and that puts us at a disadvantage.”
This was true, Robin reflected, but the Riddler wasn’t completely off the deep end. He was meticulous, and everything he did tended to make perfect sense, in a twisted sort of way.
“I still think I’m right,” Robin said. “Don’t you?”
“Not necessarily, but I hope you’re right because you’re already in there. Explore and get through. The minute you run into something you can’t handle, shoot me your location.”
Batman paused, and then added,
“For the moment we’ll work in parallel, and keep it that way as long as we can.”
There was the familiar sound as the Batmobile’s engine shut off and the hatch opened, then closed again with a solid
thunk
. He thought he heard Alfred’s voice in the background.
“I think keeping us apart is in the Riddler’s plan, too,” Robin said, putting his glove back on. As satisfied as he could be that there wasn’t a booby trap, he reached out for the doorknob. It turned smoothly, but he didn’t open it yet. He listened for any faint clicks or other sounds that might signal the presence of a nasty surprise.
“Agreed,”
Batman replied,
“and I don’t like it. He’s got the initiative, and we’re reacting. We need to reverse that as soon as possible. The Riddler always outsmarts himself in the end, but we have to be careful that we don’t get careless before that happens.”
“You know me, Batman. I’m all about careful.”
With that, Robin cut the comm link.
He took a deep breath and opened door number one.
Taking Them to Trask
Duane Trask, Gotham Globe Radio
“Joey from Midtown, you’re on the air.”
“Yeah, um, thanks for taking my call. Listen, I just heard that Batman was over in Arkham City, in the old bank. You know the one with the clock on it? Yeah, he was over there. I don’t know what he was doing, but—”
“You saw him there?”
“No, uh-uh, I didn’t see him. Someone told me they—”
“Who? Who told you?”
“Well, I can’t really say. Someone who wasn’t exactly supposed to be where they were, doing what they were doing, y’know what I mean?”
“Maybe. I guess. Not really. You’re saying your friend is one of Arkham City’s squatter population? Or just a guy who was doing something illegal?”
“No, nothin’ like that, no. Just, you know, he wasn’t supposed to be there, is all.”
“Joey, I’m starting to think you’re not telling me the whole story.”
“I can’t, man, you gotta understand. Look, you wanna hear about the Batman or not?”
“Sure. Tell me about Batman.”
“He was in Arkham City, y’see, and he climbed up on the roof of the bank. Then not too long after that he came out the front door. He was talking to somebody. You wanna know what he said?”
“I’m all ears, Joey. Tell me what he said.”
“He said, ‘Let me guess. There’s been another murder.’”
“Joey. Can you repeat that?”
“Let me guess. There’s been another murder.”
“I’m going to quote that back to you, just so I’m sure I have it right. Batman was walking around the old Gotham Merchant’s Bank, talking to someone. Who was he talking to?”
“Nobody. It was like he had a walkie-talkie in his costume or something. Headphones. You know.”
“Okay. He walked out of the Gotham Merchant’s Bank, talking to someone on headphones or a walkie-talkie. And he said… give it to me one more time, Joey.”
“He said, ‘Let me guess. There’s been another murder.’”
“‘Let me guess, there’s been another murder.’ Joey, can you hang on just one second? I’m going to have my producer take your information so we can speak off the air.”
“No, man, I said what I had to say.”
“Just a second, Joey. We’d like to confirm—Joey? Joey? Well. He’s gone, folks. If that’s true—people, if what we’ve just heard is true, then what’s going on in Gotham City this morning is even stranger than we could have expected. So far, we know that a
This was true, Robin reflected, but the Riddler wasn’t completely off the deep end. He was meticulous, and everything he did tended to make perfect sense, in a twisted sort of way.
“I still think I’m right,” Robin said. “Don’t you?”
“Not necessarily, but I hope you’re right because you’re already in there. Explore and get through. The minute you run into something you can’t handle, shoot me your location.”
Batman paused, and then added,
“For the moment we’ll work in parallel, and keep it that way as long as we can.”
There was the familiar sound as the Batmobile’s engine shut off and the hatch opened, then closed again with a solid
thunk
. He thought he heard Alfred’s voice in the background.
“I think keeping us apart is in the Riddler’s plan, too,” Robin said, putting his glove back on. As satisfied as he could be that there wasn’t a booby trap, he reached out for the doorknob. It turned smoothly, but he didn’t open it yet. He listened for any faint clicks or other sounds that might signal the presence of a nasty surprise.
“Agreed,”
Batman replied,
“and I don’t like it. He’s got the initiative, and we’re reacting. We need to reverse that as soon as possible. The Riddler always outsmarts himself in the end, but we have to be careful that we don’t get careless before that happens.”
“You know me, Batman. I’m all about careful.”
With that, Robin cut the comm link.
He took a deep breath and opened door number one.
Taking Them to Trask
Duane Trask, Gotham Globe Radio
“Joey from Midtown, you’re on the air.”
“Yeah, um, thanks for taking my call. Listen, I just heard that Batman was over in Arkham City, in the old bank. You know the one with the clock on it? Yeah, he was over there. I don’t know what he was doing, but—”
“You saw him there?”
“No, uh-uh, I didn’t see him. Someone told me they—”
“Who? Who told you?”
“Well, I can’t really say. Someone who wasn’t exactly supposed to be where they were, doing what they were doing, y’know what I mean?”
“Maybe. I guess. Not really. You’re saying your friend is one of Arkham City’s squatter population? Or just a guy who was doing something illegal?”
“No, nothin’ like that, no. Just, you know, he wasn’t supposed to be there, is all.”
“Joey, I’m starting to think you’re not telling me the whole story.”
“I can’t, man, you gotta understand. Look, you wanna hear about the Batman or not?”
“Sure. Tell me about Batman.”
“He was in Arkham City, y’see, and he climbed up on the roof of the bank. Then not too long after that he came out the front door. He was talking to somebody. You wanna know what he said?”
“I’m all ears, Joey. Tell me what he said.”
“He said, ‘Let me guess. There’s been another murder.’”
“Joey. Can you repeat that?”
“Let me guess. There’s been another murder.”
“I’m going to quote that back to you, just so I’m sure I have it right. Batman was walking around the old Gotham Merchant’s Bank, talking to someone. Who was he talking to?”
“Nobody. It was like he had a walkie-talkie in his costume or something. Headphones. You know.”
“Okay. He walked out of the Gotham Merchant’s Bank, talking to someone on headphones or a walkie-talkie. And he said… give it to me one more time, Joey.”
“He said, ‘Let me guess. There’s been another murder.’”
“‘Let me guess, there’s been another murder.’ Joey, can you hang on just one second? I’m going to have my producer take your information so we can speak off the air.”
“No, man, I said what I had to say.”
“Just a second, Joey. We’d like to confirm—Joey? Joey? Well. He’s gone, folks. If that’s true—people, if what we’ve just heard is true, then what’s going on in Gotham City this morning is even stranger than we could have expected. So far, we know that a
Similar Books
