Crossfire Part 2

"Tragic news last night, during Casey's Kane speech to uphold his agreement with the late Senator Sarchino, he was attacked by an unknown shooter. Details are scarce as of now due to the quick efforts of C-Sec and rumors that the Batman was on scene. What we do know that Mr. Kane is alive, but in serious condition. He is currently being treated for his wounds. We will continue this story and bring you-"

The news vid cut out when a bullet shattered the screen. The thugs watching it all turned around and saw the sniper their boss had hired to kill Casey Kane standing with a pistol still pointed towards them.

"Looks like you finally lost your edge, 'Deadshot'" laughed one of the human thugs, nudging the salarian standing next to him, who also started to laugh. The turian shooter tilted his head slightly, allowing his polished chrome helmet to shimmer in the light. No longer wearing the C-Sec disguise, he wore a suit that was silver and red appearing in plates of thin and flexible armor. Over his right eye was an enhanced lense that glowed red as it focused and highlighted everything it saw. Attached to the shooter's back was a custom built sniper rifle with another pistol ready at his hip. His belt was covered in tactical pouches, filled with additional ammunition and other tools he needed to complete his missions.

With his pistol still raised, the mercenary the thugs referred to as Deadshot fired off two rounds concurrently while barely moving the sidearm. The salarian had stopped laughing when he saw the human beside him had fallen to his knees, screaming in pain. Blood was spewing out of both of the human's hands, out of a single hole that was seared in each of them. The precision was perfect as the human continued to cry out in agony.

The shooter then focused on the salarian, who quickly put his hands up in surrender. Satisfied the turian lowered his weapon and placed it in a holster on his side. He then turned around and strode through the crowd of stunned thugs behind him. None of them said a word as he walked through them to the other side of the warehouse and up metal stairs leading to an upper level. Making his way to the makeshift hangar, a call came in through his helmet. Tapping the side of the helmet, he accepted the call after verifying who it was.

"Was that necessary?" said the cool tone on the other end.

"He'll live, but Kane won't, I'll make sure of it" replied the turian sniper as he neared his jet black sky car, fully loaded inside and out.

"I'm paying you enough that it should have been done the first time, your reputation is at stake Deadshot" the voice emphasized the alias of the sniper as the line went dead. Deadshot curled his three fingered hand into a strong fist as he entered his vehicle. No one had ever survived any of his previous hits, every one of them have been dead on site.

How did Kane survive? Did I miss his vital organs? No, he quickly dismissed those thoughts, the shot was perfect, he saw it in his scope; the blood showed that the shot hit directly above the sternum, it would have ruptured his heart and dislodged his spinal cord in the process. There is no way he survived, unless they were circumstances that he did not see. Shielding or armor that redirected the bullet, perhaps?

The turian shook his head, trying to shake the debilitating thoughts. He punched into the computer onboard the skycar for possible locations for the celebrity to be at while healing. Anger filled his head and he tried to focus. After I shot, I swear something threw me down through that vent… if it wasn't for Batman I could have confirmed the kill and be done with this. The computer showed a location after tracing a message from C-Sec about a security detail on Kane at Huerta Memorial, one of the more prominent medical facilities on the Presidium. He let the skycar pilot itself to the location as he prepped his weapons and armor, ready to finish the job.

He landed in the designated area for skycars, got out and went to the back of his vehicle. A storage area opened revealing an arsenal of weapons and equipment. He thought to himself for a second about his approach and opted that this time he needed to be close and make sure the target died. And in order to do that he needed to blend in.

Deadshot then removed his helmet, disengaging the seals and lifting it off his head. He rarely went without his helmet, not because of the large scar over his right eye, but most of his social interaction dealt with a necessity for secrecy. He did not have the usual markings of a turian, symbolizing he had given up turian tradition and was looked down upon among his brethren.

The sharpshooter unfolded a doctor's uniform he kept in his storage, along with other disguises, to help him infiltrate different places for his assassinations. His camouflage now complete, he ensured his omni-tool was set to bypass medical clearances for Huerta, which he had acquired in previous missions and finally checked over his custom designed wrist mounted gun gauntlets. They were able to pass through any detector and until activated, they looked like ordinary bracelets.

Satisfied, he started his way to the hospital main entrance. As he entered the privately run hospital, he knew he was walking into a trap; one set by either C-Sec or Batman, but it did not matter. No agency had his face on record, not even Batman. The plan was to waltz into the hospital, find Kane, slip the security guarding him, and eliminate him. Then when Batman inevitably showed up, he would kill him as well, completing both the contracts set up for him through the anonymous caller.

Now it wasn't just for the money, it was personal. Kane had somehow lived from the attack and Batman exposed and humiliated him. Deadshot knew the Bat was waiting somewhere inside for him, but he would have the element of surprise and by the time everyone figures out what is happening, it'll be too late.

The assassin strode the main lobby of the hospital without anyone giving him a second glance. While in the elevator, he hacked the hospital records and found where Kane was being treated. He made his way to the fourth level and as he entered the doctor's area he was stopped by C-Sec. Deadshot presented his falsified identification and walked past the two armed men. As he passed other doctors and nurses he could see a heavy security presence out the windows of the hospital.

The turian smiled as he saw a salarian doctor walk out of a patient's room marked 'Kane' and make his way to the lab. The assassin approached the sliding doors and slipped through, locking them behind him. He could see a medical bed in the center of the room with Kane resting on his side, his back facing the turian. Keeping the façade as doctor as long as possible, Deadshot cautiously neared the medical bed and cleared his throat.

"Mr. Kane?" asked the disguised turian in his best sympathetic tone.

"Yes?" replied the relaxing humanitarian. Before the human could roll over, Deadshot raised his right arm and pointed the activated twin barreled weapon at the wounded man's head. Fingers ready on the palm sensitive trigger, the turian did not hesitate to fire and send two synchronized rounds directly to the man's temple. The shots echoed in the hospital room and were followed by a confused gasp.

The turian stood in temporary disbelief as the head wound showed no blood, only sparks; a decoy. He cursed himself; he was thoughtless and frantic to take the shot. Before the assassin could even lower his wrist and start an escape two armored hands grabbed him and effortlessly threw him into the heavy plated window across the med room.

In an instant, the surprised turian had shattered through the thick glass and plunged down over fifty feet into the Presidium lake below. During the fall he had mistakenly disengaged his custom weapon and now struggled to reach the surface of the water. Deadshot flailed as he swam as best he could to the artificial shore when in the corner of his eye he saw a shadow fly over top of him.

He did not stop struggling to swim as he tried to peer into the darkness of the Presidium during the night hours, but could see nothing. The veteran assassin reached the metal shore and flopped his arms up it, catching his breath. Barely having inhaled, the same two gauntleted arms grabbed him once more and lifted him out of the water in one clean motion.

Hoisted over the water, Deadshot writhed to get free when his eyes connected with a terrifying, piercing gaze. They belonged to a dark silhouette that seemed to stare into the hired gun's soul while tightening its grip on him.

"Batman" spat the turian as he still fought to get free of the vigilante's grasp. Without warning the Dark Knight slammed his reinforced helm into the alien's forehead, twisted and hurled him aside.

"Deadshot" retorted Batman as he faced the assassin who was rolling on the floor. The Great Detective knew that the assassin would not be able to turn away from finishing his mission; it was not in his nature. After first hearing of the precise attacks, Kane and Alfred both tirelessly researched and cross-referenced the shooter's profile against known records and criminal databases. Just after the attempt on Kane's life at the charity event, he had a single alias come up; Deadshot.

All that was known about the assassin was that he was most likely turian, ex-military, and free lanced his skills to the highest bidder. From all previous attacks that had been hypothesized to have been his doing, Deadshot enjoyed a challenge; never missing a target in spite of great obstacles. Batman knew that if he could make the turian think he failed for the first time in his criminal career, it would then force him to drop his 'method of operation' and have him attack up close, recklessly.

The turian quickly rolled to his feet and pointed his wrists towards Batman, activating the custom weapons mounted on them. Reacting instantly, Batman dove forward while throwing a pair of batarangs from his own gauntlets. The sharpened blades streaked through the air and were expertly shot down from the twin fire from Deadshot's weapons. Batman closed the gap between them in the time it took the turian to shoot the batarangs and planted his plated shoulder into Deadshot's chest, sending him falling back.

Batman stood upright and looked down at the turian while C-Sec shown several flood lights from their gunships that now surrounded them. Deadshot seemed defeated as he glanced at the hovering gunships. Batman took a step forward before the turian raised his arms and once more let out a spray of gunfire in a large semi-circle in front of him.

Reacting to the barrage, Batman raised his cape and noticed Deadshot was not aiming for him as the gunfire went over his head. He tilted his head to take a quick glance behind him and saw that Deadshot proficiently shot out each and every light source that was shining down on them. The area went dark and as Batman's lenses adjusted to the lack of light, he could see that the turian had also struck the underside of several of the gunships; disrupting their fuel lines.

Flames began to light up the darkness as the gunships affected began to descend. Batman began to calculate how quickly he could get to each of the gunships to rescue the passengers when his comm chimed.

"Batman, get the shooter, we'll take care of this!" yelled Bailey. Batman had already identified which gunship the Captain was in and that he was safe. The ships were only thirty to forty feet over the Presidium Lake and safe landings were possible. Weighing his options, Batman glanced back to Deadshot's last location and saw that he was gone.

"Sir, Captain Bailey is correct, emergency rescuers are already on the way and I detect no casualties. Deadshot cannot have gotten far" Alfred said reassuring what Batman was already thinking as he ignited the boosters under his boots and took to the air.

With his cape extended out into makeshift wings, Batman soared over the Presidium Commons, with his lenses searching for any motion. C-Sec had cleared the area of any civilians before waiting for Batman's ploy at the hospital, so anyone out moving now was out of bounds. His radar briefly pinged as he focused on someone moving on foot to one of the café districts of the Presidium Commons. Batman maneuvered himself downward and rolled as he landed into a crouch.

Searching through the heavily obstructed area with his echolocator, he pinpointed someone moving slowly, just beyond a small café in front him. Batman moved with the shadows as he crept closer to the turian's rising heartbeat that he monitored with the echolocator. Batman crouched behind a counter and could see Deadshot scanning the area around him, guns ready. He was also talking to someone on his comm.

Before making his move, Batman initiated a quick hack into the signal and was only able to catch the end of the conversation:

"No I got what I needed on the Presidium, you are on your own; your contract was to get rid of Kane, which you failed at. I told you our other deal was for you to kill the Bat, but I just needed you to stall him, which you did accomplish. So I leave you with this, when C-Sec or the Bat inevitably questions you, you can honestly say you were in it for the money." The voice was cold and showed no emotion.

"You promised me a position when this was over!" spat Deadshot, trying to keep his voice down.

"I lied"

The comm then went dead as the mysterious voice cancelled the transmission. Deadshot growled and then turned his back to Batman's location, sweeping his weapons, looking for any movement.

"Come on out Batman!" yelled Deadshot, clearly disgruntled over the message. Batman took the opportunity and swiftly emerged from the shadows. He moved carefully to Deadshot, who at the last moment before Batman could attack, turned around. Reacting as fast as he could, Deadshot whipped around his wrists to take aim at his target, but Batman was quicker.

In one swift motion Batman brought his hands between Deadshot's, grabbing onto both the mounted guns and twisting his own arms outwards, cracking both the turian's wrists in the process. Still holding onto the weapons, Batman raised his right leg and planted it directly into Deadshot's chest, driving him backwards and detaching the mounted weapons simultaneously.

Deadshot gritted in pain as he fell to the ground, holding his broken wrists in the air. Batman stood over him, while clutching the small wrist weapons. Batman looked up as a C-Sec gunship hovered over top them both with officers propelling down.

Bailey was one of the first ones on the ground as Batman took one last glance down at Deadshot and then took off into the skyline, cape extended. Other officers were already restraining Deadshot as he howled in pain due to the placement of the cuffs on him. Bailey looked to where Batman flew to and saw that he was already gone as he cleared his throat and returned to the others.

Batman had reached the Batwing that hovered atop one of the bridges in the Presidium Commons. He sighed as he looked at the artificial skyline that was starting to project a new morning. As he approached the vehicle, the canopy opened and just before he entered something caught his eye. Sitting on the left wing of the craft was a high velocity sniper round with a small card lying up against it.

First he picked up the card and noted the red color with a distinct yellow lightning bolt on the front and on the back a message that said 'If you need anything else, let me know'. Then Batman examined the hefty bullet, which didn't even have a scratch on it, as if it was plucked right out of the air.

"He's making business cards now" thought the Dark Knight as he tossed the card away but pocketed the bullet on his belt. He stepped into the seat of the Batwing as the canopy sealed and the systems started powering up.

"Alfred, set course for the cave and begin analyzing the call Deadshot made just before being apprehended"

"Of course Sir, shall I prepare a meal as well?"

"Sure" wearily stated Batman as he sat back in the padded seat.

Fifteen minutes later, Kane sat at the main computer with his helmet resting next to him as he played the audio of the call Deadshot placed while searching through his database. While voice recognition software analyzed the voice, he went through all events that happened during the chase of Deadshot.

The voice had said Deadshot was only meant to stall Batman, so Kane read through all occurrences that happened that night, big and small, to see if there was a connection. Rubbing his eyes, the screen pinged, indicating a match.

He pulled up the case file which had only been submitted seconds ago and it stated that at around the same time as his speech, a prototype coolant generator was stolen from a research lab located at the base of one of the ward petals, near the Presidium. One casualty was reported as a crew of ten people entered the lab.

Kane pulled up the surveillance attached to the file and recognized one of the thieves. He wore a heavy suit of armor that obscured his face, but it was enough to identify him as 'Mr. Freeze', a shrewd criminal on the rise for the past few months.

"Sir the voice analysis is complete; it seems the responder was one since retired Captain Leonard Fries of the Systems Alliance."

Kane sat back in his seat, contemplating his next move, but before he could form a thought the main screen flashed an alert. Without hesitation, Kane bounded from his chair, grabbed his helmet and headed to the Batwing; Fries would have to wait for now. All systems fired up and as the sleek craft hovered with the ground underneath it disappearing.

"I'll keep your meal warm, Sir" the AI trailed off as the Batwing plunged down and rocketed off to continue the never ending fight.