We Fly

11. Bounty Hunters

-----Bruce POV

Alfred and Mallory walked through the door and I immediately walked out the room, Damian on my tail. Dick yelled something about not being involved and i ignored him. Me and Damian walked into the Batcave and parted ways.

Not speaking, I waited for less than a minute next to the Batmobile after I changed into my suit. Damian walked in now suited in his Robin outfit. Neither of us needed to speak as we climbed into the Batmobile.

We both know there is something Mallory is hding from us, fear when she first spotted me. As if I knew what all her secrets were. If she suspected I did, then I suppose it wouldn't be too hard to find out.

I am sure Mallory could have handled herself with any random theif on the way home, but since there is a tracker in all of my cars, I would rather know exactly how to follow her.

I pulled over at our usual spot, leaving the Batmobile in plain sight. Helps attract villains. They want to break the unsuspecting Batmobile and when they get there, shocker, it attacks on it's own. Literally. It uses a taser.

We jump grapple to the roof and start running. I know Damian doesn't know where the car is, so he is slightly behind, trying to follow me. My vision has a red dot and I run towards that. It's the car.

Soon enough, we arrive in the darkest part of Gotham. Downtown Gotham, right in the center of it too. As a matter of fact, the building Mallory was entering was exactly in the center, suspiciously so.

We climbed slowly down the fire escape ladders on the sides of the buildings, until we reached the same appartment Mallory was in. I scanned the floor for heat signatures.

Only one. Mallory in another room and no one else.

That means she lied. Her mother isn't sick, she might not even have a mother in Gotham.

"I know you ran a heat scan. What did you see?" Damian asks quietly from beside me.

"Only Mallory. Her mother isn't here." He curses softly in Arabic.

It's funny that he thinks I don't know what he's saying.

"Language." I say.

He rolls his eyes. "How do you know what I said?" He asks, not caring.

"Your tone. Now lower it more. We are going in." He stiffens and then nods.

I pull open the window and step into a cold room. There are a few chairs, some bookshelves. It looks like a study.

I'm about to open the door when I heard footsteps, very quiet, but still there. I hold up a hand and go slip into a chair. Damian stands behind me with his arms crossed.

Mallory walks through the door. She hasn't yet noticed us. She drops her booksack carelessly on the floor and walks over to one of the bookshelves. Mallory pulls up and leg and puts her knee on one of the shelves. She starts pulling books off the shelf and places them on her leg.

I frown as she reveals a hole. A mirror is behind it and points straight at us. Mallory stares at us in the mirror.

"Mallory Jones?" I ask.

She doesn't turn towards us, just watches through the mirror.

"Yes?"

"We need to speak to your mother." She cracks a smile and nods.

"Of course you are. You obviously did your research didn't you? Letting you know that my mother is dead. Has been, since I was six." She finally turns and reveals the bata rang she is holding.