Riddle Room *completed*

Chapter Twenty

The drive to Gotham mall is shorter than I expected since we live a considerable distance away but the plans of our upcoming crime made it seem much shorter. 'Okay you ready?' Edward asks as our car pulls into the loading bay at the back of the mall. 'Yeah but can we go over the plan once more?' I ask. He smiles, pulling the key out of the ignition. 'Sure. So when we first get inside we secure the facility by sending the men we hired to guard the doors. While they do that I draw attention to myself by firing the gun and move the hostages into the food court.' 'While you do that I go to the bank and take 6 men and we clean it out.' I grin. 'Correct and I choose three subjects out of the crowd.' Edward reminds. The whole point of the hostage situation is to get the subjects, not the money.

We hop out of the vehicle and a truck pulls in next to us. 'Mr Edward Nigma?' The truck driver asks, rolling his window down. 'Ah Don McAdams are you and your men ready?' Edward asks. The truck driver opens his door and climbs down the little ladder. He is quite tall, possibly 6ft with muscles clearly visible. Despite the cold weather he is only wearing a dirty white singlet and black cargo pants with matching shoes. Stubble coats the bottom half of his face and his hair is short and black. 'Payment first.' He gruffly commands. 'If this goes to plan, then yes you will be payed but for the time being no one is getting payed.' Edward protests. He gives Edward a coy smile and myself a wink before making a whistle.

The tarp that covers the container of the truck is pulled back and at least 30 built up men with hockey masks and machine guns hop out. They all look like the usual folk that give the slums of Gotham the bad name. 'Good then we are all sorted.' Edward announces, picking up his cane. He gives me a kiss on the cheek before heading through the back doors. Don McAdams follows and so do his men. My job is to get the money so I go into one of the garages that along with the rest of the maintenance, have been deserted. Edward hacked into the system and delayed all shifts an hour back so we will have plenty of time to get in and out.

The lightbulb flickers on and off, causing it hard to see anything. So I activate the night vision on my mask and everything is now in shades of green. About 10 metres up is an air vent but it has a metal grating covering it. Just great, I can't grapple onto anything nearby it so I can pull it off since the wall is smooth with no dents. My earpiece gives a few beeps before Edward's voice radios through. 'Shadow are you in yet?' He asks. In the background I can hear screams and gunshots. 'No they have put a metal covering over the vent!' I grumble. 'Can you not reach it?' He nags. More gunshots follow. 'No! It's nearly 10 metres up a flat wall.' I snap. 'Find another way in then! We don't have much time before the bat gets here.' The call ends or drops. I have no clue but I have to find a way in.

Maybe I can pull it off. I look down at my utility belt; grappling hook, gun, knife, smoke bomb, laser, electronic surge gun. None that can aid me in this situation. Unless I use the grappling hook to pull it off. It's worth a try. I fire it and release a breath I was holding. It takes all my strength but the grate flies off and lands a few feet away from me. I retract the gun then re-fire it at the vent. I feel myself be lifted in the air and my hand grip the edge of the vent. I hoist myself into the vent and attack my grappling hook to back onto my belt. The vent is quite large so I can travel quickly into the bank using the map I had downloaded into my mask hours before. It creates a 3D holographic image that only I can see through the lenses.

The men are already waiting at the bank when I drop down from the air vent. 'Riddler I'm in.' I voice through over the earpiece. 'Excellent I have already found two of my subjects now I need one more. Call back when you have the cash.' The line cuts and I make myself known to the men standing at the entry point to the bank. 'Okay boys which one of you have the mines?' I announce to the awaiting men. They turn around and see me approaching. A dark skinned one speaks up, 'I do, which vault is it?' 'Vault 23.' I reply entering the bank and smashing the glass to the counter where the bank attendees work. I hop through and turn the x-Ray filter on my mask on. The men aren't men anymore but rather skeletons but the locks and security wires are also visible.

I continue walking to the metal door that has a big lock on it with the label vaults. 'Do I set the explosives for this one?' The dark skin man asks, holding up a metal case full of tiny explosives. 'No, this is the door that leads to the vaults, it's easier to just break the lock.' I order. I pull the laser from my utility belt and press down the correct amount of pressure. A thick neon red line begins to cut the door open and within 10 seconds there is a hand sized hole where the lock used to be. I kick the door open and inside are rows upon rows of heavy bolted doors. 'We need number 23!' I yell to my 'team' and they scatter, searching for the correct number. I stand by and watch until someone around 10 rows down yells out. 'Vault 23 is here!' I jog over along with the rest of them. The dark skinned man opens the case and pulls out 6 bombs and attaches them to the door. 'Everyone back up.' I command walking backwards to a safe distance.

'On your command.' The dark skinned man calls, holding up a button. 'Detonate!' I yell. I am thrown back to the wall, knocking the wind out of me. My vision is blurred and my ears are ringing. I stagger to my feet to see the men all enter the vault and bring out cases of money. I enter myself, rubble is everywhere and the walls are charred black. Tiny flames litter the ground and I make a dash for the middle pillar. The reason we chose this particular vault was because inside is an expensive piece of technology I have been dying to get my hands on, a line launcher. This vault belongs to the head of WTE, weaponry technician enterprise, one of the latest weaponry manufacturers on the market. This particular grappling hook is pockets sized, only 4 by 6 cm long and will fit perfectly into my utility belt. Batman won't be the only one with a line launcher now.

I grab the launcher and place it in one of the spare spaces on my belt and I run out where the men are regrouping. 'Lets go!' I yell before running out of the bank. I grab a gun from my belt and have it ready in one hand, a knife in the other. The men aren't nearly as fast as I am and I make it to where the hostages are all cowering in the centre. A few lie dead with pools of blood around them. The footsteps of the guards are marked on the floor in blood, mixed with grime from outside. Guards circle the hostages like hungry sharks and in the middle of them all is Edward and Don. Next to Edward are two women and a man, all bound by the feet and hands with a strip of cloth tied around their mouth. 'You didn't radio me!' Edward snaps, walking forward, stepping over the dead, the alive move out of his way. 'I'm sorry but now is not the time we must get going.' I cry. I don't want to get thrown in Arkham again if batman or his bird show up.

'Agreed, men grab the subjects we shall see you soon!' Edward laughs, grabbing my arm and running to the back exit. We sprint until we reach our car, in fear that Batman might make an appearance anytime soon. I jump in my seat as Edward does in his and the engine roars to life.

*
'I thought you didn't get involved in the action.' I tease as we pull into a warehouse where we are meeting the men. 'There's a first to everything plus observing computer screens gets quite boring.' Ed hums. I roll my eyes as I open my door and hop out. 'So actionman how many have you killed today?' I emphasise the word action. 'None.' Edward chirps. 'As in zero?' I cry. 'As in zero point zero recurring.' He laughs. 'Wow.....that's a new record.' I smile now my laughter dying down. 'You're funny.' Edward muses. He walks over to me and wraps his arms around me. 'I know.' I grin.

We stop walking and face each other. Edward looks a bit geekiest in his attire but it suits him and makes him seem even more attractive. He bends down so our foreheads are touching. 'I am so lucky to have you.' Edward whispers, his breathe hitting my cheek. 'No I'm lucky to have you.' I whisper back. He smiles and his eyes flicker between mine and my lips. Realising what he wants and what I want to I fill in the gap and our lips touch. The kiss is gentle and sweet, causing butterflies to erupt in my tummy. As we pull apart I study his face once more before nuzzling my head into the crook of his neck. He does the same to me and we stand there hugging like any normal couple. Except we aren't the everyday normal couple we are so much more.

*SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING I WILL-NEXT CHAPTER UP SOON :D*