Russian Roulette

Chapter 47 : Rescue mission

Dubai (Years ago)

Sitting in his suite Bruce kept his eyes on the satellite scans while a dossier laid on the table. Snow isn't a presence here in this desert paradise despite it's currently the winter season. To himself, he knows that two of his childhood friends that didn't turn on him but Isa wasn't being straight with him as shown in her life. Min-ho, one of his closest childhood friends, has a pretty straight record. His father was planning to open a subsidiary in the States and his elder brother is coming over to run the said subsidiary, living with his brother in their penthouse located in downtown New York. Min-ho himself got a job in the NYPD as a detective in their major crimes unit after leaving his life as a university student behind upon graduation and obtaining citizenship here. 

Isabella, however, is a vastly different story. She hid most of her life from everyone except Min-ho, which whom she grew up with and entered the same schools together. She definitely shows several traits found in British ladies : polite smiles, proper manners, unmistakable British accent, and a hand fan held by ladies of the upper class. Her mother was the Ambassador of South Korea to the United Kingdom, which could be the reason that she behaves more like a British lady rather than an American socialite. The party held by the new British prime minister sees her welcomed by the British guests with ease like she herself is born in the United Kingdom rather than South Korea. His hand stopped on a photograph and picked it up. The photo shows Isabella sitting at an outdoor patio of a local restaurant in the UK with a man he doesn't recognize. She was holding a teacup with both hands while the man focused his gaze on the food. 

The satellite scan then focused on the deserts outside Dubai, on a small fortress. Putting down the photo Bruce looked closely at the satellite scans. The fortress is heavily guarded by snipers stationed on the watchtowers. Getting in definitely won't be easy. 

Two hours later he soared across the night skies in his own aircraft the Batwing. No news from either the FBI or the government as well regarding any ransom from the terrorists that kidnapped her. He doubted that the terrorists will go public on her identity as an FBI agent and would rather say that they have kidnapped an American citizen. He's seen this before multiple times. HIs gauntlet comm vibrated and Lucius Fox is speaking on the line. "You have been using this meeting as an excuse to work on a mission Mr. Wayne?" he asked.

"This is urgent." he said.

"If you consider saving an FBI agent hunting you down." he responded. 

"Let's just say that she could be a potential ally." Bruce responded. 

"If you tell her the truth." Fox added. "Which I think you likely won't be." activating the stealth mode of the aircraft Bruce dropped down silently on the roof of the first watchtower. Clasping a hand over his mouth and squeezing his neck he silently took down the sniper and hid the unconscious body in the guard outpost. Noticing the guard in the second watchtower preparing to turn to his direction Batman unfolded a batarang and threw it towards the guard, knocking him out without a sound. Sprinting on one of the four the walkway connecting the watchtowers he continued to take down the third guard but leaving the last one conscious to interrogate him.

"Where is the American?" he asked in Arabic. The man looked at him with fear and gulped. "Do not waste my time. You can still walk even though I drop you from here, even though the fall will break your legs." The man's eyes widened in shock again but squirmed to break free.

"Alright! Alright!" the man replied in Arabic. "The woman you're looking for is locked up in the room right there." he pointed to the east wing of the fortress, where a heavily fortified door is seen out of place. Dropping him Batman knocked him out with the butt of his rifle and looked around, activating his gauntlet to check for any threats. Most of the terrorists are asleep, knowing that they will kill Isabella if she escapes. Isa's a skilled agent, as he has witnessed in Paris and if he's right, she knows that it's futile to escape without getting shot by anyone of them. Taking out some smoke pellets he pinpoints the location of every resting place of the terrorists before throwing them out to knock the already asleep terrorists out. He then approached the cell door containing Isabella inside and picked the lock. The cell is lit by several torches and he found her unconscious on a pile of hay, handcuffed. 

"Pulse's weak." he muttered. "What did those animals did to you?" using his detective vision he noticed her hair and face were wet, signs of waterboarding. Dropping off a tracking device that he hides within the pile of hay he carried Isabella in his arms and exited the cell, leaving a friendly tip for the FBI. He transported her back to the States, knowing that it would cause an international incident if he dropped her off at the US embassy in Dubai.