Supremedalekdunn
The Dark Knight: Knight of Gotham #46
After much negotiation Diana is able to convince Hephaestus into crafting a weapon for me. He seems perplexed by my special request but I don't have time to explain why I need it. Every minute I'm away from Gotham could be the nail in the coffin. Despite that though I have no choice but to wait until Hephaestus finishes crafting the blade, the Knight took Jack to act as bait to give himself a field advantage. I need to be able to level the playing field.
It takes him only an hour to craft the blade, rather impressive really. Especially when you consider it takes the average man weeks to craft the perfect blade. I can't deny it has me calling into question the quality of the blade but if Diana has faith in him, then so do I. Diana returns me to the cave and like Vic she offers her help. Just as I did with Vic, I turn down her kind offer.
The next four hours roll by quickly as I resume my work making tweaks to an old batsuit. From every opportunity I've had to inspect the Knight's blade I know it's easily capable of cutting through my suit without reinforcement. Heck it was able to cut through Jim's hand so it would cut through my suit like it's made of paper.
After I'd completed the modifications to the suit I'm greeted by a recently awoken Alfred. Clearly he's noticed my bed sheets have gone untouched.
"Plan on sleeping at some point today?"
"I was busy."
"I can tell. Modified your gauntlets by chance?"
"Yeah. Hopefully they'll provide more of a defence from the Knight's blade than they have previously."
"We can only hope. Did you spend all night just working on your gauntlets?"
"No. I also paid a visit to the Watchtower."
"You've asked the League for help?"
"No. Vic was checking up on me. Apparently I missed monitor duty."
"That warranted going all the way to the Watchtower?"
"No. I also paid a visit to Hephaestus."
"Hephaestus? The greek forger?"
"Yeah. Diana was able to convince him to forge me a blade for when I go up against the Knight again."
"Any reason you went to a greek god of all people to make you a sword?"
"It's not an ordinary sword he crafted for me."
"Oh? What's so special about this sword?"
"Well, hopefully it'll give me an edge over the Knight."
"We can only hope. So what's the plan now?"
"I'm as ready as I'm going to be. All I can do now is wait."
"Good. Then perhaps you can get some beauty sleep. You really need it."
"Thanks Alfred."
"I'm just telling you how I see it Master Bruce."
"Fine. I'll get some sleep. But if an alert for the Knight comes in you need to get me up!"
"Don't worry Master Bruce. I'll wake you if such an alert comes through."
With that I concede and take the elevator back up to the house. Whether you're a multi-billionaire or a bat themed vigilante you need your sleep. Much to my annoyance. Heck even Clark needs to sleep and he basically runs on sunlight.
-------------------------------------
Eight Hours Later
Eight hours. It's been years since I slept that long. In fact it would of been longer had Alfred not woken me up. I don't even know what time it is. That's how disorientated eight hours sleep makes me.
"What time is it?"
"6pm. You've been asleep for eight hours."
"Eight hours? Christ, I can't remember the last time I slept so long."
"Indeed. I was concerned you'd slipped into a coma after four hours."
"So have we had a hit for the Knight?"
"No. We have a guest."
"We're on lockdown. Tell them Bruce Wayne is away on holiday."
"I would do. But Mr Gordon was rather insistent."
"Jim's here?"
"Indeed Master Bruce. He looks rather exhausted I must say."
"I'll be there shortly."
It takes me five minutes to freshen up and put some clothes on. By that time Alfred's led Jim into the reception room and given him a scotch. I dread to think what it is that's got Jim drinking such stuff this early in the night. Usually he doesn't have a drink until near the end of his shift.
"Tough day at the office?"
"Like you wouldn't believe. Are you okay? I couldn't help but notice some bullet holes in the walls as Alfred led me down here."
"Yeah, we had some unwelcome guests last night."
"They wouldn't happen to be some of those mercenaries you warned me about?"
"How did you know?"
"Apparently a group of them abducted Jack Drake last night. Witnesses say they saw Robin and another figure on the scene. I was worried that if they went after Tim's dad they might have come here as well."
'Yeah they did. Fortunately I was able to get back here in time."
"So where are they now? We never got a call to pick them up."
"They're under the floorboards."
Jim laughs to himself and takes a swig of his scotch. He knows full well I mean the cave but I like to think he's conjuring an image in his head of Alfred sweeping a load of bodies under the floorboards. I think I'd pay to see that.
"How come they're being given the premium cells? The cells at GCPD not up to standard for them?"
"If only. They know Jim."
Jim's facial expression changes from a smile to a look of concern.
"You mean?"
"Yeah. That's why I'm holding them here."
"Christ this day just keeps getting worse."
"Worse?
"I was having a meeting with the Mayor when you called me about the Knight. I asked Bullock to bring him in."
"The Knight escaped?"
"If only that was it."
"You don't mean....."
"Yeah. I do."
"I'm sorry Jim. I know how good a friend he was to you."
"Yeah. Harvey was the best. God rest his soul."
I reach into the drinks cabinet where Jim got his scotch from and fill a glass with my 'whiskey'. Well I call it whiskey, it's simply apple juice that has been tweaked to give off the smell of whiskey. After I've poured myself a glass I walk back over to Jim and raise my glass up in the air.
"To Harvey."
"To Harvey."
We clang our glasses together and empty our glasses. Jim goes to pull out a cigarette before remembering how much Alfred dislikes people smoking in the house, but given what's happened I let him do so anyways.
"I'll deal with Alfred."
"Thanks Bruce."
He lights his cigarette and takes in deep breath of smoke.
"So what's his next move?"
"For the moment all Tim and I can do is wait. He took Jack for a reason, I suspect it's to force us to walk into a trap of his own choice."
"How's the boy been holding up? What with his father being taken and all. I can't imagine he's happy to just sit by and wait."
"He's not. But he knows the protocol. No-one leaves the house until our identities are secured."
"So until the Knight is dealt with?"
"Basically."
"Well when you see him, do me favour."
"What's that?"
"Give him hell. For Harvey, and for me."
"I will Jim. I will."
"Thank you Bruce."
"How's the arm treating you?"
"Poorly. The only silver lining is that if I ever get in a bar fight I've got a weapon to hand."
"I'm sorry, for all he's done to you Jim. But I promise you, I'll make him pay. For all he's to you, and for what he's done to Harvey. Mark my words."
"Thank you Bruce. It really means a lot."
"Happy to help Jim. Happy to help."
The Dark Knight: Knight of Gotham #46
After much negotiation Diana is able to convince Hephaestus into crafting a weapon for me. He seems perplexed by my special request but I don't have time to explain why I need it. Every minute I'm away from Gotham could be the nail in the coffin. Despite that though I have no choice but to wait until Hephaestus finishes crafting the blade, the Knight took Jack to act as bait to give himself a field advantage. I need to be able to level the playing field.
It takes him only an hour to craft the blade, rather impressive really. Especially when you consider it takes the average man weeks to craft the perfect blade. I can't deny it has me calling into question the quality of the blade but if Diana has faith in him, then so do I. Diana returns me to the cave and like Vic she offers her help. Just as I did with Vic, I turn down her kind offer.
The next four hours roll by quickly as I resume my work making tweaks to an old batsuit. From every opportunity I've had to inspect the Knight's blade I know it's easily capable of cutting through my suit without reinforcement. Heck it was able to cut through Jim's hand so it would cut through my suit like it's made of paper.
After I'd completed the modifications to the suit I'm greeted by a recently awoken Alfred. Clearly he's noticed my bed sheets have gone untouched.
"Plan on sleeping at some point today?"
"I was busy."
"I can tell. Modified your gauntlets by chance?"
"Yeah. Hopefully they'll provide more of a defence from the Knight's blade than they have previously."
"We can only hope. Did you spend all night just working on your gauntlets?"
"No. I also paid a visit to the Watchtower."
"You've asked the League for help?"
"No. Vic was checking up on me. Apparently I missed monitor duty."
"That warranted going all the way to the Watchtower?"
"No. I also paid a visit to Hephaestus."
"Hephaestus? The greek forger?"
"Yeah. Diana was able to convince him to forge me a blade for when I go up against the Knight again."
"Any reason you went to a greek god of all people to make you a sword?"
"It's not an ordinary sword he crafted for me."
"Oh? What's so special about this sword?"
"Well, hopefully it'll give me an edge over the Knight."
"We can only hope. So what's the plan now?"
"I'm as ready as I'm going to be. All I can do now is wait."
"Good. Then perhaps you can get some beauty sleep. You really need it."
"Thanks Alfred."
"I'm just telling you how I see it Master Bruce."
"Fine. I'll get some sleep. But if an alert for the Knight comes in you need to get me up!"
"Don't worry Master Bruce. I'll wake you if such an alert comes through."
With that I concede and take the elevator back up to the house. Whether you're a multi-billionaire or a bat themed vigilante you need your sleep. Much to my annoyance. Heck even Clark needs to sleep and he basically runs on sunlight.
-------------------------------------
Eight Hours Later
Eight hours. It's been years since I slept that long. In fact it would of been longer had Alfred not woken me up. I don't even know what time it is. That's how disorientated eight hours sleep makes me.
"What time is it?"
"6pm. You've been asleep for eight hours."
"Eight hours? Christ, I can't remember the last time I slept so long."
"Indeed. I was concerned you'd slipped into a coma after four hours."
"So have we had a hit for the Knight?"
"No. We have a guest."
"We're on lockdown. Tell them Bruce Wayne is away on holiday."
"I would do. But Mr Gordon was rather insistent."
"Jim's here?"
"Indeed Master Bruce. He looks rather exhausted I must say."
"I'll be there shortly."
It takes me five minutes to freshen up and put some clothes on. By that time Alfred's led Jim into the reception room and given him a scotch. I dread to think what it is that's got Jim drinking such stuff this early in the night. Usually he doesn't have a drink until near the end of his shift.
"Tough day at the office?"
"Like you wouldn't believe. Are you okay? I couldn't help but notice some bullet holes in the walls as Alfred led me down here."
"Yeah, we had some unwelcome guests last night."
"They wouldn't happen to be some of those mercenaries you warned me about?"
"How did you know?"
"Apparently a group of them abducted Jack Drake last night. Witnesses say they saw Robin and another figure on the scene. I was worried that if they went after Tim's dad they might have come here as well."
'Yeah they did. Fortunately I was able to get back here in time."
"So where are they now? We never got a call to pick them up."
"They're under the floorboards."
Jim laughs to himself and takes a swig of his scotch. He knows full well I mean the cave but I like to think he's conjuring an image in his head of Alfred sweeping a load of bodies under the floorboards. I think I'd pay to see that.
"How come they're being given the premium cells? The cells at GCPD not up to standard for them?"
"If only. They know Jim."
Jim's facial expression changes from a smile to a look of concern.
"You mean?"
"Yeah. That's why I'm holding them here."
"Christ this day just keeps getting worse."
"Worse?
"I was having a meeting with the Mayor when you called me about the Knight. I asked Bullock to bring him in."
"The Knight escaped?"
"If only that was it."
"You don't mean....."
"Yeah. I do."
"I'm sorry Jim. I know how good a friend he was to you."
"Yeah. Harvey was the best. God rest his soul."
I reach into the drinks cabinet where Jim got his scotch from and fill a glass with my 'whiskey'. Well I call it whiskey, it's simply apple juice that has been tweaked to give off the smell of whiskey. After I've poured myself a glass I walk back over to Jim and raise my glass up in the air.
"To Harvey."
"To Harvey."
We clang our glasses together and empty our glasses. Jim goes to pull out a cigarette before remembering how much Alfred dislikes people smoking in the house, but given what's happened I let him do so anyways.
"I'll deal with Alfred."
"Thanks Bruce."
He lights his cigarette and takes in deep breath of smoke.
"So what's his next move?"
"For the moment all Tim and I can do is wait. He took Jack for a reason, I suspect it's to force us to walk into a trap of his own choice."
"How's the boy been holding up? What with his father being taken and all. I can't imagine he's happy to just sit by and wait."
"He's not. But he knows the protocol. No-one leaves the house until our identities are secured."
"So until the Knight is dealt with?"
"Basically."
"Well when you see him, do me favour."
"What's that?"
"Give him hell. For Harvey, and for me."
"I will Jim. I will."
"Thank you Bruce."
"How's the arm treating you?"
"Poorly. The only silver lining is that if I ever get in a bar fight I've got a weapon to hand."
"I'm sorry, for all he's done to you Jim. But I promise you, I'll make him pay. For all he's to you, and for what he's done to Harvey. Mark my words."
"Thank you Bruce. It really means a lot."
"Happy to help Jim. Happy to help."