I rolled back the cameras as we watched Hank walk out of the kitchen.
"Where the hell did he go?" Dawn asked.
"Couple minutes later, he leaves and gets in a cab" Conner said. "Now his phone is off the grid."
"Pull the plate" Dick said looking at the cab driver.
"I'll try" he said.
"We talked in the kitchen everything was fine. I told him to dial it down a notch" Dawn said.
"Present and accounted for" Hank said.
I stood up as Hank fell to his knees. Dawn ran to his side as he unbuttoned his shirt.
"Hank, what happened?" She asked.
A device was stuck to his chest as he looked at Dawn.
"Get out of here" he said.
"Oh my god" she said. "Is that a bomb?"
"It's a gift" he said. "From our pal, Jason."
I looked away, locking eyes with Dick. Gar and Kory walked in as Gar smiled.
"Oh good you found him" he said. "Or not."
Dawn and Dick helped Hank onto the bed.
"Went to talk to Jason by yourself?" She snapped.
"Seemed like a good idea at the time" Hank said. "Just give me a shot of whiskey and get the damn thing out."
I felt my eyes glow as I examined his body. I looked around the bomb as my breath hitched.
"Oh fuck" I said. "It has anti-retraction barbs that hold the device in place. It's embedded in the pectoralis major, right through to the aortic arch."
"Liv, can this be taken out?" He asked.
I looked at Conner who nodded.
"Bomb's designed to tolerate insertion, not retraction" he said.
He drew up a diagram showing the others.
"These barbs in Hank's chest, that have sensors" he said. "If those sensors detect to much force-"
"Spit it out!" Hank said.
"They'll explode" I said.
"What if we remove it surgically?" Dick asked.
"Same outcome. Once activated, it's designed to kill" Conner said.
"That fucking little shit" Hank said.
"It's not timed, it's a countdown of how many heartbeats" he said.
"What?" Dawn asked. "Countdown?"
Conner removed the front of the bomb revealing a large number as with each of Hank's heartbeats it went down in number.
"It's how many heartbeats he has left" I said.
"Jason can't actually want Hank dead, right?" Gar asked.
We all turned our heads as Dick's phone began ringing.
"I have a feeling we're about to find out" Kory said.
He answered the call walking away. He came back recapping the phone call.
"Gold bars?" I said.
"What did you tell him?" Dawn asked.
"Fucking N-O, I hope" Hank said. "We don't negotiate with terrorists."
YOU ARE READING
Love in the Night | Dick Grayson
Fanfiction(UNDER EDITING 9/26/23) Olivia Kent had grown up as a sweet and loving girl until death had made her cold. Dick Grayson was anything but loving and sweet until one day he found a reason to.
