i_crusade Would you like to phone a friend? [Tag: Barbara]
There had been no reason to visit his business this afternoon - things were running well enough these days - and it was possible that he'd been taking too much of an interest in it in any event. There was still the playboy facade to maintain, and sometimes playboys laid in bed until 1 in the afternoon.
Idleness, however, was something that Bruce did not understand, and could never truly accomplish. He even thought of idleness in terms of accomplishment, as if it were some grand ideal he should strive towards. Ridiculous.
He was currently glaring at the screen in front of him, the screen that piped in articles of bad news after bad news. Harvey Dent, scarred from Jack Napier's acid attack. (True, it was different from what Bruce Wayne remembered, but enough to make him more than concerned.) Arkham Asylum and the trouble there. The spikes of crime at the docks, nearly constant now. Bruce frowned deeply.
There was a time to be alone in this type of work. And then there was a time for assistance. He picked up his phone.
From: i_seeall Date: 07/16/2006 14:50:59
All house calls were forwarded to her cell phone for the day. She was too busy, and saw the trend continuing throughout the day. Home and her bed were not something Babs saw very near in her future.
She was heading down to the main floor in Wayne Manor now, almost unable to decide what she wanted to focus on first. On the one hand, there was Jack and Arkham, but she was headed to the cave to try her best to deal with that one right now. Then there was Max and the fact that Delirium had just been in the house. What she'd done to Max didn't seem like it was immediately dangerous (though, that wasn't to say Babs was done worrying about it) so Babs left the girl upstairs, making her promise to come down eventually.
Harvey, Tim, Matt, and the docks were next on her long list. She couldn't do it all at once, or by herself, so finding the man of the house would be her next immediate task. She was almost surprised when he wasn't in the sitting room the elevator let her out in.
Then her cell phone rang and had she been in a more jovial mood, she might have laughed at the coincidence. "Bruce?" Babs said, after picking up.
From: i_crusade Date: 07/16/2006 15:07:13
His eyes narrowed. The tone in her voice told him many things. The echo of the room she was in told him other things as well. He stood and walked to the pitcher of water nearby, poured her a glass, and went to the ramp that spun down into the Batcave specifically for her. He did not expect to wait long.
She was in business mode, which meant that she had noticed everything he had noticed - perhaps, he was willing to admit, even more than he had - and was on the path to doing something about it. There was a settling that occurred in him when he knew he could rely on someone. Never did he expect others to manage the things that he felt he owned, the responsibility he had shouldered, but when others walked with him with the same certain stride and the same common goal, the certainty he had in that someone was more soothing than any touch or any words.
The grim line of his mouth softened slightly.
"I'm waiting," was all he said in response. And then he hung up the phone.
From: i_seeall Date: 07/16/2006 15:17:55
Babs placed the phone back in her bag and backed up, going once again towards an elevator, but a different one this time, one that revealed itself with a few turns of the clock hands next to it. Once the doors opened, Babs moved inside and pulled the lever.
The jerking and rattling sounds of the chains were almost comforting as she began moving below ground to the cave. Maybe they'd get something done. Solve something. She'd be happy to accomplish anything at this point.
When the elevator halted to a stop Babs pushed open the grated metal door and headed straight for the computers, where she saw Bruce's form and the shadows it cast.
"How much do you know?" Babs went to her computer at the side and logged into the Oracle network. Notes would have to be compared, hopefuly making the rest of the process go faster. They could divy everything up between them.
From: i_crusade Date: 07/16/2006 15:26:32
He smiled once, swiftly, when she went directly to her set. This was his Barbara Gordon, wheelchair or no, different experiences or no. It restored his faith. She didn't see, which was just as well.
He set the glass of water a respectable distance away from her set as a safeguard, but left it within comfortable reach. He returned to his own computer.
"The docks have been too busy. Napier is involved in the Arkham situation, and our attention will be required." He paused. "Do you know about Two-Face?"
He wanted her to know. He did not want to explain it. Perhaps it was still not too late to save Harvey.
But something told him that it was. The lines of his face grew grim again.
From: i_seeall Date: 07/16/2006 15:33:49
Babs nodded, eying the glass of water, which she intended to go for once things had been semi-worked out, though how long that would take, she didn't know.
"I actually just explained the Harvey situation to Jack's lawyer, I don't know if you met Matt Murdock? After the acid..." she looked over at Bruce. "Different beginnings, but I have the feeling it may lead up to the same results. I'm going to get my ands on his hospital files so we can be prepared for his release."
Which, if coinciding with the situation at Arkham, could lead to something horrible. Dealing with all of this at once was going to be anything but fun.
To adress the next topic, Babs pulled up her cameras at Arkham. All of them still pointed at toliets. "I have no doubt in my mind that this is Jack. The police aren't going in, meaning it's become our problem."
From: i_crusade Date: 07/16/2006 17:42:03
Murdock. His expression darkened. And yet, the only thing that the blind one had done in order to earn Bruce's ire was to be too perceptive. The truth, if he faced it, was that he was angry with himself for allowing the cancer of loneliness to show as much as it had. He would do better in the future.
"I have met him," Bruce said. He should have read Barbara's file on Murdock the moment he returned from the bar that afternoon, but he hadn't. And he regretted it now. There was a specific reason why Barbara shared Harvey's story with Murdock, a reason that would make more sense (Bruce was convinced) if he knew what was in his file. Gritting his teeth, he asked a question that he should not have had to have: " Why did you?"
To the assertion that they would have to deal with Arkham, Bruce nodded. It was enough. He pushed away from the computer set, leaving the windows open, and met her gaze. Tell me what I need to know. He didn't even have to say it to her.
From: i_seeall Date: 07/16/2006 18:01:05
Babs suddenly wished that she had ways of watching Matt. Not because she didn't trust him. She trusted the man by instinct, which was the only reason she'd agreed to share so much information with him, but there were things about him... he carried almost the same aura that Bruce did.
It was for that reason alone (and, admittedly, the fact that he'd known there was a police scanner in her office) that she wished she was able to watch. To know everything. She really hated not being able to confirm those niggling suspicions.
She had cameras near his law offices, but that wasn't good enough. "He cares about what happens in all that concerns Jack, so by extension, Harvey, and the crime rates around the city in general. We discussed the security at Arkham and Jack's chances of getting out, in a situation like this, which angered him, though that's a bit of an understatement. It killed him to have to defend him. I could tell during his initial questioning of Max and I."
Babs made a bit of a face. "And, admittedly, there's something about him. I don't know what, but he carries himself a bit like you."
From: i_crusade Date: 07/16/2006 18:22:17
He thumbed his lip thoughtfully. Bruce did not trust Murdock. But he trusted Barbara. And he trusted her instincts. He did not want to trust Murdock; Murdock knew too much of him already. And yet...
Dismissing the thought by sitting back in his chair, he turned his thoughts toward Arkham. It was a delicate balance; he could deal with the issue at hand and try to put it down before it became worse, or he could go to Harvey now and see what damage could be prevented. There were no easy answers. And Bruce wanted to do both of them. The desire to save his friend - to do what he should have done years ago - was strong, but then... The City. And the Joker, rampant.
"Have there been any whispers of survivors within?"
Bruce had heard none. He did not expect that Barbara had, either. And he could not believe that Napier would have allowed any survivors, save for the ones who could serve him in the manner that he required. But he had to ask.
From: i_seeall Date: 07/16/2006 18:32:52
"No. None, and I'm not surprised," Babs said, pointing back to the cameras. "I can't move the cameras like I could before and sound's been disconnected. Jack is, unfortunately, one of the smarter people we have to deal with."
She leaned back in her chair and just stared at the screen. It was more frustrating than she was willing to admit. They'd figure it out in the end, she could only hope. But until they managed Jack had the upper hand, which was a very dangerous thing.
"I have no idea what's going on in there," she said softly. "Closest shot I got was on the news this morning, which tells you something I'm sure. I'm getting my information from the news."
From: i_crusade Date: 07/16/2006 18:43:39
"Tonight," he said, his voice dropping low. It was a promise.
"Who can I trust?"
Bruce had no compunctions about calling Dick. Dick, he knew was strong. Dick, he knew was reliable. Reliable enough to get the job done. But the others... He didn't know them. There was a point that he was willing to push them toward - a sword must be tempered by fire - but he did not know their melting point.
And he wasn't willing to test them unnecessarily, if Barbara, who had been here longer, would know more.
From: i_seeall Date: 07/16/2006 19:01:35
The list was sadly short, and brought to mind the next thing she needed to deal with. "Dick, Maxine, Terry, and Tim." Helena had disappeared and Babs couldn't think of anyone else she could count on for sure. "Maxine can stay here with me, I already told her I'd need her tonight. When things calm down I'm going to start collecting people, there have got to be more people here that we can work with. A JLA of sorts."
She put a hand to her forehead suddenly, thinking about her meeting with Tim. "Scratch Tim from that list. You two have to talk first, because he's here, but he's here with issues and it's better you two work them out here than in the middle of a fight in Arkham. I think we'd both agree on that," Babs said, turning back to her screen and pulling up her blueprints of the asylum.
"How do you want to do this?"
From: i_crusade Date: 07/16/2006 19:03:21
Bruce went completely still. Deadly still.
"Tim?"
From: i_seeall Date: 07/16/2006 19:14:31
"You... don't remember Tim?" Which made sense, as he hadn't remembered anything else from before either. Babs had just assumed that they were done with the explanations after that first conversation they'd had.
It wasn't that she minded, it was just something of a shock, especially considering that it was Tim.
She had an easy enough time pulling Tim Drake's file up and sending it over to the main screen, but she didn't want to simply leave it to be read. "Robin number three. Seventeen years old, Gotham native. Excellent detective, and good kid. He's been with you a few years now, when I'm from at least. But he's arrived here a bit ahead of my own time and apparently there's been a tiff between the two of you. He's been living in the carriage house."
From: i_crusade Date: 07/16/2006 19:36:15
The frustration, as he reviewed #3's file, was that he felt like asking Barbara for Bruce Wayne's file instead. The City was maddening. When he woke, he knew of exactly one Robin, that being the acrobatic boy he fostered after his family was murdered. He remembered, with pride, the night Robin ran the Gauntlet in Gotham. Bruce had only hoped Dick was able to ellude Batman. Robin had done all that and more.
Bruce was proud to have Dick at his side.
Only Dick was not at his side.
Clenching his teeth, he turned away from the monitor swiftly. He'd seen enough.
"Keep him out of it tonight, Barbara. He may be a good kid. But I want him to be a safe kid, tonight. I do not know him. I do not know how to work with him. And I will not allow his participation in something that could..."
Suddenly, that cursed cancer asserted himself, dropped his voice to nothing, and stole his breath. It was a different twist to the loneliness of before. He had never been successful in keeping a lady, and had given up after time and experience showed him the right of it. But Robin had been enough. Almost a son, almost the family he never would have.
His hands were fascinating. He stared at them a moment, then cleared his throat, irritated with his weakness. There were more important things at stake.
"I will call Dick. Perhaps Terry. Keep this Tim out of the way. And keep Maxine safe." He paused. Softened his voice. "And yourself, Barbara."
From: i_seeall Date: 07/16/2006 19:50:43
Babs nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll keep him down here with me, I could use him at the other computer. Someone's got to monitor the docks during all of this. I just... with Lex here, I want all my bases covered, even the one's that might not have to do with Arkham."
She was aware that sometimes she over analysed, over worked herself and those around her, but she felt it was necessary. So yes, tonight the ones left with her were going to be worked hard, and late into the night. Possibly even past Bruce's rearrival.
Babs just wanted it all figured out, and she wanted it done as quickly as possible. If they were very lucky then Bruce would make some headway with the Arkham situation tonight, but Babs wasn't getting her hopes up.
"We'll be down here the entire night. I... I don't know how much this Jack knows about you and Batman, but if we stay down here the entire night, we'll be safe even if he does know you're one in the same."
From: i_crusade Date: 07/16/2006 19:58:27
He nodded, satisfied with the answer. If she were hurt again, and by Napier... again.... It did not bear thought. He would not allow it. Simply. It was not to be borne. He stood from the chair.
"Are you here for the night, then?" he asked.
As if driven by a sixth sense, Alfred descended in the elevator. "Sandwiches?" he asked, bearing a tray with exactly that.
Bruce grinned.
From: i_seeall Date: 07/16/2006 20:16:29
"Looks like it." Babs gave Alfred a thankful smile after speaking to Burce and took the oppertunity to grab the glass of water Bruce had poured for her initially.
It was soothing, calmed her nerves just enough to make the night not look so amazingly daunting.
"When you get back I should have more information on the docks for you to look at. Hopefully something on Luthor as well. If we didn't have Jack, I'd be marking that as priority number one. As it is, don't think sending the kids down there on extra patrols would be such a bad idea."
From: i_crusade Date: 07/16/2006 20:55:59
Alfred gave Miss Gordon a smile in return, the warmth unmistakable. It seemed clear that the old man was grateful to have her in the house. Master Bruce had been a dark cloud as of late, and Miss Gordon lifted it for a time. He quietly retired once the sandwiches were delivered, but made a mental note to wake up later in the night and bring some cut fruit for the ones who would be down here.
"A good idea," Bruce said, in response. There were benefits, after all, of having so many others on his side now, even though he might not know them well enough to be comfortable working with them in something like the Arkham situation. He turned his attention back to Tim's file. Yes. The boy would be good enough for a few extra patrols, at least. He would reserve judgement until later.
There were still things to do before he went out tonight. He set Tim's file off to the side of the screen and turned back to the sketchy information he had of the asylum. Together, he and Barbara fell into the routine they had grown accustomed to.
No more words were exchanged. In a team such as theirs, it was not always necessary.