The Ties That Bind Us

CHAPTER 14: Showdown

[TW]: Graphic depictions of violence. Read at your own risk.

———

Maybe, just maybe, if she hadn't hit rock bottom all those years ago, she wouldn't be in that situation. All those people wouldn't be in danger. Many would still be alive. In a way, she'd once held in her hands the future of the city she despised, and that despised her, even if she didn't know it at the time; she'd been too good at her job for her own sake.

She wouldn't be in that tower. The Joker would've been just another criminal playing dress-up. Batman wouldn't have disappeared for almost a decade, and Bruce would've probably married Rachel Dawes, and maybe even had a couple of kids.

She wouldn't have met him either, but that would've been fine, as long as he was fine.

———

Bruce drove all night, knowing he'd never be able to be patient enough to get on a flight, even if it'd take him less time to get there. He'd been driving for almost ten hours, but showed no signs that he'd stop soon. His eyes were focused on the way, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly they'd cramp once in a while. He couldn't afford to think about anything other than the road ahead of him.

Alfred had taken the Wayne jet and was flying it to a smaller, local airport around Paris, where he'd meet Bruce. Blake was in the back, studying sketches of the Eiffel Tower structure. He'd never even left the country, and there he was, flying to another continent with less than a 24-hour notice, to face Gotham's most feared criminal.

As soon as they landed, there was a black Mercedes waiting for them by the airstrips. There were no exchange of pleasantries when they entered the car and found Bruce behind the wheel. They both exchanged looks, probably thinking about the same thing: the dark circles under Bruce's eyes and his excessively fast driving. But they didn't say a word, fearing he'd just freeze them out or disintegrate them with his cold furious gaze.

Bruce was mad at both of them, but he had no time to deal with those feelings. It helped that they kept silent for the rest of the trip to the Wayne penthouse in the Parisian city centre. The city looked apocalyptic, showing no signs of the usual romantic dreamy setting. Everyone on the streets had terrified expressions, and countless police cars and ambulances rushed by them every minute or so.

They settled themselves in the giant apartment and Bruce started voicing orders around, telling them to look into this or that; none of them argued, following his instructions without questioning.

Bruce had been studying his former and long worn uniform, fear and doubt creeping into his mind, when his phone rang in his pocket. It'd been Miss Dupont, telling him they'd found someone had been infiltrated in their squad and had been caught trying to help Deadshot escape. None of that had made any sense until she told him Lawton had let out he'd just been hired to show up in Paris, stay there and wait for further instructions, which never came.

When Bruce brought that information to the table, Alfred explained how the Joker had escaped. He told him about Dr. Harleen Quinzel, the psychiatrist who'd been manipulated and fallen in love with the clown, who helped him get away from there and had been one of the masterminds behind his plans ever since. Blake let him in on all the robberies he'd been pulling around Gotham, and all the mobs he'd been killing off.

Bruce concluded that the whole Deadshot mission had only been a setup to bring Selina into town. Why, he didn't know. But he was sure that somehow, and for some reason, the Joker had hired him to play bait while he kept his actual plans running from behind the curtains.

Their plan was taking shape after three days of studying and analyzing every possible entry and exit that did not involve having to run it by the cops first. They also needed to take into account that there had been a bomb threat in case anyone tried to interfere, so on top of being smart and quick, they also needed to be discreet and cautious. They had calculated about a hundred people had been taken hostages, but agreed that Selina was probably not being held alongside them. That meant they were possibly keeping her separate, on the top floor, which presented harder access and lower capacity, while the others were scattered through the first and second floor.