Diabolical | T. Drake ✔

[08] An Acquaintance In Arkham

Richard had no idea why Tim had come to him and asked for a favor. And he was even more concerned when that favor turned out to be a visit to Arkham.

He should have said no. Bruce would definitely not allow Tim to go to Arkham and as a responsible elder brother, he should have dissuaded Tim from his decision. But that boy was alarmingly persuasive such that Richard ended up accompanying him to one of the most dangerous places in the city.

Arkham was full of the most dangerous and unstable criminals Gotham had to date. So for Tim to go there and that too on the reason of meeting someone was quite absurd.

But then at least he wouldn't be alone as Richard would be there to look out for him. That was the only excuse he could give for him agreeing to accompany him. He knew Tim was the sort of person to end up having his own way as Steph already told him how he had snuck out of the Manor once. So it was better if he went along and kept him away from any danger.

"Who exactly are we going to visit?" Richard asked as they walked through the dull bleak corridors of Arkham.

"Just an acquaintance. I have brought a few things to show him."

"Okay..."

They reached the worn-down reception where a very disinterested-looking man was handling some case files. 

"Hi Miguel!" Tim chirped and Richard checked that the name tag on the man's uniform indeed said Miguel Hanson.

He looked up and then looked down at the frail little figure standing beside Richard, "you here again?"

"Had to pay a visit to dear old Crow," he remarked, "no issues there, right?"

"You have fifteen minutes at most," he replied, giving him a pass and the cell number.

"Thanks a lot. I will be right back."

He was about to leave and Richard felt like asking him how it was so easy for him to get permission but the stoic voice of the receptionist stopped him.

"Where do you think you are going, Sir? We will need to check you in."

"Oh... Of course," he replied, giving him his ID as well as the BCPD card so that there wouldn't be any complications in the process.

Miguel typed in his computer, scanned both cards then nodded his head for him to go as well. 

Richard caught up with Tim who was waiting for him at the entrance into the top security cells. "How did you know the receptionist?"

"Miguel lives in the Narrows, I met him once. Nice guy," he mumbled, swiping the pass that let the gate open.

Clearly, Tim had a very different perception on the word nice or perhaps he was being sarcastic.

Richard was just then realizing why it was so easy for criminals to break out of Arkham; the prison was severely understaffed and unmonitored. If a kid like Tim could easily get access to the top security cells and there were little to no guards in sight then of course it would be a piece of cake for the prisoners to break out so frequently.

He had to talk to the Commissioner about it, he thought.

"By Crow, did you mean Jonathan Crane?" Richard asked as they paused in front of the cell marked Crane.

"Yup," Tim replied breezily, "I promised him I'd visit."

The cells in the top security area were isolated from the rest of the prison cells. Only the most unstable of criminals were kept there. Although Crane wasn't as unstable, he had specifically requested to be put in top security.

A metal gate shielded the cell but it shifted open revealing the bars as Tim swiped the pass. It was dark inside and they could barely see whether the cell was occupied or not. But then two sinister eyes stared back at them and the occupant shrunk further away into the cell.

"Why the hell are you here?" A thin raspy voice sounded although the Scarecrow kept out of sight of the visitors.

"I simply had to see you. Also, I brought a peace offering."

"Get out."

Tim ignored the malice in his tone as he unstrapped his backpack and brought out a carefully wrapped package, "you're really mean, you know. Especially to people who care."

Richard saw that package contained Alfred's best sandwiches and that meant Tim must have asked him to prepare them for him beforehand. The boy placed the package in through the bars of the cell and waited for Crane to approach.

"What trickery is this now?"

"Nothing. The food here must be awful so I thought of doing you a favor lest you resorted to eating rats eventually," his eyes had a mischievous glint as he knew full well that statement would irk Crane further.

"You insolent brat! Makes sense why your parents wanted you dead," he spat out but didn't refuse the sandwiches. Although he did check the food twice to make sure that it wasn't poisoned.

"Ouch," Tim rolled his eyes nonchalantly, "anyways, if you're done hurting my nonexistent feelings, can we get to business?"

"I don't want to have anything to do with you. Get out."

"No but I have a lot to do with you," he passed him his notebook, "and you better agree to my proposal if you don't want to suffer consequences."

"Tim, what is going on?" Richard asked, making Crane's eyes flicker to him for the first time since they had arrived. It seemed as if he hadn't noticed Tim wasn't alone.

"I'll tell you later," he replied vaguely then turned his attention back to Crane who was reluctantly going through the notes Tim had made. "Look, I know you must be getting bored out of your mind being locked up here with nothing to do. I can fix that. You just have to give me your input on what you think about these findings. I have detailed everything out so you must not have any trouble going through it."

"I can't even see you, midget, how am I supposed to see your writing?"

"Oh... Next time I will bring you a flashlight."

"Next time? Tim, we're not going to come here again, okay?" Richard stated but it was clear that the boy wasn't paying his words any heed.

Tim proceeded to ignore the elder brother who looked as if he would panic any second. Instead, he added, "see, it's not a bad deal. I don't have anyone to guide me in this. You don't have anything to do. I can provide you with food and anything else you want that might not result in you escaping from here and in return you can fix any mistakes I might have made. Easy."

"You're striking a deal with a criminal, kid," he warned him but he knew it would have no effect on that determined little devil.

"Well, you offered first and I took it up, just on my terms," Tim smiled, taking back the notebook, "hasta la vista, Scaredy Crow. I will take that as a yes."

"If you call me that one more time..."

"Bye!"

The metal gate shut in his face, making Tim and Richard disappear from his sight. Jonathan sighed, slumping back into his cell as he looked up at the blank ceiling.

He had no idea what that kid was up to but he already had a feeling he was going to regret it. He rued the day he had taken pity on that boy who had shown up to his hideout drenched from head to toe and then managed to abduct him instead. If only he hadn't let him in, he wouldn't be stuck in that situation right then.

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