Chapter 43: A Familiar Face, A Hostage Situation
In the car, Bruce sat in the back seat, flanked by two armed guards. He glanced at Dick, who was sitting next to him with a nervous expression. Guilt gnawed at Bruce—he had only wanted to take the boy out for a bit of fun and relaxation. Who could've predicted that their day would be interrupted by a kidnapping? Truthfully, this was the first time since returning to Gotham that Bruce had been kidnapped.
The car was eerily quiet. The kidnappers weren't the chatty type, giving Bruce ample time to think. He mulled over his escape plan while also reflecting on the leader's words and motives.
They weren't after money? That was yet to be proven. Was this personal? But who would hold a personal grudge against him?
As for business rivals…
Bruce thought about it for a moment. It seemed plausible. Although he was publicly seen as clueless when it came to Wayne Enterprises, he was still the figurehead. If someone wanted to force him into signing something or making a decision, it wasn't entirely out of the question.
Perhaps these people had been watching him for a while, waiting for the right moment to strike. If he hadn't decided to go out today, who knows how long they would have waited for a better opportunity?
Bruce: "…"
This was just a theory, but if they truly weren't after money, the situation was much more complicated.
Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, a realization struck him. He shifted his gaze to the leader sitting in the front seat, carefully studying his face and build without giving anything away.
After a moment of observation, Bruce began to recognize something familiar about him. It dated back to when he had just returned to Gotham, during his early days as Batman, when he had been cleaning up the city's criminal underworld.
But…
But this man hadn't looked like this back then. Had he lost a lot of weight?
Bruce pondered.
Little did he know that the mastermind of this whole mess had slimmed down drastically after being imprisoned, thanks to Bruce himself. Once a fat and bloated crime boss, the leader had shed the weight rapidly during his time behind bars.
This grudge ran deep.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town...
After receiving Bruce's distress signal, Avery, though momentarily surprised, didn't waste time contemplating. He immediately turned around and headed to the basement, sitting down in front of the computer. With expert hands, he began manually operating the system, utilizing satellites and the nearly omnipresent surveillance network covering Gotham, set up by a certain control freak, to figure out what had transpired today.
Nocturnal creatures prefer the dark, and though Batman was just a man in a batsuit, he too favored darkness. This meant the lights in the basement were rarely ever turned on. Even Avery had grown accustomed to working in the dark, though, in truth, light or no light, it didn't affect his efficiency.
Sitting in front of the computer, the screen's glow reflected on his face, while the rest of the room remained in deep darkness. The only sound was the constant tapping of the keyboard, heightening the air of mystery.
Avery first checked Bruce's schedule for the day. He saw that Bruce had taken the boy to an amusement park, where they even rode a roller coaster, before passing through Robinson Park. Their last stop was the Gotham Children's Museum, where the distress signal had been sent from, only to be cut off afterward—likely due to some signal jammer.
Clearly, this was the key point.
He did a brief investigation into the events at the museum today. The news of Bruce Wayne's kidnapping had spread quickly. With just a few searches, multiple headlines popped up on his screen.
Avery clicked through them one by one, then pulled up the museum's exterior surveillance footage from the relevant time. In the video, Bruce and Dick were seen entering the museum, and not long after, several vehicles with clear intent parked outside the entrance.
People poured out of the cars, armed, and the museum's security guards attempted to stop them. However, the assailants, who seemed to have ties to organized crime, quickly and ruthlessly took down the guards with expert ease before strutting into the museum.
Avery suddenly frowned slightly. He paused the video and rewound it to the moment when the men first got out of the vehicles. His eyes focused on the leader, scrutinizing him.
After a moment, Avery's brows raised.
Isn't that… the crime boss Batman once sent to Blackgate Prison? The weight loss had certainly changed him significantly, but Avery could still recognize him. So this guy escaped prison and decided to go after Bruce?
Could it be that his gang had been dismantled, and after escaping prison with no money, he figured kidnapping Gotham's richest man would be a quick way to score some cash?
Avery internally speculated while continuing to rigorously search for more information on the man to verify his suspicions. Once he saw the police's recent wanted bulletin, he confirmed that the man had indeed escaped prison.
Having pieced together the situation, Avery started planning how to rescue Bruce. However, just then, his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen—it was Alfred. Why was he calling at a time like this?
Under normal circumstances, Avery, being the good son, would have asked how his father's vacation was going, whether he was enjoying his trip, and reminded him to take care of his health.
But right now, Avery's mind was entirely focused on rescuing Bruce from the kidnappers, and he had no desire to chit-chat.
He answered the call, and Alfred's slightly aged voice came through. Instead of a greeting or casual conversation, Alfred spoke something rather confusing: "Have you seen the live broadcast?"
What broadcast?
Avery, perplexed, felt a surge of tension and asked directly, "Broadcast? Is something important happening?" After all, Alfred's tone had a sense of urgency.
Far away on a beach in Hawaii, Alfred, phone in hand, was watching Gotham's local news on a small television.
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