Trapped : The Island of Torment

Chapter 10 : Hunting Him Down

Star City

Bruce arrived at the coordinates Oliver had given him to reach his vigilante headquarters, wearing his batsuit, while Dick followed from behind, dressed in his Nightwing gear. He spotted a familiar bike when he took off his helmet, which struck him deep to his heart. Brushing the feeling aside he entered the small building which used to be Oliver's mayoral campaign office. He noted a painting which was hanging uniquely, i.e., not in an upright fashion. This tactic would have been clear to Bruce, hinting that it was hiding something behind the painting. Fixing the painting upright a wall panel, a false wall, slid to one side, revealing a modern elevator. Allowing a brief smile to himself Bruce entered the elevator alongside Dick, the doors closing and followed by the false wall. 

The elevator carriage descended, opening its doors a few seconds later. A spacious underground bunker entered Bruce's range of vision once the doors were opened. He then reached the platform in the middle of the underground bunker, which was the main computer desk, the sound of his boots audible as he walked on the concrete floor. Oliver was already dressed in his gear as Green Arrow, while Philip Park, Candice's husband, stood next to him. "You came." the man himself looked up from the computer. 

"I'm here." Bruce said, approaching the computer desk. "How are we going to locate this foe of yours Oliver?" 

"I've already tracked Merlyn through the facial recognition system." Oliver replied, stepping aside to show Bruce the system he mentioned on the computer. "According to the city records he still maintained his old penthouse in Star City." Philip was working on his phone while they were briefing, which raised Bruce's eyebrows. A few minutes later Philip pocketed the phone and listened to the conversation. 

"You have the address?" Bruce asked. 

"I do." Oliver said, as the address popped up on screen. "Let's go." Bruce walked alongside Philip as they made their way to the elevator. 

"Who were you contacting on your phone?" he asked. 

"Not good news I'm afraid, my father-in-law discovered that his daughter and only niece are missing. He's tapping into his connections at Yongsan and Yokosuka to get help." Bruce raised a brow. He knows that Isabella's uncle did lead the South Korean Navy as Admiral of the Fleet, but he did not expect that he had worked with the American Navy. "I know that look, but you should know, that the US and South Korean military have been working closely together under the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty." Philip explained. "My father-in-law has been conducting drills alongside the US Navy when he assumed the position of Admiral of the Fleet." 

"Elizabeth often told me that military service runs in the family." 

"Males in South Korea are often conscripted, while women volunteered." Philip explained. "With an aggressive neighbour in the North... most of us understood why this is necessary." 

"About the bike..." Bruce said. 

"The bike yes." Philip said, checking the weapons holstered in the holster strapped to his tactical suit. "After she crashed her sports car into Elizabeth's bike her grandparents were notified and her insurance manager came to assess the damage." 

"The sports car... she stole it from my garage. Swiped the key during a date." 

"I don't even want to inquire about that." Philip said. "Anyway, your romantic partner's actions damaged Elizabeth's bike beyond repair." 

"I promised Eliza that I would replace it."

"Her grandfather already had the foresight when she told her grandparents about your peculiar romantic entanglement with that woman." Philip said, as the two of them stepped into the elevator. "Her grandfather knew the manufacturer in person, so he managed to get a replacement made before Isabella flew home to South Korea." 

Downtown Star City

The condo housing the penthouse where Malcolm Merlyn resides was a luxury residence. The four men stood opposite the building, Oliver observed Merlyn through a pair of binoculars. "Target seemed to be at ease in his own home." he reported. "He should have known that I would be hunting him down." 

"He must have been hiding something Green Arrow." Batman said. "Or else why would he be at ease?" 

"I'll be taking him down." Green Arrow said, drawing his bow and arrow. He fired his arrow, an arrow with a grappling line attached, and used his bow as a makeshift pulley. Zipping across the two buildings he crashed in and aimed his bow and arrow at the slightly bewildered Malcolm Merlyn. Philip, who was watching alongside Batman and Nightwing, sighed upon his brashness and set his duffle bag on the ground. 

"The both of you should go." he said. 

"Why?" Batman looked at him. 

"Because you wouldn't like what I do next." Philip said, unzipping the duffle bag and retrieving a sniper rifle plus a tripod. He then knelt and lay on the ground to study the shot. "I'll shoot to kill, if necessary." 

"I'll back Oliver up." Batman said. Once Batman left Philip sighed to himself and began looking through the rifle scope. 

"Whoever you are, and whatever your name is, I know that you held a grudge against me for Isabella, and don't want to have me around." Nightwing said. "But I'm staying around." Philip scoffed as he studied the shot through the scope. 

"You don't understand at all how people like me do things in the military." Philip said. "Trust is a bond that was forged through time and effort. If you can simply distrust Elizabeth through hearing one woman's word alone, that only tells me that you can easily be swayed without any verification." he added. "Once the trust is broken, you can expect the trust to never be regained again or partially regained." Finishing his sentence he switched on the scope's infra-red capabilities his phone buzzed in the pocket of his pants, which was linked to another earbud he was wearing. 

"Philip?" it was his father-in-law, Liam. "Where are you now?" 

"Still hunting down one of the kidnappers who took my wife." he replied in his native tongue. 

"Don't kill them, whoever they are." he said. "I'm joining Woo Dae at his workplace." 

"Killing him would be too easy sir." Philip said. "I'll update you once we got the information from the kidnapper."