Chapter Six: N83 The Nightingale
Dick wasn't sure how he felt about going to Russia. On one hand he still had that heavy feeling weighing him down, on another Tiger had asked for his assistance. It was one thing to go to Russia on a normal day and something else entirely when he was fighting his own body for control. He could do it of course. It would be difficult, and long hours would more than likely be pulled, but he could do it. He'd done more with less after all.
He looked over his go bag again, double checking each item for defects. His normal set of spyral gear had remained untouched since his arrival from Gotham. Yet still he ran the simple diagnostic tests to verify its integrity. Honestly speaking he didn't want to take half the stuff but Spyrals training was ingrained so deep it was a habit to take everything even if it was 'just in case' and not really needed. With a put upon sigh he zipped up the nondescript black duffel and pushed it slightly under the bed.
'Done packing?" Tiger's rough voice called from his open door. Rolling his head backwards Dick looked at Tiger from his seated position. The man had been nothing but supportive since he'd gotten here. From letting him claim this place as his own to allowing Alfred and Damian to stay over the weekend. Dick almost couldn't figure him out. There was a softness there, that while not normally apparent was becoming a more common factor, at least when it came to Dick himself.
"Why are we going to Russia again Tiger?" Dick queried having not gotten a straight answer last time. There was a pause then as Tiger gained a calculating look.
"We're going to help Slade." Dick lurched from his position seated on the floor. His heart was thundering away in his chest as an anxiety burst to life in his chest.
"What do you mean we're going to help Slade?" Dick all but demanded. It was beginning to feel as if everything was crumbling beneath his feet again. He glanced from Tiger to his computer which was still emitting a low green ambient light. No red lights were flashing. there was no indication of an emergency message on his line.
"Calm down Dickie." Dick could feel his heart fluttering against his chest. He took a steadying breath and flexed his hands to try and settle his sudden anxiety.
"What did you mean Tiger." Dick could see the now blatant nervousness he'd missed moments before. The way Tigers fingers twitched and pinched at the hem of his shirt. How he wouldn't hold direct eye contact. Some secret of Tiger's was coming to light and he was obviously nervous about some part of it.
"It's not what you think and I'll tell you about it later. Part of this was supposed to be a surprise but something came up." Dick's heart had stopped pounding in his chest.
"I don't know what the problem is. Or how you know Slade so well that you'd be willing to help the man. But I trust you. Do I need to bring anything specific?" Dick said relenting to the man that had survived and had his back over that last few years.
"Leave the Spyral gear. We're doing this a bit differently." Tiger said with a faltering smile.
Dick stared. And stared. And stared some more. He just couldn't wrap his head around what he was seeing. They had made it to Moscow via Spyrals safe haven but now Dick didn't know what to make of this situation. They had left the safe haven and arrived in short detail to a house. A very large and rather familiar looking home. One Dick was positive wasn't in Spyrals current budget of assets.
"Tiger, is this the right address?" Dick murmured. The familiar feeling burning a pit of nervousness in his gut. It was Strange to see a place he'd never been but have it feel so much like home. It could have been anything about the house. The problem was it wasn't just one thing. It was everything.
From the off white cream door with a broken mosaic of glass for windows. To the blue, red and black planter boxes hanging under the front window. Dick knew with an eerie certainty that that window led into a large family room with a worn down brown leather chair and a cream colored couch with a blue blanket hanging off the back. Dick couldn't place it but he knew this place.
"This isn't a Spyral operation Dick. Beyond the safe haven and the implants we won't be using Spyral tech." Tiger knew he was being vague and Dick hated it. "Come on, I'm sure you know who lives here." Tiger said as he pushed his way into the home.
Dick followed him inside with barely any hesitation. The foyer was a modest cream white that matched the door with black accented furniture. A simple wooden shoe rack and matching wooden chest sat on opposite walls as a deep maroon arch gave way to what Dick knew would be an adjoined kitchen and dining area. The eerie feeling only grew from there as Dick couldn't place where he was pulling the sense of deja vu from.
"I'm surprised you don't recognise this place." Tiger teased before yelling out. "We're here!"
"About time! I'm in the kitchen!" a familiar voice echoed in response. Dick was all but tearing out of his shoes and running around the archway toward the voice he knew.
"Billy!" Dick cried out in delight as he flung himself at the man. There was a loud clatter as Dick wrapped the man in a rather tight hug. The familiar feeling now made more sense to him.
"Come on now Dick it hasn't been that long has it?" Wintergreen's voice rang in his ears with a familiar jovial tone. It was laden with an undertone Dick hadn't heard before but he was too wrapped up in seeing him again to notice.
"Is Slade here? What about Grant? Joey? Rose? I feel like I haven't seen them in forever!" Dick said with a contagious enthusiasm. There was no response forthcoming and Dick could see the puzzled expression cross Billy's face.
"You didn't tell him?" Wintergreen sighed out with a half glare at Tiger.
"Thought it would be a nice surprise. He hasn't, after all, seen you in a while." Tiger replied with a nonchalant shrug.
"Well I'd love to say this is a social call but we have a problem. It's why you're here in the first place in case you don't recall." Tiger rolled his eyes at Wintergreens declaration.
"Besides calling me to Moscow under my codename, what's the problem?" Tiger asked as an unease filled the air between the three.
"You guys know each other? Wait wait wait, a codename?! What haven't you told me?! And you wintergreen! You know you're supposed to call me when there's a problem!" Dick couldn't help the exasperation from bleeding into his voice.
"I've known about them since that mission we had in Canada." Tiger relented after the firm look he got from Dick. "You weren't so discreet back then. Slade made sure I was well informed of what would happen should some ill begotten fate befall you. Honestly his tracking skills are something else."
"Oh my GOD! He went papa bear on you! I'm not some preteen anymore Wintergreen! What the hell! And don't act so innocent. I KNOW you had a hand in this as well." Dick said as he swung his attention to a resolute looking Wintergreen.
"Of course I had a hand in it! If I recall you're the one who used one of our safe houses. Did you forget about the cameras installed in every safe house?" Wintergreen said with a roll of his eyes.
"You were watching?!" Dick couldn't help but splutter as a deep blush covered his cheeks and ears. He glanced at Tiger and could see the man looking away with a light red covering his ears as well.
"Well next time I see a dead man using one of our safe houses I won't check in." The glare on Wintergreen's face was light hearted at best and sad at its worst.
"I. . . I'm sorry. I was a bit desperate at the time." Dick relented as his shoulders wilted. His fingers twitched at his side as the memory of his fight with Bruce came to the forefront of his mind. Slade would have a conniption fit if he knew what had really happened.
"Yes well, I suppose you were." Dick could hear the suspicion in Billy's voice and he couldn't help but cringe internally.
"So what's this about a codename anyway?" Dick deflected in a scrounged up attempt at changing the subject.
"It was my idea really. I wanted to be able to join you for something I thought you'd be going back to after Spyral. I wasn't expecting. . . " Tiger said with a wave of his hand as if to convey the whole situation with Dicks family. "Not with the way you spoke of them all."
"That still doesn't tell me your codename now does it." Dick pressed.
"Well come on now lover boy! you're the one who picked everything out." Wintergreen barked out with a teasing laugh. As Tiger Glanced at Dick. He could feel the nervousness coming off of Tiger in waves.
"Nightingale. N83 for Radio signaling. Which you used by the way Wintergreen. So why don't you tell us the problem." Wintergreen lost whatever jovial attitude he'd had then.
"Right. Right. . . Slade's missing. Joey and Rose are running surveillance of his last known location and Grant has been moonlighting. We know he was after the remnants of a secret organization thought to have been put down years ago. He kept us mostly in the dark so it's been hard to track anything down. What we do know is they are immensely hard to kill and it's only a small group Slade was hunting." Wintergreen scratched at the back of his head in frustration. "We called you for a reason however. Slade seems to think this group is after Richard. As happy as I am to see you It's not ideal that you're here."
"Do we have anything else to go off of? features? weapons?" Dick questioned all levity gone as his training from Spyral took hold. It was disconcerting sure but he'd had worse than an unknown group trying to hunt him down.
"Besides originating from Gotham, Glowing yellow eyes and half the blade of a broken dagger? no, not really." Wintergreen relayed in defeat. "Slade said he'd worked for them before. Back in his darker days. Yet I have no record of it. So it was a contract acquired personally."
"Have you tried the tracker?" Dick questioned as he dropped his bag to the floor. He dug his phone out from the pocket of his cargo pants and started fiddling to find the app he'd created with Slade.
"What tracker?" Wintergreen's hard tone had Dick glancing up momentarily.
"After I'd come to stay with you guys I would sneak on missions with him all the time. Drove him mad. Either way there was a time when I got left behind in the Bosawas jungle. It was an accident but it took Slade days to find me and he was about to burst with panic when he finally did. So, tracking device." Dick said as his phone chimed in his hand.
"Looks like he's at the CEC expo center? the one by the Moskva river." Dick reported. "We can be ready to go in an hour. Give me time to hack the security and pull any live feeds." Then Dick was moving. He knew this house like the back of his hand even if he'd never set foot here.
"I'll let Joey and Rose know. If they have questions I'll send them to your room." Wintergreen said as he turned on his foot to head up the stairs.
Without so much as a nod Dick was pulling a laptop out of his bag. His room would be down the hall on the right if this was like the house they'd used to live in. Without looking up he pushed the door open and sat on the bed already typing away at the keyboard.
"Let me know if you need any help Grayson." Tiger said, having followed him. Dick didn't answer and the room was filled with the resounding sounds of keyboard clicks. Moments later there was a knock at the door.
"It's open." Tiger called out from where he was looking at a 'Flying Graysons' poster. The Door swung open rather violently causing Dick to pause in his efforts to break into the security systems.
"Hey Joey, Bit distracted at the moment. Do you have your laptop? I could use your help looking through the feeds." While there was no verbal response as Joey sat right beside Dick.
"I'll patch you in through a backdoor. Give it 30 seconds." Dicks typing never slowed as he scrolled through different feeds. He was working faster than he normally would but Slade was here with an unknown. Sue him for fretting over it. He would enjoy this time with his family once his dad was back home.
Dick finally had something after 25 minutes of scouring the feeds. It wasn't much to look at but Dick would know Slade's figure anywhere. The problem was the assailant was nowhere to be found. Dick glared at the feed. He already knew what this was. Trap setting 101 Leave some bait.
"Joey." Dick called out softly. "I found him but we have a problem. He's on a basement floor through the back halls in an old break room it looks like. most likely a trap." Dick flipped his laptop around so Joey could see the shadowed figure hanging in the middle of the room.
"We need to alert Grant. Set up a randevou." Dick nodded along still trying to piece together a half decent plan. They had a team of three that could breach the building while Rose and Joey could watch the cameras and reroute any police response. Wintergreen could be on standby with a vehicle and medical supplies. It felt like the best he could come up with given the situation.
"Go tell Wintergreen to get ready. I want you and Rose to stay on surveillance. We want anything we can get on this target. I'll be down in 15." Joey nodded before dashing from the room his laptop clutched at his side.
"I suppose we should suit up then." Tiger said with a calculating look.
Dick was relieved when they finally met up with Grant. There was still no hide nor hair of the target and Dick was feeling anxious. Whoever this was knew him to some extent. Now if that was before or after Spyral Dick couldn't know. Instead he had focused on Slipping into his suit and equipping his tools and weapons. A set of matte black throwing knives, His Escrima sticks and a modified glock strapped to his thigh. It wasn't his ideal set up but he'd left half his gear back at home.
"Ready?" Tiger called behind him. He wasn't wearing an armored skinsuit like Dick was but rather a pair of Black Cargo pants with a black shirt and matching bullet proof vest. His normal brown balaclava had been swapped out for a black one. It was different but Dick wouldn't say he hated it.
"As ready as we can be walking into a trap." Grant scoffed. He was dressed similar to Tiger excluding the balaclava.
"We're getting you a better suit when this is over." Dick muttered under his breath. "Remember, we don't split up. Keep a tight formation and watch your six."
With the moon absent from the sky the shadows seemed to stick and pull at everything. If Dick hadn't been paying attention Tiger would've faded from his sight several times. They were used to this sort of work. To use the shadows to your advantage before striking an enemy. It made easy work of half their missions before. Now it was paying off in a different manner.
Dick couldn't help the foreboding feeling in the pit of his stomach as they rounded a corner. The hall before them was empty. Only the swirling shadows teased them from the corners.
"You'll have to go to the end of this hall and there should be a stairway on the right. Doors may be locked." Roses voice crackled quietly over the comm line. Dick had almost jumped. He was used to Tigers hand signals or solo missions so the voice suddenly breaking the silence had his skin prickling with awareness.
"Copy that. Any sign of our unwelcome guest?" Dick couldn't help the feeling that he was being watched. This was too simple, too easy.
"Nada. Cameras haven't picked up anything yet. Joey says to hurry up." The line fuzzed out as Rose cut the mic.
"Double time to the door. Keep your eyes peeled, I don't like this." Dick whispered as he started the half run down the hall. Each subtle move of a shadow had his hands twitching towards his gun. It was unnerving that nothing had happened.
"I've got the door, Breach on three. . . One. . Two. . . Three." Tiger called out as he pushed the door open. The stairwell was just as empty and dark as the hall had been.
"Rose." Dick called out quietly. A new plan was itching at the back of his head. "We're going to run for it. If they're going to give us a free pass to Slade we're going to take it."
"Copy that. The prize should be one floor down, take the hall on the right till the third doorway on the left. That's your destination." Rose chimed out in quick succession. "We'll keep our eyes on the feeds."
Dick nodded before rushing down the stairs. The quicker they could make this the better. He slammed into the door and rounded the corner for the hall. Three doors. Just three doors. It was as he was breaching the final door that the smell hit him. He'd smelled worse. lived through worse. Yet there was always something about the pungent smell of blood that made him sharper.
"Grant get him down, we need to be ghosts in minutes. Wintergreen target retrieved stand by." Dick whispered out as his eyes flashed across the room. beyond the chains holding up slade from the metal rafters the room was empty. Dick felt his nerves crawling as he felt boxed in.
"You shouldn't be here." A deep gravelly voice broke the silence. Dick turned and looked at Slade then. The man was leaning heavily on Grant. Dried blood matted his hair yet he didn't look too worse for wear.
"Good to see you too. Grant you help him outside. Tiger will lead and I'll cover the rear. Go fast." Dick said as he pulled his gun from its holster. It was as they were leaving the room that Dick felt his hair stand on end. Someone was here. He kept looking from one shadow to the next but nothing screamed at him.
They breached the hall and Dick could see the car through the glass doors. Only a pane of glass stood between them and a safe get away. Dick saw it then. A glowing pair of yellow eyes sat in the rafters above them. Without warning he raised his gun and fired a warning shot.
Dick could see the moment Tiger zeroed in on his target. A few more shots rang out in the dark before the eyes vanished. It was an eerie feeling creeping along Dicks spine that told him the assailant was still around.
"Double time Grant. Move it." Dick said as he scanned the area for any movement. As they made it through the doors Dick felt it. A slight shift in the air. A low whistle that could have been mistaken for wind. He ducked and rolled as sparks flew from the ground where he'd been standing.
Golden claws glinted in the low street lights. Dick could make out a strange mask and the same glowing eyes from before. The assailant paid no attention to the retreating figure of Grant and Slade as they reached the vehicle.
"Stand down." Tiger's voice came out as a growl. The shadowed figure didn't acknowledge the threat. Instead Dick felt scrutinized under the piercing yellow gaze. As Dick made to side step the assailant he lunged. Dick fired into the mans chest as he rolled away.
"Hello Richard Grayson" the figure spoke, his voice a harsh whisper that barely reached Dicks ears. A feral grin was peeking from under the strange mask as the figure prowled forwards. Dick fired another shot into the man's chest. He knew then that whoever, or rather whatever, this person was, guns were obsolete.
"Shit." Dick cursed as he drew his escrima sticks. They sparked to life with a low hum before a crackle lit the air. He could see Tiger over the shoulder of the man, aiming but refusing to shoot. "Aim for the joints!" Dick yelled as the man lunged again. He swung a crackling escrima stick into the man's head while spinning out of the way.
Dick could hear several shots ring out as he focused back in on the assailant. He could see a frustrated anger there. Without warning the man lunged a third time. His claws gleamed in the light as Dick felt them plunge into his forearm as he tried to deflect.
He didn't have time to let out more than a pained grunt before his back was hitting a railing and his world flipped. One moment he was upright and the next he was free falling backwards towards the moskva river.
He gasped as the cold shocked his body and water began to fill his mouth. Dick felt the assailant go from a frontal assault to a fear induced scramble to leave the water. Dick tried to fight to the surface but the man's mad scramble kept pushing him under.
"NO!"