Shade in Blüdhaven

Shade in Blüdhaven#4: Tech-savvy

CUT TO: BLÜDHAVEN

INT. COFFEE SHOP - MORNING

TIM DRAKE AND DRAY ARRIVE AT A COFFEE SHOP.

[Dray]

So, did Nightwing tell you who his "friend" was?

[Tim Drake]

No. It's probably better that way too. Keeping someone you can work with confidential prevents hiccups down the road and if the tech I had couldn't crack that hard drive it's most likely someone with more radical tactics. I did call in a favor from a friend of my own.

[Dray]

Really? Is it as cool as a clandestine cyberpunk?

[Tim Drake]

Close. Where is she? She's never late.

[Barbara Gordon]

(From a table)

Hey, Tim. Over here.

DRAY AND TIM DRAKE LOOK TO SEE BARBARA GORDON SITTING AT A TABLE.

[Dray]

Whoa, who's she?

[Tim Drake]

That's who I'm here to see. Um... you'll be cool right?

[Dray]

Dude, I'd strike out so hard I'd probably break my spine. I've learned by now it's best if you just keep your mouth shut.

[Tim Drake]

Ouch, don't be that hard on yourself.

[Dray]

Someone has to. Let's not keep her waiting.

DRAY AND TIM DRAKE APPROACH BARBARA'S TABLE.

[Tim Drake]

Hey, thanks for meeting with me.

[Barbara Gordon]

You know you can reach out to me any time Tim. Who's your friend?

[Dray]

Hey, I'm Dray. Nice to meet you.

[Baraba Gordon]

The pleasures are all mine. I'm Barbara. Hey, Tim, I thought you—.

[Tim Drake]

He knows about the situation already.

[Barbara Gordon]

Oh, I understand. Well, please sit down.

DRAY AND TIM DRAKE SIT DOWN AT THE TABLE WITH BARBARA GORDON.

[Barbara Gordon]

So, from what I've seen in the news things have been a little hectic around here. You've got a few B and C-listers but together they can be quite the pain.

[Tim Drake]

Yeah, that's not even the part that bothers me though. What bothers me is that there doesn't seem to be a way to connect the dots between them especially if you add in the fact that Steeljacket had a bout of amnesia after he was knocked out and woken up. Someone has them working together but not of their own free will.

[Barbara Gordon]

I looked into their different jail busts too. Most of them from the records weren't what you'd call difficult. It was like they got a get-out-of-jail-free card and had to make it look good.

[Dray]

So if the bad guys themselves seem to be unreliable if we were to question them, who do we question to get some answers besides the answers we're liable to get off of that hard drive?