Bruce Wayne

Chapter 21: A Covert Visit

Alfred was waiting for Bruce when he climbed back up from the ocean.

"I'll have the water turned back on by the end of today," Alfred promised. "Did you have a good swim, Sir?"

"Thanks, Alfred," Bruce said, kneeling down and pulling up the rope he'd used to scale the cliff. "I found a massive cave down there. Most of the space under Wayne Manor must be honeycombed with passages. We could put them to good use for hiding our files and the evidence on criminals we're investigating."

"I picked up the supplies you requested," Alfred informed him. "They're waiting back at the house."

"Good," Bruce responded. "Let's get to work."

                                                                                             ***

Bruce entered the dining room ahead of Alfred, looking over the things his butler had purchased and spread out on the table. A tan jumpsuit and bright orange vest of a communication technician were folded neatly near the head of the table, and Bruce picked them up for closer inspection. Bought from a costume shop, it wasn't the best disguise in the world, but it would do.

Setting the costume back down, Bruce examined the tools in the battered and worn toolbox. The screwdrivers and wrenches seemed to have as many dents and scratches as the container holding them.

"I found the toolbox second hand, but the tools I had to purchase new," Alfred explained.

"How did you get them to look old?" Bruce asked. He never would have guessed the tools hadn't seen years of use.

"I put them in the toolbox with a few handfuls of rocks and shook it thoroughly," Alfred explained. "Any worker with all new tools would draw suspicion, especially in a building full of police officers."

"Good thinking," Bruce commended. Setting down the tools, he checked the boxes of electronic equipment. "What's with all the parts? We're only doing a simple splice into their lines with an interceptor and transmitter."

"High end surveillance equipment is specialized and traceable, Master Bruce," Alfred explained from his experience as a British secret agent. "The only way to prevent being detected if the device were ever to be found is to use general parts capable of being produced and sold anywhere. If we assemble the components ourselves, there will be no manufacturing numbers for investigators to follow."

"It'll take longer to get our gear ready, but it does seem to be the best way," Bruce agreed, taking a seat at the table.

Alfred removed his suit jacket, hanging it on the back of his chair before unbuttoning his cuffs and rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt. They both put on gloves to prevent leaving fingerprints on the components they'd be assembling. Sitting down at the table with Bruce, Alfred opened the first box of electronics, spilling out its contents in a pile.

                                                                                                ***

As the hours passed, Alfred combined and soldered together circuits and small wires into a complex device. Bruce watched every step of the assembly process, taking mental notes.

"Did you do much of this kind of work for British Intelligence?" Bruce asked.

"Oh yes," Alfred confirmed. "Surveillance was very important to finding out what nefarious plots were being hatched by either criminals or enemy agents. The key to keeping a country safe is to know more than those opposing you. Getting that information can sometimes be quite the challenge. Intercepting messages, overhearing conversations, and the occasional interrogation were required at different times to do our job. Even with everything, we didn't always succeed, people still died, and criminals still escaped our reach. It happens. I had done well for my country, but the memories of all the times it went wrong proved enough to motivate my departure. You must understand, Master Bruce, bad memories can linger, and if they accumulate too much, they can smother the good ones. When it gets near that point, it's time to call it a career and find something better while you still can."