Friends with the Enemy

17) Pinky Promise

^hahaha

"Oof!" The man grunted as he fell the ground harshly. He attempted to push himself up again, but a foot pressed his face against the asphalt, causing him to wince in pain and squirm. "Let go of me, you bastard! Arg!"

"Quiet." Batman demanded with a mutter as he snatched the bag of stolen items away from the crook. He effortlessly lifted the criminal by the back of his shirt and shoved him against the wall.

"Where are the rest of the jewels?" He interrogated.

The man shook his head determinedly. "I ain't sayin' nothin'!"

Batman grasped onto the criminal's arm and roughly pulled it upwards, earning a sharp hiss. Batman leaned towards his hear while forcing the man's limb into an unnatural position and whispered, "If you still want an arm in the next five minutes, tell me where the rest of the valuables are."

The man panicked. "O-okay, okay! I'll tell you! Agh, j-just stop!" Batman stopped but kept his grip just as strong. "After we got outta the jewelry store, my pals and I decided to split up, 'cause we already guessed that someone would be followin' us. They headed to some harbor while we was gonna find a taxi or sumn'."

We? That means someone else is he-

"Hurry!" The man shouted. Batman turned behind him but was too late as he was shot twice in the thigh. He cried out in pain and brought a hand to the wound to prevent more blood loss. The men used this opportunity to run. Worse, they took the bag of stolen jewelry with them.

Batman tried to sprint after them but gave up after he accepted the fact that he was too injured to do so. He scolded himself. How could he be so careless? It was strange, he'd normally react much sooner. Heck, he'd normally suspect and sense another person in the area. So why hadn't he? Perhaps he was simply out of it today.

At least I know where the other men went. I'll head to a harbor as soon as I can.

There was no use fretting about it now, he needed to patch this wound.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Selina parked the car and leaned back into the driver's seat. She looked at Dick through the window. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"

Dick shook his head. "I don't think he- uh- likes you..." he explained awkwardly.

Selina smirked and gave a small exhale through her nose. "Well, I don't like him either, so I guess we're even. Just be quick, alright? I don't want you there any longer than necessary."

Dick would be lying if he said he weren't slightly upset by these statements. Selina and Oswald were the two closest people to him that were alive. He wanted them to get along. He knew this was unlikely, though, but he could dream.

"Okay. See you in a few then." He said with a small wave as he started walking towards The Iceberg Lounge.

It was the same as usual. There were people eating, drinking, talking, and watching the entertainers on stage. There were less people than usual, probably because it was early. Why was the club open so early in the day? That's weird.

Dick spotted Oswald's special chair and grinned when he saw the man himself sitting in it. He was especially glad that he was not talking to someone but rather munching on a grape as he observed a performer. Dick didn't want to interrupt a conversation as he always had on previous occasions.