Diabolical | T. Drake ✔

[20] Voices

Tim's face was set into a thoughtful look as he took Connor to the supermarket nearby. It seemed as if he was doing some serious thinking so Connor too didn't interrupt him despite the hundreds of questions welling up inside him.

For starters, he couldn't believe that the volatile man they had just met could be Tim's uncle. That clearly was a lie. He also couldn't understand why Tim was putting up with him even though he should have reported to Batman that a criminal had escaped from Arkham.

Nothing made sense to Connor but it seemed Tim knew full well what he was doing.

He had bought a considerable amount of food from the supermarket, that once paying from his own card instead of a borrowed one, and got it all packed into recyclable shopping bags. And then after leaving the supermarket, he began to go back to Drake Manor.

"Tim, do we really have to go back?"

"Yes. He's starving and my rats could do with a little more food too," the boy replied, lifting the latch of the door that led down to the basement, "you can stay outside if you don't want to come."

"Nope. I can't let you get hurt," Connor refused the offer, ready to go back down and punch Scarecrow if he did anything hurtful to Tim again.

Tim's features softened into a smile as he replied, "thanks, buddy. I appreciate the concern."

As they came down to the basement, Crane was sitting in the exact spot he had been in earlier. He looked up seeing them enter but then paid no heed to them as if they weren't even there.

Tim set the bags down close to him, gaining his attention, "I think this will last you a couple of days. I will come to check up on you after."

"My head hurts..."

"I know, here," he fetched out a stash of aspirin from his pocket and handed it to him, "stay true to your promise, okay? You know I can very easily tip you off to the Bat if you don't."

"Why are you not tipping him off already?" Connor asked, unable to understand the situation, "he should be in Arkham."

"Well, because I have an unpaid debt to him and I am just taking care of that," Tim replied, not bothering that his answer was rather cryptic. Turning his gaze back to Crane, he remarked, "although our deal will come off if you go against your word. Understand?"

He groaned in reply, taking the aspirin he had given to him. He was hungry too so he started looking into the bags Tim had brought to find something to eat.

"Deal? What deal?" Connor asked.

Tim sighed softly, knowing he would either have to explain everything from the very beginning to Connor or persuade him into trusting him and just letting the matter rest for the time being. And he decided to choose the latter option.

"Connie, I will tell you everything once we get home. Don't worry about that."

Tim looked back at Crane who had opened up a pack of corn snacks that he took a handful out of and placed it near the burrow for the rats. It reminded Tim of his own days in the basement as he observed him right then.

"Why do you need my notebook?" He asked, at last, letting Crane finish his snacks first.

Crane's eyes flickered towards Connor as if to ask Tim whether he should be listening in on them or not.

But Tim shrugged, "it's fine, I am going to tell him everything either way. He'll stay."

"I had made an antidote to the fear gas myself too," he spoke up, his voice turning much calmer than earlier, "but it worked differently from yours. And I know because you tested it on me, the effects were surprisingly very different from my antidote."