The Sparrow and the Song Bird

Asking for a Friend

Damian is awoken suddenly by an alarm.

His back protests as he immediately sits upright. He avoids falling asleep at his desk for this very reason.

The information on the computer screen swims in his vision as he attempts to rub the sleep from his eyes. There isn't time for exhaustion. Every second mattered.

The files he'd been working on getting from CPS were finally available.

It had taken an embarrassing amount of time to find what he'd been looking for. But he had it now.

He read through the available information. Limited as it would be.

Name: Richard J. Grayson. Age: 9. Birthday: 12/01. Ethnicity: Romanie. Birthplace: Barcelona Spain. Mother: Mary Grayson (deceased). Father: John Grayson (deceased). No other known relatives.

That was it. There was nothing else available on the file. Just baseline information. Nothing about where he was now. All that work, wasted.

Damian cried out in frustration. It'd been days and he had no idea where they'd taken him. He knew Grayson would not have been removed from the county. He was the only witness to a capital murder case. They needed easy access to him.

But because he was a minor, had no status in the country, and there is a desire to keep him hidden from Maronie left Damian with very few leads to follow up on.

It had come out, right before the circus left town, it had been Maronie's top lieutenant who had done this. He'd gotten ambitious.

Now the hunt was on for Anthony Zucco and the Grayson boy. Damian knew he wanted to get to Zucco before Maronie did but Grayson took the priority.

It had been several weeks since the incident and it still made him sick to his stomach whenever he looked back on it. A public spectacle was never Maronie's thing. He can't imagine what will happen to Zucco if Maronie gets to him before Damian. Not that Damian will be much nicer.

"What are you still doing down here?" He hears his father ask upon his entrance to the cave.

"My lead finally came through." Damian tells him, standing up to hear his spine crack and pop with the stretch. "I thought you left already."

"I'll be leaving shortly. Did the lead not pan out?"

"No."

His father studies him. He clearly wanted to help but had been attempting to allow Damian his own cases. The idea being for Damian to be more independent. He was freshly eighteen. It was time for bigger things.

No doubt his father saw the parallels between himself and this boy. But it was Damian's case. So he stood by, just in case Damian did ask for his help

"Maybe you should talk to Gordon." He advises.

"Why?"

"Because Gordon is in charge of this case. If anyone is going to know where that kid is..." Father trailed off but Damian got the idea.

"Maybe. She hates talking to me though."

"Try anyways."

Damian bites back the scoff. Barbara Gordon was completely uncooperative with him. Claimed he was too young and unprofessional. She barely tolerated Batman, but Sparrow? Forget it.

She was newer to the force but she'd more than proved herself. Easily one of the best detectives he'd ever seen. Didn't make the shoes she was filling any less daunting. She had aspirations to become commissioner, like her late father before her. There was a lot of corruption to work through before she could even consider becoming commissioner. Damian didn't doubt her resolve, but she was too honest for the work.