EPILOGUE
It was inevitable that the rainstorms would return. It was that time of year, after all. According to The Weather Channel, these storms would continue throughout the week, without abating. The Bowery now saw tiny creeks and even rivers from the flooding of the sewers again. One group of teenagers had splashed around in a puddle that covered an abandoned parking lot the size of a lake, but a squad car had chased them off. That was good; a squad car making any appearance at all in the Bowery was progress.
The rain was coming down in great sheets, washing away the last of the debris from the riots, cleaning the city in an endless cycle. The Batman sat atop his perch in a window on the top floor of the old Laddmann building, water beading down his cape, cowl, and face. The wind caused his cape to flap against the wall all around him, and whenever lightning flashed he was only partially exposed because of the crenellation he’d selected to ensconce himself.
He was on the hunt again. After monitoring the area around the Laddmann building, he leapt from the window and spread his wings. Batman hang glided for two blocks before he landed on top of an abandoned townhouse in a row of other likewise townhouses. A pair of military jeeps with sirens affixed to them had stopped a group of five Dreaded Sun members in the street and were interrogating them.
Batman leapt from one rooftop to the next. After two nights of answering to the occasional call of an armed robbery or an attempted murder, he still hadn’t come across the man he was looking for.
He paused on the edge of an empty apartment building, listening to the police radio’s call for assistance with a 288 (lewd conduct) up on Pulmarth Street—it turned out two units were already on the way, which meant he probably wouldn’t be needed at all.
A lone military chopper had braved this terrible weather, and was surveying the area over on Parkinson Avenue, not referred to as “Park Empire” much these days, the Guard had broken them up, with a little help from the bat, of course. Batman had used the Singer Method to quickly memorize Officer Henry Mason’s translation of the cant languages being used by the gangs, and had already tapped the phones of various gang members that Oswald Cobblepot had confessed to working with after Agent Essen had offered him a plea bargain. By tapping the phones, and using Mason’s translation of their language, Batman had been able to supply Gordon and Essen with information pertaining to the last few storage places where the Molehill Mob and Dreaded Sun were hiding their stashes of drugs and advanced weaponry.
The Juarezes and the Calabrias were still moving their stuff, probably through Tony Zucco, who, rumor had it, had fully taken over the reins of power dropped by the Riddler and Carmine Falcone, who no longer had any connection to the outside world. Nobody could confirm any of that yet, however, but Batman was looking for the evidence—at the cave, he’d opened up a file on Zucco and had already started adding information to it that he’d gathered off the street in these last few days.
Of course, he had another reason to find Zucco, wherever he was hiding. The boy had made his decision, and child protective services, along with state officials, were making the last preparations and filing the final paperwork to make it official—Dick Grayson would officially be a ward of Bruce Wayne by the end of the week, and would then be moving in. However, only Commissioner Gordon and one other state official knew where Dick Grayson was going, for his protection from Zucco, of course.
Batman hopped down onto the ledge of another abandoned building, perching himself atop the old gargoyle there. He sat there, half of his mind on the hunt, the other half wondering how the next couple of years would pan out with young Grayson living with him. He’d made a promise to find Zucco, and, if he was responsible for the murder of John and Mary Grayson, to make him pay.
Of course, there were complications that came just with the boy’s arrival next week. Bruce had already gotten together with Alfred to discuss special protocols to make sure the boy didn’t pick up on any of Bruce’s extracurricular activities. The boy was sure sharp; Gordon hadn’t been exaggerating about that. He’d gotten a peek at Dick’s grades at school, and the kid excelled in math, science, and art. His teachers also used the word “precocious” a lot whenever talking about him. And while it was good that the boy had a good head on his shoulders, it could prove difficult to keep too many secrets from him.
Just have to take it one day at a time, the Batman told himself, his eyes still raking the streets, surveying the few people who dared to go out on a night like this.
He leapt off the gargoyle and activated his cape again. He hang glided for three more blocks before he alighted atop an apartment complex that was due to be renovated next week by Wayne Enterprises—it was all part of a neighborhood reconstruction and rehabilitation program for the city. With so much talk in the media these days about the problems in the Bowery, the city had finally given WE the go-ahead to begin the restructuring of the Bowery that it had been talking about for years. Hopefully, once it was all finished, this area would have a new nickname. Right now, it was going by the tentative title of Project Safe Havens.
Safe Havens, Batman thought. Has a nice ring to it than “Bowery”.
He walked around the rooftop several times, watching for any problems, still searching for his prey. Finally, he spotted him coming out of the small pub that had opened up just outside of the Bowery’s limits called Paggie’s Place. His target was with three other guys, and they all hustled outside, their jackets pulled over their heads to block the rain, and they all said their final good-byes before jogging off in different directions towards their respective cars.
Batman leapt off the ledge and spread his wings, silently floating down to street level. He moved quickly in a low crouch into a shadow just out of reach of a light coming from a lamppost, and pulled out his GTEM gun to put it at ready-low position.
The car door opened, and just as Clarence Mulligan was about to hop inside, he was hit with electrodes that sent him to the ground. He was then dragged by the lapel of his jacket into the closest, darkest alleyway, and flung against the brick wall. He fell to the ground beside broken glass and discarded trash. Once he’d gotten a chance to collect his senses, he looked up, and quailed. “Oh, Jesus! You again?! What do you want?!”
“They say Boss Zucca controls the pimps in the Bowery,” Batman answered.
“Wh-what? What’re you talkin’ about?! I don’t know no Boss Zu—?”
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
“I’m going to give you one chance to be completely honest with me. After that, there’ll be no more chances.”
“I-I don’t…I don’t know nothin’ about nobody named Zucco!”
“Not good enough.” He moved in towards the pimp. And, as the rain poured down and Gotham City began its healing process, the Dark Knight enveloped his prey into his cape. There was screaming as he carried Mulligan away into the night, and when a couple of people stepped out of Paggie’s Place to investigate, they saw no trace of trouble.
The rain continued to pour, and the shadows kept their secrets.
To Be Continued in "Batman: The Cold"
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CASE #PP-2236-00987E-11
INCIDENT: 40 y.o. Caucasian male and 39 y.o. Caucasian female – DOA from probable fall (approx. 75 ft.)
VICTIMS: John Landon Grayson and Mary Elizabeth Grayson (husband and wife)
INJURIES SUSTAINED: Severe cranial, neck, and spine trauma in each of the victims. Internal bleeding/swelling likely cause of death in each case.
SUSPECT(S): None at this time
DETAILS: On the date of (…), at approximately 14:56 hours, personnel from the GCPD responded to a distress called from victims’ son DICK GRAYSON, at Haley’s Circus arena on Cape Carmine. Upon arrival at the scene, the responding officer found VICTIM #612-JOHN LANDON GRAYSON and VICTIM #613-MARY ELIZABETH GRAYSON on the ground near performance training area (see pg. 3). The son claims the tightrope snapped during practice, and says he was there to witness it.
Both victims were unresponsive. First-response EMT unit on the scene pronounced both victims deceased at approximately 15:31 hours. Both victims were transported to [REDACTED – see OV-REPORT#405-22] for further evaluation.
Son RICHARD JOHN GRAYSON claims the parents prepared their own tightrope, as usual. Toxicology reports confirm neither victim was under the influence of any narcotic or alcohol. Preliminary forensic analysis at the scene suggests possible tampering with the tightrope, though evidence is inconclusive. Blood spatter analysis does conclude that the blood cast-off is conducive with victims’ wounds and are consistent with a fall. Blunt force head trauma and intracranial hemorrhaging resulted.
Until post-mortem and autopsy evaluations are completed, all investigations are suspended in this case.
--Report filed by Lt. Brett MacKinnon
(Victims’ son DICK GRAYSON has named a man he suspects in his deposition; suspect’s name is redacted here. *Edit by Lt. Carmen Haysworth, Badge #1138)
--------------------------------
Office of Chief Medical Examiner
Morrow County Medical Examiner's District
Gotham City CCM
AUTOPSY REPORT
NAME: THOMAS WAYNE
Case No: 885560T
Approximate Age: 41 years
Height: 70 inches
Weight: 210.8 pounds
Sex: Male
We hereby certify that on this day […], pursuant to Statute 49.25 of City Code, an autopsy on the body of Thomas Wayne was performed at the Morrow County Medical Examiner's Office in Gotham City, and upon investigation of the essential facts concerning the circumstances of the death and history of the case, we are of the opinion that the cause of death was as follows:
FINDINGS:
1. Sudden death associated with:
2. Exsanguination – Bleeding to death from gunshot wound
3. Hypoxia by pneumothorax – Deprived of adequate oxygen
4. Heart failure (HF)
5. Traumatic brain damage (TBI) – degeneration of brain cells
6. Perforating injury
Ill. Hepatomegaly (weight = 1695 gms) with mild fatty metamorphosis
1. Prostatic hyperplasia, mild
2. No evidence of dehydration or electrolyte imbalance:
3. Postmortem vitreous chemistry non-contributory
4. Blood furosemide (Lasix) negative
5. Postmortem toxicology:
6. Cardiac blood fluoxetine = 2.72 ug/mL
7. Femoral vein blood fluoxetine = 0.778 ug/mL
8. Gastric fluoxetine = 4.2 ug/mL
9. Liver fluoxetine = 61.4 ug/mL
10. Postmortem blood 20 heavy metal screen negative
11. Postmortem blood mercury negative (below detection level)
COMMENT:
Dr. Thomas Wayne was 41 years of age at the time of his death. He was a doctor and businessman shot in Park Row, aka “Crime Alley”, where he was apparently discovered unresponsive, along with his wife. The exact downtime is unknown but could be as much as 20 minutes or more before he was discovered unresponsive. The ambulance arrived at 11:08 p.m. and he was transported to Gotham Central Hospital in Woodrow, where immediate life support protocols were instituted. However, he was pronounced [sic] dead at 12:01 p.m.
CAUSE OF DEATH: DEATH DUE TO BALLISTIC TRAUMA (FOUL PLAY)
MANNER OF DEATH: UNNATURAL
Signature Chenzira A. Tefni, M.D.
Signature Susan Ludner, M.D.
A CERTIFIED COPY ATTEST SUSAN LUDNER, M.D. CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER MORROW COUNTY, [signature] Wanda Peterson
GROSS ANATOMICAL DESCRIPTION
---*
1. CLOTHING AND PERSONAL EFFECTS: The body is presented to the morgue secured in a body bag and clad in:
2. White button-up shirt
3. Black pants (cut)
4. Pair of white socks
EXTERNAL BODY DESCRIPTION:
Except for the gunshot wounds, the body is that of a normally developed, well-nourished and well-hydrated, adult Caucasian male appearing somewhat older than the given age of 41 years, with a body length of 70 inches and body weight of 210.8 pounds (178 cm, 95.7 kg). The body is well-preserved, unembalmed and cool post refrigeration. Rigor is fully developed. Lividity is developed, posterior, dependent, purple and slightly blanchable.
The scalp is covered by short, straight brown and occasional gray hair with slight frontal, sagittal and occipital pattern baldness. The face is shaven. Body hair is male distribution and average.
TOXICOLOGY TEST RESULTS
OFFICE OF CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER SUSAN LUDNER, M.D., DABFP
TOXICOLOGY LABORATORY SERVICE CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER
GOTHAM CENTRAL TERRY BREWER, PH.D., DABFT
MORROW COUNTY, GOTHAM CITY CHIEF TOXICOLOGIST
NAME: THOMAS WAYNE PRIORITY: 1
M.E. CASE NUMBER: 885560T M.E. TOX NUMBER: 7780333T-XX
BLOOD ETHANOL NEG
URINE ETHANOL NEG
URINE COCAINE NEG
URINE CANNABINOIDS NEG
GASTRIC CYANIDE NEG
BLOOD CYANIDE NEG
URINE CYANIDE NEG
URINE OPIATES NEG
BLOOD ABN (HEART) POS FLUOXETINE 2.630 UG/ML
BLOOD ABN (FEMORAL) POS FLUOXETINE 0.779 UG/ML
URINE ABN POS FLUOXETINE 0.771 UG/ML
GASTRIC ABN POS FLUOXETINE 4.100 UG/ML
LIVER FLUOXETINE POS FLUOXETINE 61.310 UG/ML
BLOOD ABN (FEMORAL) POS NORFLUOXETINE 0.607 UG/ML
BLOOD ABN (HEART) POS NORFLUOXETINE 1.850 UG/ML
URINE ABN POS NORFLUOXETINE 2.260 UG/ML
GASTRIC ABN POS NORFLUOXETINE 1.077 UG/ML
LIVER NORFLUOXETINE POS NORFLUOXETINE 48.810 UG/ML
For INJURIES, INTERNAL EXAMINATION, SPECIMENS, and MICROSCOPIC DESCRIPTIONS, see page(s) 4-10.
[Dr. Samuel P. Brice]
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AFTERWORD
NOTE: If you want to know the Riddler’s final riddle, and the answer to it, go to the bottom of the page, in the author's post-chapter note. If you want to try and figure it out yourself…good luck! (Here’s a hint if you want it: It involves Mulcoyisy “Nate” Stewart-Paulson. This could take you a while. J)
Solving riddles is fun, isn’t it? That’s why I’ve hidden at least one more riddle in these pages for you (and you alone, not for Bruce Wayne) to solve, but I’m not going to tell you how to find it or what the answer is once you have it.