First Light » Titans [2]

15|| The Cracks In The Wall

Gar paced behind Dick's chair. His shoulders were slouched inwards and he shoved his hands deep into his pockets. His eyes never left the polished floor. He hadn't looked at either of them since they entered the lair.

It was probably for the better.

Sophie stared up at the half a dozen monitors. The screens were filled with maps of the city, tracking data, security footage; anything that could help find where Jason and Gar had been last, and where Jason was now.

"Jason wanted to prove to you that he wasn't a reject." Gar spoke softly, "we were going to come right back."

Sophie clenched her jaw and crossed her arms to hide her shaking hands. She wanted to be angry. She wanted to blame Dick, or Gar, even herself; but she couldn't. Jason did this to himself.

He was such an idiot, always running off half-cocked and taking on guys twice his size to prove some kind of point. He had been like this since Bruce found him in Gotham. He was just another project to Bruce, but not to her. He was the closest thing she had to a little brother.

If they didn't find Jason in time... She gulped down the lump forming in her throat and forced herself to focus.

"I just need details. Specifics." Dick stated. His voice was stern, bordering on angry. It grated on her nerves. She wanted to lash out and blame him for driving Jason off.

"Just, write down everything you remember." He grabbed the tablet from the edge of the desk and handed it back to Gar, never fully looking back at him. "I'm searching for his tracker now."

Sophie's eyes flickered up to the photo of Jason in the corner of the main monitor. There was a blue percentage beside it, counting up until the tracking process was completed. It still twisted Sophie's stomach whenever she thought about the fact Bruce put trackers in all of them.

The numbers reached a hundred percent and a small ding came from the computer. She held her breath as the numbers switched into words. Subject not found.

No. Sophie pushed off the doorframe and made her way to the computer. She didn't care what systems she had to hack into, she wasn't going to wait around until it was too late.

She typed quickly. She didn't know San Francisco's security grid the way she knew Gotham's, but if it was even close to Gothams then there were cameras in the train tunnels.

"If-if Jason's still down there, all that concrete and stone," Gar paused, "it would mask the GPS signal from the satellite."

"Yeah, it would." Dick agreed.

Sophie ignored them. Her eyes darted between the keyboard and the screen as she pulled up the old tunnel layouts and train stops. It wasn't hard to locate the cameras at the stations, once she had successfully hacked into one camera she could use it to gain access into the entire feed. Every camera on the same grid as that one became her eyes, even the forgotten ones deep in the tunnels.

A warm weight met the dip of her back. She jolted and quickly looked over her shoulder at Dick.

His brows were drawn together and a frown tugged at the corners of his lips. He didn't move his hand. It was warm and she'd be lying if she said she didn't need the comfort. But she couldn't focus on that. Nothing else mattered until she found Jason.

"Sophie," He said her name so gently like he knew just how fragile she was.

Her heart throbbed and the corners of her vision began to blur with tears. She looked back at the bright monitors before he could see her cry.

"Don't," her voice broke, "just- just help find Jason."

***

Sophie followed the old, out-of-commission tracks down the endless tunnels. She held a crystal out in front of her. The light gleamed off of the slimy brick walls, illuminating the occasional colourful graffiti tag.

A steady drip, drip, drip echoed down the tunnel. It was rhythmic and subconsciously she began to walk in time with it, masking the small click of her boots against the old cement.

She glanced down at her phone. A purple line lead down one section of the tunnels and a small blinking dot followed it. She was still on track.

Without knowing the layout of the tunnels it would be easy to get lost down here. Jason was smart tactically, but he never paid enough attention to planning. He wouldn't have memorized the tunnels or even bothered to send the map to his phone. He rushed in blind and without proper weapons. He was nimble and could pack a punch but he never paid enough attention to his opponents, never looked for their tells or weak spots.

His over-confidence would have been his downfall. Especially if Light wasn't alone.

Sophie clenched her jaw at the thought. She doubted it was a coincidence that Light and Deathstroke showed up at almost the same time. If they weren't working together before Light's light show at the stadium, there was a good chance they were now.

She couldn't let her mind wander any deeper. She couldn't focus on possibilities and what if's. She knew what Deathstroke was capable of and it terrified her.

Sophie turned down another long stretch of tunnel. The air got heavier the further away she got from the entrance. It stunk of mold and mildew, years of the stuff was caked on the brick walls.

She picked the one stretch of tunnel that had been abandoned for the past few years. If Light was keeping Jason down in the tunnels, he would be here.

The comm in her ear crackled before Donna's distorted voice came through. "Hank, did you find anything?"

"Do rats the size of my head count?"

"Stay positive Hank." Dawn said, her soft voice was offset by her nerves.

"I got dragged out of bed to trudge through sewer water, 'cause dipshit decided to go off half-cocked." Hank huffed.

Sophie rolled her eyes focused on the barren stretch of tunnel ahead of her. Now wasn't the time to start a fight, that could wait until Jason was back home and safe.

"At least Jason found Dr. Light," Donna stated. "Maybe he would have told us if we gave him half a chance yesterday."

"Maybe if you guys didn't always pull your hierarchy crap this wouldn't be happening," Sophie grumbled under her breath.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Hank's rough voice filled her ears.

Sophie's eyes widened for a split second. She forgot the lines had been left open in case anyone else ran into trouble.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." She tapped the button on her comm, closing her line. If she ran into Light first, she wasn't going to need anyone's help taking him down.

Her comm popped again before she heard Dick speak. "Guys, I got something. Sending over coordinates now."

Sophie's eyes darted to her phone. It took a second before a blue beacon appeared in one of the tunnels in the newer development.

She tucked her phone in her jacket pocket and bolted back down the way she came.