Secrets shall be revealed

Part 3

Damian woke up in the cave. He barely had time to gather his bearing before Father barged in and started lecturing him about how it was reckless of him to go on a mission while sick and how it was his fault for getting shot. He didn't say it directly, but Damian was not stupid. Father told him he was disappointed.

Damian didn't even try to defend and explain himself. There was no point when Father never listened. He just sat there and waited for him to finish and bench him before storming off. Damian was used to it. He just lay in bed and stared at the ceiling.

His flu was hitting him full force. His body felt too heavy. He didn't even care about the pain in his shoulder. He let himself drift back to sleep.

He woke up alone. He felt a bit better and wanted to return to his room. He didn't like it in the cave. He took a few deep breaths and lifted himself into a sitting position. Then he pulled out his IV and other things attached to him.

He slowly got up from the bed, careful not to move too fast and disorient himself. He used the wall to lean on and slowly made his way toward the stairs.

"Damian?" he heard a voice call from behind. It was Grayson, but it was too late to avoid him. His brother quickly made his way and stood in front of him.

"Damian. You shouldn't be out of bed." Grayson said. Damian could feel the concern. Both in the way his brother was looking at him and the soft voice he was using.

"I want to go to my room," Damian said. Grayson sighed.

"Fine, but at least let me help you. You look ready to fall over." Grayson said as he moved to stand beside Damian and put one arm behind his back and the other over his chest to support him. He was careful not to touch too close to his injured shoulder, and Damian was grateful.

Damian didn't resist his touch since he knew he didn't have enough energy to make it to his room safely alone. Instead, he stopped leaning against the wall and leaned towards Grayson as they slowly made their way.

When he was finally in his room, he was panting and tired. Grayson helped him lay down and put the blanket over him. he was shivering again.

"I will tell Alfred that you are back in the room. Do you think you can eat now, or do you want to sleep?" Grayson asked.

"Later. I'm just tired." Damian said. Grayson gave him a little smile and quickly reached to ruffle his hair. Damian didn't have time to protest as Grayson jumped away and went to the door.

"Good night, Damian." He said as he turned off the lights.

"Good night, Grayson," Damian said as he finally let himself drift to sleep.

It took Damian a few days to get back on his feet. But he spent his free time, especially times when his father was away to work in the cave. Even if he couldn't be active in the field, there were other ways for him to contribute.

There were a few cases going on that needed investigation. The one he was working on now was a case of children disappearing. There were 12 cases so far. The youngest was 11, and the oldest was 16. There might have been more cases, but since all the victims were orphans in the street, it was difficult to know if it was one of these kidnappings or the usual causes of disappearance.

These 12 cases were reported by other children who were close to them. They had reasons to believe that it wasn't the person trying not to be found. Also, the circumstances of their disappearances were the same.

All of those children reported a secret job opportunity. They believed it to be safe yet couldn't talk about it. They were sure of the situation to a degree to convince their friends not to worry. Then, they would leave for the job one night and not return.

That was their only clue. Of course, there might have been those who didn't have close friends or people to inform or care about them. It was what made it scary. That there could be so many children gone and in danger.

It may be a child-trafficking situation, drug testing, or worse. None of them liked to think about it. It was too disgusting to think of the implications. They were all keeping an eye on the case and prioritizing it to a degree. Children were a sore spot for all of them.

Damian, Drake, and Gordon couldn't find anything online, or any clue, but Damian had a plan. He wanted to go undercover. His fever was gone by now, and there would be no signs of the flu in a few days. He could definitely pull up a covert mission.

There was something bothering him since they started with this case. Like there was something more going on. But it was only now that he noticed it. While they didn't have pictures of all the victims based on the description, they shared some similarities.

Being very thin and skinny. No imperfection or birthmarks on the face. Light-colored eyes but dark hair. Some of them had scars on their bodies but nothing on their face. These characteristics might have been accidental, but for all the victims to have them in common was strange.

Also, the reason for the body scar being present and absent in some cases might have been due to the weather being colder, so the victims were more likely to wear clothing that covered their bodies. The perpetrator might be looking for someone with a perfect face and body, but since they can't see the body, they settle for the face.

In these cases, victims were usually picked up due to physical similarity.

Based on the description and pictures, they all also looked rather feminine and delicate. They were all traditionally beautiful. While Damian didn't consider himself attractive, both his parents were traditionally beautiful, so he wasn't ugly.

He knew that if he wanted to pull this off, he couldn't tell anyone about it. They wouldn't let him do it. So he had to do it secretly. He was confident in his skills, and he couldn't wait for them to find an actual lead when there was none for so long.

He couldn't put the lives of those children in danger. He had to be the bait.