ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴛᴍᴀɴ.

22.

Another kill has been confirmed. It turns out the victim is Pete Savage. I must've come closer than I expected for the killer to take Pete Savage, but not close enough to find out who he is. Instead, James wanted me to investigate it with him. The person behind this didn't show his face or no other signs of who he was. Not even a single name. Leaving a riddle behind left anyone suspicious, and now that I know the truth of D.A selling drops and holding secrets from Gotham, anyone could be the killer.

I walk inside the lab with James to check out the rest of the gears they have found to be used against Pete Savage as a form of torture. James Gordon grabs his flashlight from his pockets, adding light to what seems to be a labyrinth with plastic pipes.

"He put rats in there to travel their way up to his brain." James's voice lowers in frustration. He lightens around the pipes, which reveals some cryptic codes. "Another code," I reply with a raspy voice, gently pressing the tube to the side. A button is displayed at the end of the labyrinth as I press onto it. It instantly opens a small box which causes James to look at me for a second, revealing another convolute.

"TO THE BATMAN" is written in the middle of the green convolute. I take a deep breath and slowly pull it out, opening the letter as I see another card for me and folds it open to reveal another riddle.

"FOLLOW THE MAZE UNTIL YOU FIND THE RAT. BRING HIM INTO THE LIGHT, AND YOU'll FIND WHERE I'M AT."

"A rat? What fucking rat?" James rasps irritably, narrowing his eyebrows.

"He wants us to reveal the rat. Then we'll know where he is." I looked up at James, making him blow a whoosh of fresh air.

"It's all game for him. I can tell you that." James says, removing his gloves. "The rest of the team needs to search the item more than usual. This man knows something that we don't."

"Pete Savage saw it was coming," I say straightforwardly, making him look at me in disbelief.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Every one of them is working for something. I'm not sure what, but they are all dealing with the consequences now." I reply, shutting down the lid from the labyrinth.

"Are you telling me Pete has something to do with this? What for? Why would he want to be a lowlife seller for drops?" James says frustratingly.

"He got greedy." I grab onto the letter.

James takes a deep breath and shakes his head. "Fucking hell."

One of the cops, Martinez, instantly walks downstairs and faces James and me. "We have to go."

I come back to the manor with my regular clothes on, leaving the entire batsuit, the mask, and gears in my backpack. I didn't want to risk bumping into Daisy with my suit.

A slight humming sound comes from the open view of the room as I throw the backpack beside the office, watching Alfred fill up his tea in the main living room. "Where's Daisy?"

"Well," Alfred trails off before leaving the teapot on the silver tray, grabbing hold of his cup. "She is actually on a date."

I check out the time, 11 o'clock. "It's late. What is she doing?"

"She's enjoying her night out, Bruce. " Alfred clears his throat as he sits on the couch, turning up the volume from the TV.

I flare through my nostrils in annoyance, clenching my jaw. "Where is she?"

"She's probably sitting at the restaurant."

"Which one?" I ask immediately, and Alfred darts his eyes towards me in confusion. "Well, Park Row."

I grab my helmet from the table and the keys, rushing through the hallway.

"Bruce!" I hear Alfred yelling in the back, but it's already too late. I made up my mind.

I finally came to the parking lot behind the restaurant, turning off the motorcycle as I removed my helmet. My heart beats faster per second, and the adrenaline rush is trembling.

My feet quickly travel to the main door and push onto it. A lady stands in the front of the door in a full uniform. She instantly recognizes me as her eyes widen. "Mr. Wayne, did you order a table?" She asks softly, a bit startled by my entrance.

"A table for Nate Dawson?" I ask, scanning each table that's unavailable. The lady looked through the papers, but I immediately caught a glimpse of them. "Nevermind." My words jump out faster than usual before walking toward the table.

I hear the sound of Daisy's angelic laugh, along with Nate's smile, spread across his lips. He did look like a decent guy, better than Tom. His gentle face made it difficult to see him as a bad guy, but it won't fool me.

The closer I got, the faster it took Daisy to notice me. Her expression changes completely, and she looks more surprised than happy.

"Daisy," I say with my voice lowering, stopping my track beside the front of the table.

Nate lifts his head and looks at me with his eyes widening. "Mr. Wayne, it's an honor to meet you!" He says excitingly, raising himself from the chair and holding his palm out for a shake. I shake it gently, taking a deep breath, watching the same smile plant onto Nate's lips.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, but we have to go," I say with an instant, trailing my eyes back to Daisy.

"Why did something happen?" She asked, which made Nate ask a sudden question.

"Do you know him? How come you didn't tell me? That's seriously cool."

Daisy chuckles nervously, raising herself from the chair and grabbing her coat. "Yeah, I know him." She replies yet with no enthusiasm in her voice.

Is it that bad to know me?

Nate turns his attention to me, thanking me for trying to help Gotham with the help of my father. I arch my left eyebrow, figuring out if I should drag him against the wall and tell him to never go on a date with Daisy again or leave it alone.
No, it's too risky.

"Thank you so much for dinner." Daisy interrupts Nate, placing her palm on his shoulder gently. "We'll talk soon."

Nate turns his attention to Daisy with a soft smile, nodding to her comment. "Of course, and it's nice to meet you, Bruce!" He says happily. A small smile creeps up onto my lips to avoid any suspicious activity.

"So, what happened?" Daisy mutters as we arrive in the parking lot. I couldn't tell the truth that I was frustrated with her.

"The commissioner from the police department has been killed." I rasp, looking at Daisy as she grabs hold of the helmet. She looks at me with pure horror crossing her face.

"How did he die?"

"Rats."

"Rats?" She asks, waiting for more information.

"Yes, rats. He made a labyrinth that led to his ears for the rats to crawl inside."

"Jesus Christ." She mutters, shutting her eyelids in shock. "That's horrible."

However, it was clear to me how sensitive and fragile she is. It made it harder to slip her out of my sight. She's starting to be part of my life, and I wasn't sure how to accept it.

Or how to accept the feelings I have been developing for her.