
"Bruce! Are you okay?" the dark-haired woman immediately turned him around from his chair to look at his face. He waved her away. "I'm fine. I was away on business when the attack happened."
"Thank goodness." She set her bag down on a chair and leaned over his shoulder. Together they watched the hit go down. The delivery driver rang the doorbell and then slipped around the side of the house. That's when the first explosion hit. It had enough C4 charge to level the front of the house taking out the dining room, entryway, and half of the kitchen. Bruce paused the video and scrubbed backward.
Selena's hand tightened on his shoulder. "What is it?"
"They hacked the cameras. There is no way someone would be standing that close to an explosion and not get hit," Bruce said with a frown.
"Isn't your system a closed loop?" Selena asked perplexed.
Bruce shook his head. "I can't upgrade it till next month and then it will be. Whoever hit us, knew that."
Selena crossed to the other side of the office and opened the top drawer in his filing cabinet. After rummaging through a few folders, she pulled out a black one and brought it to him.
"Here are the logs of those who knew about the changes. Your secretary, myself, the head of cybernetworks, and the company doing the software patch."
"How many people doing the software patch?"
"I don't know. It just lists the company name: Ionit."
Bruce grunted and then started typing something into his other monitor. A document popped up and as Bruce ran down the list of names, he slammed his fist on his desk.
"You've got to be kidding me!" He scowled.
"What is it?" Selena asked jumping at his voice.
"That scoundrel, how dare he!" Bruce pointed to a name on the list. It read Solem.
"Solem? As in related to your new financial advisor?!" Selena raised a brow. "No way!"
Bruce picked up the phone and punched in a number. "Gordon, I need you to look up someone for me. Run this name." Bruce gave him the name and after a few moments of silence, Gordon replied.
"I see. Thank you. Yes, flag it just in case. I'll keep you posted from my end." Bruce hung up.
"It's not him. Adam Solem, the one who works here has no living relatives alive and is not married. It seems to be just a coincidence."
Selena chuckled. "You're not buying it are you?"
"You're right. I don't believe in coincidences." Bruce read through the rest of the names but didn't find any other possible connections.
"If they took Richard, he was the target, but why and how did they find him?"
Bruce switched back over and studied the screen intently. He watched the kid set a diversion, which Bruce assumed was to increase his and Alfred's chances against the enemy. Smart move. Bruce had a hunch that during that time Alfred had been captured and Dick witnessed it. The kid would never leave Alfred behind no matter what orders he was given.
Selena watched in horrified amazement at the skill of this nine-year-old kid. She raised a hand to her mouth. "That precious child…they took him…."
"Not for long," Bruce growled.
A phone ring interrupted them. Bruce answered. "Yes. No. No one outside of the inner circle knew. I'm positive." He looked up from his phone. "Selena, grab your stuff, Gordon thinks he found something."
Selena nodded while Bruce grabbed his keys, powered down the computers, and locked up his office. He kept Gordon on the line and once in the car bay did he stop. He put his phone down on the hood and placed it on speaker.
"Selena check under the wheel wells on your side."
Her eyes widened realizing what he was asking. Setting her bag down, she took her phone flashlight and scanned underneath the car. Nothing. She shook her head. Bruce frowned finding nothing on his side. He then popped the trunk and ran a finger around it inside. It was clear.
Selena had gone around to the front of the car as he checked the back of the car.
"Bruce!"
He popped his head up hearing her call him.
She walked over to him and held open her hand. In her palm lay a black emblem that matched the brand of his car. He took it from her and held it up to the light. On the back side, a small red light blinked. He swore.
Bruce peered at it closely and hit an even smaller button and the red light stopped blinking.
"It's a tracker all right. There's only one place I went where this could have been put on."
"The Night Club," they both said at the same time.
"I lead them right to him!" Bruce flinched realizing his mistake.
"Hey, this is not on you. How could you have known?" Selena patted his arm.
"No, but I should've. I'm a huge target and no amount of security can completely stop people from going after those I love. I should've learned with my parents."
"Bruce, this is too sophisticated for an ordinary criminal. I mean, if they were tracking you, why didn't they attack when you were alone? They did it when you were away from the house. This shows you were not the target. Alfred was the one in the way that means Dick was the target."
Bruce frowned. "You're right."
"Hello? Bruce did I lose you?" A voice asked. Bruce turned and grabbed his phone. He had momentarily forgotten about Gordon.
"Gordon, we found a tracking device. Selena and I are heading over to your headquarters. Maybe you can glean something from it."
"Good. I'll see you two soon. You're going to want to see what I found." Gordon's line went dead.
Selena looked at Bruce. She did not like the sound of that. Bruce pocketed the device as Selena jumped into the car.
As they raced down the freeway, he gripped the steering wheel harder than he thought when Selena laid a hand on his arm.
"We'll find him." She gave an encouraging pat.
Bruce's only response was hitting the gas pedal.
A.N. Hello readers! Sorry for the delay, but we are back at it! Anyone asking to make fanart feel free to go for it. I do NOT commission art pieces as I don't have copyrights to Batman. I am an artist myself and if I wish to make fanart I will, but for now I just enjoy writing the story. Thanks for understanding. Enjoy!