A quiet night in the cave. I made sure to check each cell at Arkham myself using the CCTV override that Barbara wrote. A quiet night in the cave. A perfect night for digging up cold cases. The cases that Jim's old SO's couldn't handle- the cases Flass got paid off of.
I check the date; The 14th of January. Tim was supposed to be here at 8:30. I check the small clock at the lower left of my screen. 8:32.
"So this is it."
Tim is barely out of the elevator doors. He walks over to the computer. Slowly. There's something in his hand. A newspaper.
"What're you doing? Why aren't we going?" He says. He's wearing his black tracksuit pants and plain black shirt- ready to suit up. His dirty old sneakers are dragging mud all over the cave. I make a mental note of this.
"Why aren't we going to...?"
"The Humanitarian Awards."
Tim throws the paper onto my desk. On the front cover is a collage of the East Coasts most generous (a term I use lightly) billionaires. Alexander Luthor. Ferris Boyle. Roland Daggett. Bruce Wayne. The headline reads: 'Gotham Mayor Announces Tonight's ECH Award Nominees
"It's not tonight, Tim."
"Yes it is."
"I thought you were the smart one"
"What?"
"The paper, Tim. The date."
I push the paper back to him and he reads the date aloud.
"Fifteenth... what sort of paper releases a day early? Stupid tabloids"
"I think we should do some work on you're deduction. Or would you prefer a reading lesson?"
He stares at me.
"Deduction, then. I want you to know how to change your focus on an individual. I've configured the computer to run a simulation, based on two different events at two very different places. You're going to tell me how they're connected."
"Yeah, the convenience store in Bludhaven and the Laundromat by old GCPD building? Dick told me. He's briefed me on all his training."
"I've made modifications. The machine runs faster. Runs sims based on CCTV from all over Gotham. If you're going to take these tests I'd advise against cheating. It'll do you no good."
I lead him down to the sim by the combat platform. I hook him up and I climb into the one next to him. The sim consists of a vertical tomb-shaped console. The face is open, leaving the user exposed. I make sure to initiate the sensor security before turning the sim on. I pull the wielding-mask-shaped visor over my face.
"Sim initiating" the prerecorded voice of Lucius Fox sounds. The visor connects to the temple and the back of the neck, detecting and subsequently linking brain impulses to the simulation mainframe. From what I can see, I'm now standing on a rooftop, about a story high. Next to me is Tim, standing in his modified costume.
"I suppose I don't get to make a witty 'suit up' quip or whatever." He says, evaluating his suit. I silently gesture to the coffee shop across the road. He leaps to the edge of the roof and stares in at the twenty-something man paying for a drink.
"So what's the deal? We wait until he attacks someone then jump down and beat ass?"
"This sim is written for deduction training. You also may have just missed a vital detail. You're attention is key."
"Well, if it's a computer sim then just rewind it." He turns back to the shop, trying to see what's happening.
"The sim works in real time. If we can't work in that time frame then we're useless."
