Trapped : The Island of Torment

Chapter 11 : Without Answers?

The autumn wind continued to blow as Philip observed through the rifle scope attached to the sniper rifle. He recalled the lessons his commander used to give him while training to be an army sniper. "Concentrate is key soldiers." said the commander as he and his fellow friends were lying prone to study their shots before firing at the dummy targets. "Ready, fire!" bullets flew across the training range that day, hitting the dummy targets simultaneously. "And do not blink on volition men, you can blink but at your own risk in the possibility of losing the target." 

"I will not sir." Philip said to himself. He was well aware that he was not the only army sniper in the family, but the former army sniper, Candice and Isabella's uncle Xavier had not been active since his retirement and picked up a scalpel as the leading trauma surgeon at John Hopkins. Xavier had also gone through several incidents that no physician nor surgeon had wanted to face: operating on a loved one, as he had to save his niece when she was shot by the woman who had been trying to kill her due to jealousy over her close friendship with Bruce. 

Philip did have grievances to air at Bruce after hearing news about the crash that nearly killed Isabella. She was trying her best to distance herself from Bruce but was targetted despite the effort, even though it was Bruce, who was showing an interest in Isabella after insisting that he had already ended his relationship with Selina Kyle. His wife was frustrated upon hearing the story that is the messy love life of her cousin's future husband at that time. Still, she knows she can do nothing as it is Isabella's private matter. She insisted that it be kept private to avoid angering their family ever further by bringing up the issue constantly. 

Philip turned on the infrared vision of the rifle scope and watched. "You have multiple assassins guarding the foyer." he reported. 

"You got it." came Bruce's, or rather, Batman's voice. When Isabella first brought Bruce home to be introduced to the family, Philip received him in a frosty manner. During the first meeting, however, Philip did sense the feelings of love blossoming between them but was not convinced that they would have a long-term relationship due to his history with Selina Kyle. Two years into their romance however, Isabella shared the news with her grandparents that she is now engaged to Bruce, him having proposed to her a day before. The marriage did last, and Bruce had fully redeemed himself by committing to Isabella after making the decent choice to leave the messy relationship, which was, from his point of view, a messy and unhealthy one, filled with countless betrayals and various aspects which were questionable. 

Various red dots moved as Batman engaged the assassins stationed in the foyer. It didn't take long for someone renowned for being one of the best fighters there is as the assassins lay on the ground unconscious. With the threat dealt with Philip trained his sniper rifle at the same window Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow had broken into via a zipline. He watched as Green Arrow engaged with the man he called Malcolm Merlyn, in combat. Even without his weapons Malcolm Merlyn proved himself to be formidable as well, but he forgot that Batman was also nearby. He was holding a knife against Green Arrow's neck when Batman struck him from behind, bringing his fist down against the man's abdomen and causing him to double over in pain. 

Batman had a boot on the man's chest while Green Arrow aimed his bow and arrow at him. Philip watched the encounter unfold through the rifle scope while Nightwing on the other hand, had to rely on the pair of military-grade binoculars Philip was reluctant to loan him. He refused to even speak to the man, only doing so reluctantly where it is unavoidable. By believing in the lies designed to discredit Isabella her family showed deep disappointment towards Bruce's family by distancing themselves from them, only reserving the respect towards those who did not buy into the lie. 

Philip focused the scope on the lips of Malcolm Merlyn as it moved to spill out answers in response to the questions either Batman or Green Arrow posed. Batman's facial expressions remain stoic, but Philip can sense something is wrong. "Something's wrong." Philip murmured, packing the sniper rifle and putting it into the duffel bag. 

"We're done?" Nightwing asked, seeing Philip gathering his equipment. 

"Return the binoculars." Philip said, his voice cold. "I won't ask again." 

"Was it so hard for you to say something nice for once?" Philip walked calmly towards him, and later on Nightwing found himself bleeding from the nose as Philip delivered a hard blow twisting his arm and hitting him hard against the brick wall of the structure housing the connecting staircase to the rooftop. 

"You have never regained our trust." Philip snarled. "Do this again, and I'll make sure that you will be in a hospital's intensive care unit." He lets go of Nightwing, just as Batman and Green Arrow reach the rooftop with a handcuffed Malcolm Merlyn as sirens converge upon the location where the penthouse is. Batman's jaw tensed when he saw Nightwing having a nosebleed but said nothing. 

"We'll take Malcolm Merlyn to the police below." Green Arrow said. 

Later

"Why did you do that?" asked Batman, now unmasked as Bruce Wayne. The four of them have returned to Green Arrow's underground bunker. "Isabella didn't want this." 

"It's not about Isabella Bruce." Philip said. "I know that you are trying to protect your son, but we're not taking this insult towards Isabella lying down." 

"I know it is true but-"

"What?" Philip demanded. "Isabella had already paid her due before the two of you began a romance, but why does she have to pay more because of your actions?" 

"I..."

"Bruce," Philip began, a hand on his face. "We know that you love Isabella. But is it fair at all, to let your adopted children to be in close contact with a criminal that has a manipulative streak? Until the point that she manipulated them into distrusting Isabella in the blink of an eye?" 

"She wasn't invited."

"We know that." Philip said. "But the damage has been done, you can't reverse it. Isabella's trust in your adopted children has been shaken to the core." 

"Isabella has made her decision, to leave her role in the family behind." Bruce said. "And I acknowledge that my past relationship with Selina had long-lasting repercussions." 

"I know how deeply you loved Isabella, and this is a private matter, so I will stop here." Philip said. He then walked away from Bruce, to join Green Arrow, also unmasked as Oliver Queen by the computer. Bruce closed his eyes, as the happy memories he had with Isabella and their children came flooding in his mind. He had sworn upon his parents' grave that he would not divorce Isabella, and would spend the rest of their lives together until death, and he wasn't going to break this promise at all. Isabella had indeed paid the price when he developed feelings for her after ending his relationship with Selina, and Bruce was furious when he discovered what had happened at the party while he was away on a mission.

He too needed to reevaluate the trust he placed in his adopted children following the revelation, which was a lapse in their judgement. He and Isabella are truly in love, and Bruce knows that no one can separate them, not even a statement that he knows that has never been true, hence the lie.