From Gotham to Saint Louis

Dick, Jason, and Damian stepped out of their private jet.

"Well, Littlewing?  Does Saint Louis meet your standard?" Jason teased, climbing down the steps that led to the ground, while carrying Dick's laptop case.

"Tt.  Just because I made that comment in Miami does not mean I have a legitimate grading scale," Damian retorted, carrying a duffel bag; stuffed their crime-fighting tools.

"Don't you two start anything.  I heard enough of you two for the duration of the plane ride," Dick snapped.

"We weren't arguing on the plane," Jason said indignantly.

"'Grayson!  Todd stole my bo staff.  Dick, can you believe this kid?  He tried to behead me with it, and now he wants it back,'" Dick mimicked.

"Okay, maybe a little," Jason admitted.

A limousine pulled up to the landing strip, and the driver got out.

"Limousine rental for Jason Todd," called the driver.

"Hey, finally, you guys showed up on time," Jason said, flashing his ID.

Dick gave the driver directions to the hotel, and hopped in the backseat just in time to hear his brothers continue their argument.

At the hotel...

"This is Missouri Senator Gary Marshal," Dick stated, pointing to the picture of the Senator open on a PowerPoint document.  "He was assassinated earlier today, at the Four Seasons Hotel.  The only reason the Feds aren't all over the crime scene is Bruce is golfing buddies with the assistant director of the FBI.  He managed to delay the FBI's response time; allowing us to go there and pretend to be Feds.  We are going to conduct our own investigation, and try to identify the killer."

"Dick, what's up with our new approach on detective work?" Jason asked.

"What do you mean?" Dick asked.

"Role playing as FBI agents?  Aren't we more of the type who sneak into crime scenes, rather than flash FBI badges at cops?"

"Bruce thought it was pretty effective at the airport in Miami, and I had these fake badges from Tim's old pick pocketing days."

"Drake used to pick people's pockets?" Damian asked surprised.

"Well, yeah, that's kind of how Bruce met him," Dick replied.  "Anyways, I have to go rent us some suits, when I return you and I are going to visit the crime scene."

"What about me?" Damian asked incredulously.

"Do some research on possible motives someone might kill Marshal," Dick ordered, leaving the hotel.

"He was a senator!  I wonder why anyone would kill him," Damian mocked.

At the Four Seasons Hotel, a few hours later...

Dick and Jason entered the hotel; flashing their FBI badges to the officers surrounding the crime scene.

"Heard you guys might be coming over sometime today," an officer said lazily.  "The detective is inside.  The murder took place in room 237," the officer added, raising the tape for Dick and Jason.

Dick and Jason passed through the tape, and rode the elevator to the second floor.

"Hello, Special Agent Donovan, and this is my partner, Special Agent Williams," Dick introduced, approaching the lead detective.

"Detective Rogers," Detective Rogers greeted, shaking Dick's hand.  "Marshal's body was found back here," he stated, leading them to the bedroom.

The brothers found Senator Marshal's body sprawled on the ground; his blood stained the carpet's expensive fabric, and his hands in a classic V-shape.

"We left his body out here, in case you wanted to see it," Detective Rogers stated.  "One of our crime scene technicians found the bullet and traced it to a .308 Winchester.  It's American made, and is used by the military, so whoever fired the gun, is being financed by some serious people," Detective Rogers stated.

"Where was the gun fired from?"

"From the corporation building across the street.  Apparently, it was having 'electrical work' being done.  That said, we believe the assassin could've been posing as a contractor, and setup his sniper rifle up there.  The building has several vantage points, all which are being investigated by Missouri's Finest."

"Thank you, detective, but if it is all the same to you," Dick started, "we would like to conduct our own investigation here.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you need," Detective Rogers complied.  "Everyone, please give these gentlemen a few minutes to start their own investigation."

Everyone followed the detective's orders and shuffled out.

"What do you think we'll find?" Jason asked.

"Hopefully, something the police haven't found," Dick responded.

After a few minutes of clue searching, Dick turned up with something.

"Hey, Jason, I think I found something," Dick stated, pulling up the Senator Marshal's internet history.

"Dick, what're you doing on the guy's laptop?"

"Looking at this guy's past online activities," Dick answered.  "Anyways, Senator Marshal's e-mail history suggests he was trying to convince the Senate that they should pass a bill that would make it harder for narcotics smugglers, to get their drugs into the US," Dick stated.  "Maybe some cartel didn't like that, and put a contract on him," Dick speculated.

"Perhaps, but we should probably head back and match notes with what Damian has found out," Jason suggested.

"Sure," Dick agreed, packing up Marshal's laptop.  "Thank you, Detective Rogers, for your cooperation with our investigation," Dick called.

Detective Rogers reentered the room with the rest of his team.

"We'll be confiscating the laptop," Jason stated.

"Sure, sure.  Call us if you make any breakthroughs," Detective Rogers replied.

Jason nodded, and the brothers left the hotel; the laptop tucked under Dick's arm.

At the hotel...

"So, Littlewing, what did you find out about our killer?"

"According to the police's report on the homicide, Senator Marshal was killed by Army-grade weaponry.  Taking into account the sniper's position on the hotel, we know the sniper was prepared for Marshal's arrival to the hotel; perhaps, he had an informant in Marshal's security detail.  The key positioning, and Army-grade weaponry are things only an experienced assassin would be sure to have.  Leading me to believe this was a professional job," Damian concludes.

"Sniper, professional," Jason said, ticking off his fingers, "does this remind anyone else of Deadshot?"

"It is true Deadshot fits this description rather well, but I made contact with Waller under the guise of Batman.  Deadshot is still working with the Suicide Squad, and recently completed a job in North Korea; the assignment was completed only hours ago, which clears him."

"Judging by the President's unstable grounds with Russia, some people believe an elite Russian special forces sniper unit came and took care of Marshal," Dick added, swiping at his cell phone's screen.

"That's preposterous," Damian declared.

"Tell that to Facebook," Dick retorted, showing him his cell phone's screen.