Nightwing #19 "Dick Grayson: Fugitive"

Written By Mick Edwards

Slowly, but surely Nightwing awoke, and took in the room around him. A massively framed man stood in the far corner, his golden locks hung down loosely giving him an almost girlish appearance. To the right was a desk where Agent Cisco Blaine sat, and in his hands he held one of Nightwing's escrima sticks.

"You know, you should really reveal where you get this equipment from," he said.

Nightwing tried to lean forward, but some one twice as strong pulled him back into the seat. He could feel large fingers grab his long black locks, and jerk his head back to look Agent Blaine in the eyes.

"I see you have your own grunts," said Nightwing, "what are they on; Venom?"

Agent Blaine got off the table and crouched within eye level of him; he pointed to the brute in the far corner.

"What do you think?"

"I think I made a mistake helping you bring down Blockbuster."

Agent Blaine stood up and nodded to the man holding Nightwing in the chair. Almost immediately he began to feel pressure on his shoulders, which caused him to grit his teeth. The large brute tightened his grip, and Nightwing screamed out.

"Seems you don't have the pain tolerance of the bat," said Blaine, "which is a shame because I had hoped to prolong this."

The moment the pain in his shoulders ceased, Nightwing used the wing ding in his hand to start cutting the ropes binding his hands. He looked Blaine in the eyes, sweat beading down his brow.

"Tell me something Blaine," said Nightwing, "what is you really want for the 'haven?"

"Total emancipation from the criminal element," said Blaine, "we want to control the drug trade, and the rackets that organized crime has in their possession in order to bury them. And vigilantes like you and nuts like Blockbuster make that difficult."

"So, that's where Soames comes in," said Nightwing, "he's your way in."

"Yes, but he's not so easily controlled. Either way you won't be much of a problem anymore."

Agent Blaine bent down and cut the ropes binding Nightwing's feet, while the hulking goon behind him tore the ropes that bound his hands.

"You're letting me go?" asked Nightwing.

"We have all we need," said Blaine, "tell Oracle it was nice meeting her."

Nightwing's face darkened, and he leapt at Blaine only to be caught by his collar and slammed into the floor, hard.

"I guess there's a lot of fight in you, but we won't have to worry about you anymore," said Blaine, as Nightwing started to black out.

---

Scarlet peeked through the curtain making sure that no one would bother Dudley while he was sleeping off the effects of whatever drug Agent Blaine gave him. And as she turned to look at him she noticed that he was not so peaked as he was the day before. A knock on the cabin door took her attention, and she pulled out the 44 magnum that Dudley gave her, and pulled the door back to create a small slit like opening for her to look out.

Outside stood a black haired Amazon with a white streak on her front bangs. She looked down at Scarlet and bent down. Scarlet's eyes widen as she took in the size of Dudley's ex-wife.

"Is Dudley here?" asked Aleta.

"Yeah, and you must be Aleta," said Scarlet.

"Yes."

"Come in," she said, taking a step back to allow larger woman inside.

"I see you keep a, how do you say it, hospitable home," said Aleta, as she looked over the dirty dishes, and bottles of whine all over the place.

"You can do better?" asked Scarlet.

"I am better," said Aleta, as she shoved her coat into Scarlet's gut, and went about cleaning up the place.

Scarlet looked at the coat, which smelled of cinnamon and threw it on the floor.

"What the fuck, bitch," said Scarlet, "I'm not your maid."

Aleta turned to Scarlet and the muscles in her jaw tightened.

"Do you have a problem with me?" asked Aleta, "because we can surely settle this."

"Yes, I do."

The dirty dishes hit Scarlet in the face so fast that she had no time to react, and when she started to fall backwards; Aleta grabbed the front of her shirt.

"I think you are a nuisance," she said, "and I don't tolerate nuisances."

"Enough, Aleta!"

Both turned to see Dudley standing at the foot of the staircase in his pajama bottoms. He walked over to the two bickering women, and placed a hand on Aleta's shoulder.

"Let her go."

Her grip loosened, and Scarlet fell to the floor coughing. She turned to Dudley, and examined his face.

"What happened to you?" she asked, "who did this to you?"

"Some one I thought I could manipulate," he said, and took hold of her hands. "but looks like I was the patsy."

"So, what will you do now?"

"I need to buy time until I am recovered, I have left the deputy mayor in charge."

He stepped away from her, and helped Scarlet up, "but until I am recovered, we make plans; we strategize, and find out what Agent Blaine is really up to, and then we turn the tables on him."

Scarlet looked at Aleta, and Aleta looked at Dudley who held Scarlet up.

"Can you two get along until then?"

Aleta nodded her head, and went to get a broom to clean up the mess. Dudley helped Scarlet to the couch in the living room, and laid her down.

"Rest here for bit, I'll be needing you soon."

"Whatever you say, Dudley."

After he left, she looked to Aleta, and her eyes narrowed.

---

Nightwing awoke inside of the nightbird; the seat was popped back, and he was parked outside of Metropolis city limits. He raised the seat up, and saw the sign, which had Superman on it, and his eyes widen behind the nightvision lens of his domino mask. Pressing a stud on the nightbird's dash revealed a computer link up that brought him in direct contact with Oracle.

"Oracle, are you there?"

For several moments her voice didn't come on the other end, and he started to worry. But, then he finally heard a wisp of her talking to some one before she answered.

I read you, Nightwing. I just spoke with Agent Blaine. Bludhaven is being taken care of, and as an act of mercy he let you go.

"Did you have something to do with this?" he asked, rubbing his brow. "Your old connections to the squad by chance."

Maybe. The thing is Nightwing is that I believe Blaine is on the up and up. I honestly believe he will save Bludhaven. And if it works out, we won't have to watch friends get killed while being mocked by the media as nothing, but vigilantes. Every day we have friends defending the people from the worst of the worst; but, the price is too great. If the FBI and the police--

"--ENOUGH!" he said; his face started to turn red as he was losing his temper. "This won't work, Oracle. It never works. The Special Crimes Unit never worked in Gotham, and Metropolis. So, there is no way this will work."

You're being too cynical, and you are starting to sound like him.

"Am I?" he asked, and looked into the rear view mirror. "I think I am being realistic. The police, and FBI have better things to do then be killed by the psychotics we deal with. They don't have the training, or the right experience to handle the situations we are up against."

You could give them that training, Nightwing. So could he if he wasn't so stubborn.

"Sorry, Oracle, but I think you are way more optimistic than I am."

Whatever you do, Man Wonder... don't go back to Bludhaven... they have a warrant out for your arrest, and they have a sample of your blood to run through their system should you get caught.

Nightwing slapped the steering wheel and looked out the window where he saw a streak of red and blue fly by. He then started the car up.

"Bye Oracle," he said.

And then drove off in the other direction away from Metropolis.

---

Deputy Mayor Kristian Sharp stood in his office looking at the reports of the concessions the mayor's office has had to make to gain the FBI's backing. He signed several papers that ratified the funding of a stronger police force that would be bolstered by shock troops provided by the FBI's Crime Prevention Squad. All that was required now was for it to signed by Mayor Soames. Since the city legislature had already approved it, there was no doubt the law would be passed quickly. But, as Kristian sat down the last paper, a blade punctured through his adam's apple, and then it was turned to where it cut clean through the arteries on the right side of his neck. His blood spurted in geysers as he was shoved to the floor by the assassin Kasumi.

She felt along the papers on the desk, unable to read them due to her blindness; but, she could make out the sound of the answering machine beeping. Gliding her hand along the phone she pressed the button, and listened to the tape wind back.

"Hey Kristian, this is Soames; I'm down and out with a flu of some sort, so I won't be back into work for a while. If you need to get in touch with me, you can call 324-7168, extension 2. See you when I get back."

After the tape stopped, and rewound, the door creaked open, and Kasumi fled out the window as the secretary walked in to see Sharp's dead body.

---

The nightbird pulled up into a gas station just six miles away from the Eastern State penitentiary. Dick got out wearing some fresh clothes, and went inside of the station to pay for his gas. When he came out he had three two gallon jugs of water, and a nurtigrain bar that he put in the back. He then took the cap off the gas tank, and stuck the nozzle in to fill up his tank. With his back leaned against the car, he started thinking about the war games that Soames and Blaine are playing. How the people they are claiming to protect will be put in harm's way; and how his visit to Eastern State will be his second clash with the devil named, Blockbuster.

NEXT ISSUE: THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND

NEVERMORE:

Faster, and faster the world slips away from me; hope becomes an elusive thing, and I look to the shadows for they embrace me. I've become lost within my own misery.

"Lost Within"

By Mick Edwards